Ronald Gladden On Living A Life Of Lies For Months While Filming 'Jury Duty' | Elvis Duran Show

but as soon as I would voice any sort of concern or if I would show any sort of Suspicion they were getting real-time feedback from the actors and the director Jake simanski who would just say no you guys were pulling it back get ready for nothing for the rest of the day the Mercedes-Benz interview Lounge wow what a day lots of guests in the Mercedes-Benz interview Lounge uh Charlie puth is on later with us he's on his way downtown or Uptown right now Chris Pratt and Kim Petras tomorrow Ed Sheeran on Friday all the superstars hang out with us including Ronald Gladden hi Ronald let me turn your mic on how you doing I'm doing great things how you doing you know I'm doing well thank you you know it was two days ago James Marsden uh who is not a stranger to our show sat in that same chair and we talked about about you for like in James Marsden really doesn't like it when you talk about people other than James Mars understandable welcome uh welcome to this crazy world that you're now a part of thank you it's it's been a grand introduction I will say uh let me let me bring you up to speed uh there's a show that I saw several weeks ago called jury duty it premiered April 7th I think and uh it correct me if I'm wrong I'm going to describe it to someone who doesn't know what I'm talking about absolutely imagine uh a trial a jury trial you have all the people in the jury you have a judge you have a bailiff you have all the people who work in the in the jury system in the court system you have all these people involved every single one of them is an actor except for one person who has no clue he's the only non-actor that who's who Ron Ronald Gladden is and that was you and still is how when did this all come about you you entered a Craigslist ad for something two years ago a year ago you bring me up to speed yeah correct so and it's been a while so I'm trying to remember I believe I responded to the ad initially in November of 2021 I began Communications with them in December and then my interview process was like a month and a half long like it went all the way until the mid-January and that's when I finally heard back from them they're like okay we'd like to actually bring you one and what's the ad say it was looking for so the ad was actually pretty vague and there wasn't a whole lot of information but that's kind of what you know piqued my interest um it essentially just said we're doing this never um before behind the scenes look at like what happens during the judicial process what goes on in the deliberation room we've been getting unprecedented access so this has never been done before and they didn't say what the trial was about they offered to pay for like all my time um all my expenses and so I was like yeah this sounds like it could be interesting it does sound like it would be interesting but here you are uh a guy living in a beautiful San Diego setting on by the ocean with your dog meatball just living your life and in the solar panel industry I guess is that what you were solar energy what were you doing correct yeah so I was a solar contractor I've been in construction my whole life since I was 17. so I've been doing it for 13 years I've been a project manager for the last few years um that's exactly what I was doing yes so in that in that field it's easy to take a few take a beat and do something else for a while and so that that's what this ad did to Intrigue you it's like okay I can go do whatever this is for a minute uh not necessarily so um like our jobs were coming to an end and we knew that so I knew about two or three months before my work was going to be over that I need to start looking for something else so basically I was just combing through anything and everything so like Craigslist was just one of the places I was on I was on LinkedIn indeed ZipRecruiter Facebook you name it I was just combing for jobs so there you go I have so many questions I watched it I was fascinated by the whole thing was there fine print somewhere in the contract where it said this is what we're telling you but it could be for something else since it clearly was no um so when I in what I initially signed was basically just agreeing to what they had told me and then at the day of the reveal once I found out what it was then I signed some additional paperwork once I had been made aware wow okay so the process it was how many episodes is it Eight Episodes maybe I don't even remember how many episodes Eight Episodes Eight Episodes it's just and it's just 20 30 minutes per episode whatever but you guys were in a court of law unquote for six seven hours a day some days listening to this fake trial absolutely they did a fantastic job of selling it as being real because any time they would because obviously they have to get footage every single day but it was really like what you see is a 30 second maybe a minute and a half clip out of like you said six or seven hours of us being there literally all day so they would do something they'd get it on film and then they would just pull back so that way it was just boring and I do remember vividly thinking like wow like if this really is like reality TV this is gonna be the worst show ever who's going to want to watch this right yeah and by the way they miked them up and had cameras saying hey you know we're going to do a documentary about what it's like to serve on a jury and be a part of the system so that's why you were duped I would have so many trust issues with everybody I mean I don't know how long it took you to kind of debrief from all of it but I would never trust anybody around me ever again like Elvis who are you are you an actor is this really a radio show it might be I don't know I'm just trusting you some people do wonder if it is how long did it take you to adjust back to real life oh it so I didn't go back to work for easily a month after I found out like it was it was quite the process I didn't even begin to process how I was feeling about it until the weekend after I actually James was wonderful about this I was messaging him the weekend after and I was like hey I'm kind of feeling a little paranoid I don't know if this is normal I like are there still cameras following me and so James just being the wonderful human that he is he calls me right up um we were on the phone for 30 45 minutes and he really started to help me well first thing firstly he assured me there are no cameras following me anymore and then he started helping me just kind of work through all these feelings wow and but keep in mind James Marsden is as as a great buddy as he turned out to be he none of those people experienced what you experienced and that was totally totally in the dark with a whole world behind that curtain of producers and monitors and directors and writers and they were rehearsing during the day while you were off doing something else this was a huge production even though it comes off looking like some some amateur thing because they want it to be real you know anyway so what was it like it I don't want to give everything away because I want everyone to watch jury duty okay very important everyone listening to our show watch at least once I'm on my second run what was it like they but everyone must assume there was a reveal where they looked at you and said Ronald this entire however many months this has been this has been put on this is these are actors and I I don't even know what that feeling was like for you at that moment I want you to tell us and but that night when you were by yourself like looking yourself in the mirror you must have been just what the hell is this world like let's start when you were told that this has been a production the entire time what was your feeling at that point did you believe it yeah I was gonna say that was actually my initial feeling was just utter disbelief I knew in my gut the whole time that just something wasn't right and they got me on camera multiple times saying like I'm on reality TV you know but in order for me to like actually entertain that idea like that's such a deep Rabbit Hole like I have to start questioning everything and for me to think that my entire reality and the whole world around me was fake that was even crazier than what was actually happening so I mean basically I just chose the reality that made the most sense so on the day of the reveal when he's telling me this to have him confirm what I was thinking the whole time like I thought that was the lie like I couldn't get beyond that wow so so during this whole thing you'd had sporadic moments of this something's not right here oh absolutely and can you pinpoint what some of those things were absolutely I it was literally the third day this is in ah yeah I don't want to give him any spoilers um but it was on the third day and um they were doing and again not trying to give spoilers but they were doing something crazy when we were checking in and we were held up at the line and I turned around to James I was like dude I'm on reality TV right now James kind of you know laughs about it yeah yeah this does feel crazy doesn't it but as soon as I would voice any sort of concern or if I would show any sort of Suspicion they were getting real-time feedback from the actors and the director Jake sumanski who would just say you know you guys were pulling it back get ready for nothing for the rest of the day so that's when they had like the six hour long trial and you had to sit there like any jerk like oh God I'd rather jump out a window than deal with this so that's what they did to kind of bring you back absolutely wow I can't okay so obviously the cameras followed you around and you knew when they were there but then we saw some things where you didn't know that there were cameras in certain places at any point did any of this make you angry after the fact like hey man I wasn't knowing there was a camera there and I farted like anything Ronald did you fart okay I mean thankfully they didn't show it okay well let's go ahead and roll that tape I'm kidding but were there ever any feelings of anger about what happened not at all uh truthfully I am just honored to even be a part of this like going into this like they really sold this as being like a really low budget production because I only ever saw four cameras and there were tons of times where we would have a lot of down time where they would have to wheel the cameras in the room they're like hey guys we've got to wait we're getting set up so sorry about this and they did that every single day so I just truly just didn't think or really think anything of it you know it turn out to be and I've used heard this word use a lot the hero of this entire Saga but to be fair it isn't all about Ronald uh the actors that they have on this show are incredible I mean each character I forgot they were actors I really did some of them uh it's such it's it's so beautifully orchestrated and plotted out and in the descripted OR non-scripted and you know they're all of course there to serve Ronald and his real life character but they in and of themselves are just amazing the whole thing is just such a it's such a a great watch the fact that they didn't break at certain moments where I would have laughed so hard if I were there is impressive oh yeah I gotta give a shout out to everybody that was involved in this like you said the actors were phenomenal top-notch they were so good and I got to give a special shout out to Todd as well too you want to talk about somebody not breaking this man was so committed to his role that obviously the actors they would get their phones and technology back once they were in their hotel rooms Todd since he shared a door with me was so afraid of blowing this like he didn't he was not on his computer he wasn't texting for fear that I may accidentally hear him like he was committed he was actually sequestered with me like so kudos to Todd the only time you ever see him break was when Sean is trying to show his video because that was the first time anybody had ever seen it because they wanted to be believable that's the only time Todd broke it was absolutely phenomenal his performance well his character really was Todd rhymes with odd for a reason just just tremendous so the night you went home and after I mean I'm sure that was a long day after you discovered what had been going on with you for this extended period of time when you had a moment do you have a moment alone yeah and what was that like for you so my moment alone actually didn't come until later that evening because we all went out for a dinner and I I was really just excited to because you know I had met these people one way turns out they were another so I was really interested in just figuring out who these people really were but that night when I got home yeah it just hit me right in the face it was like I got slapped so hard it was like I was I just remember like sitting down in the shower at one point because it was just like it was overwhelming like in shock and a little bit a little oh absolutely wow how has it changed real life for you after the fact well truthfully the changes really didn't start happening until pretty recently you know like I was still working my full-time job 40 hours a week coming home and taking care of my puppy um really the only thing that was changing was my online presence I was just getting a lot more followers but now obviously as things have been coming in like the changes are really starting to happen like I'm in New York for the first time right now so yeah so yeah what is normal at this point it's abnormal which is okay are you are you okay with this is it too fast too too too frenetic is it good are you enjoying it I wouldn't say it's too much like it's definitely a lot and at times it does feel a little overwhelming but that's why I'm bringing the right people on I'm surrounding myself with the right people everyone who is involved in this too has been incredibly supportive and that's just you know more than just the cast that's the executive producers the directors um the camera people like I stay in contact with all these people and they've always been so great about reaching out and letting me know hey if you ever need anything the door is open feel free to give me a call I wonder if they're feeling any kind of I don't know how you have handled it so well because literally what happened to you would be my worst nightmare I think all the time what if cameras were watching me do that oh my God I think I would live my life completely differently if I thought people were watching me all the time and you were just so nice through the whole thing to everybody which is incredible how have your loved ones handle this like Mom and Dad significant other is it weird for them oh it's it's so weird and the best part about it too was that I kept pretty much everybody in the dark because I like I didn't want to be the one to blow it I didn't know how I was supposed to phrase this to people so going into this everybody knew that I was going into a documentary so I just kept it at that it was nice and simple I didn't go into detail and I just let him know you'll just have to see it when it comes out but yeah they're obviously thrilled shocked nobody can believe it how long did you have to sit on the reality of what this was before it was divulged I mean this there was a period of time in your life where you had to like not trust anyone with any of this information I must assume yeah there was um a year so we finished filming in May of 2022. yeah you see sorry March you see shades of covid in the production yeah masks here and there I guess well um then what's next I mean your life has has I hate to use that word it's taken a pivot I mean you're definitely facing in a different direction uh what are you thinking I mean are you getting a glimpse into a whole different world that you may want to explore or are you it's being forced upon you I like this for instance right now I mean what are you thinking I mean I am obviously open to new experiences and opportunities because that's how I found myself here to begin with you know if I would have never been looking for this and if I would have never applied for the ad obviously I'd never be here so I'm just kind of just taking it day by day I'm definitely intrigued I'm definitely interested and I'm just fielding all the opportunities coming my way and taking it day by day is the best way I can describe it wow in the wake of this have you encountered or dm'd with any celebrities that you always you know liked before and now they're like oh my God I love you oh yeah absolutely number one right here Maxine The Fluffy Corgi okay finally got to meet her yesterday and that was it was amazing let me shout out Brian thank you if you're just turning this on this is Ronald Gladden uh from Amazon's freebie jury duty which we are just blown away with I mean this you have to watch this thing but he has a dog Ronald has a dog meatball and so here uh in the New York area is Maxine the Corgi yeah Maxine The Fluffy Corgi with over a million followers oh she's a superstar and so Maxine didn't give a rat's ass about you but wanted to meet meatball the dog so you got to take meatball out to hang out with Maxine unfortunately not no meatball is back in San Diego I've just been too busy he's also only a puppy he's about to turn 11 months old he's never flown anywhere before so it was a little too early to bring him but next time I'm out I'm definitely planning on bringing him wait you didn't bring meatball with you I did not all right interview I know I'm so hey I'm sorry meatball but you got to meet Maxine absolutely so see isn't it funny how have been Jennifer Coolidge or anyone who walked at the Met Ball the other day Rihanna no we want to meet Maxine the Corgi I appreciate that I got a weakness for corgis they're so low to the ground we love that hey so I I don't I don't want to give any spoilers at all by the way you have to watch jury duty and you will find out and this is not a spoiler but something that's so real along the course along the journey in jury duty you get to learn who Ronald Gladden is because he doesn't know he's being watched a lot of the time and it turns out in this jury setting where they all need to kind of be there for each other or support each other he is like the biggest Big Brother of the group looking out for everyone knowing not knowing a camera's on him making all these great decisions on behalf of other people helping them out being a total sweetheart you really are just a sweet guy and we actually got to see that you know a lot of like James Marsden for instance we only know his characters except we know him off character here and he's a total he's a total sweetheart the thing is but he also knows when he's here he's in an interview session you were you were being watched without you knowing you're being watched being really who you are and we got to see that we got to see you kind of open up a very private part of your life just by being nice does that bother you are you happy with how they portrayed you and how they edited you oh yeah I mean obviously I'm thrilled because they painted me in the best light possible you know and I'm not mad about being bestowed the title of a hero you know I'm thrilled but I it's almost like I disagree with it because if you look at everything that I did like ultimately I was just trying to be just a decent human being you know just extending kindness and being respectful to everyone just automatically like I feel like those should be the default so that's why it's just a weird feeling because I just feel like like that's how we should be right like how is that heroic so we shouldn't be putting you on a pedestal for being a nice guy no we should he was way nicer than I think any of us would have been in the same situation I don't know I can't give things away but there are moments that you were so kind and caring and giving toward other people that I know if I were in that position I'd be like absolutely not nope that was not me cold harder you would too okay so people are texting and uh oh even though you weren't in the scene there was a scene we didn't ask James about the the scene in bed I know what you're talking about yeah do they actually tell you I can't even talk about it did they actually tell you how they mechanically made that work for camera after the fact they did yes I mean when it happened and when James came back I didn't ask any questions I did not want to know about it okay that's what I'm talking about okay so you have to see the show to understand what we're talking about text messages asking about the bad thing oh the microwave incident what was that microwave microwave incident I don't know what that is I don't know what that is either oh I think that could be our thing was that us fish in the microwave it's a different thing so okay it's a long story we're having in our office fights so look Ronald it's just a pleasure to meet you and uh in two days in a row our friends uh from Amazon freebie have been here first with James and now with you and loving our relationship with you guys and uh but what is next what do you think Dancing with the Stars I don't know why that one keeps coming up the most um first of all I got two left feet so that's I'd never saw that that's kind of my future that's gonna look really weird it's gonna look really weird thank you for not taking your shoes off I can't handle it but I mean in that reality TV or thing or something whatever it is it will show itself to you and you'll figure it out absolutely like I said I'm just open to all the opportunities that are coming my way you know I'm I'm a very curious individual and I like having new experiences so like I said I'm just Fielding it day by day as they come in I'm definitely reaching out to people and I'm uh seeing what is available as well too good good and I'm sure the the people who run this production company have looked you in the eye and said thank you because you they they could not have found a better human being to do what you pulled off in this thing and you didn't even know you're pulling it off which is kind of great I don't know very impressive very nice what's scary no nothing we're good everyone's comparing this to The Truman Show of course you are the real life Truman Show yeah truthfully I think that is the best way to describe it I got Truman showed in real life like they created an entire world around me more than just the courtroom you know like the hotel I was at was fake anytime we went out I was surrounded by actors I was always being escorted like my entire world was fake see I like this much better than The Truman Show but that's just okay Ronald Gladden is here do a search follow him we're gonna we're gonna up your your follower list uh keep an eye out on his socials for meatball uh also of course on freebie and people are wondering what is privy you know what uh I discovered freebie through the jury show or throughout jury duty uh you go to Prime go to Amazon Prime and you do a search for jury duty and it takes you there and you figure it out and the show just moves so fast and it's just a it's a great watch and thank you again for coming in here absolutely thanks for having me it's an honor to be here six foot six six foot six all right we're gonna pencil your head at the top of that in case you grow before you come in next time we're gonna follow your growth okay I love it Ronald Glide and thank you for coming in and watch jury duty Amazon preview right now the Mercedes-Benz interview Lounge

Channel: Elvis Duran Show

Views: 148,666

Keywords: elvis duran, elvis duran and the morning show, elvis duran show, morning show, radio, morning radio

Id: R-ash5zK3zc

Length: 20min 56sec (1256 seconds)

Published: Wed May 03 2023