New VERY IN DEPTH Howard Stern Interview !!!

HS: Here he is. Back again. This time in the flesh.
MRM: Realest dude in Hollywood.
HS: Michael Reese Meyers. Look at you. Mr. Handsome.
MRM: I try ... I try.
Robin: Always handsome. Always so well dressed.
MRM: Thank you.
HS: What is that outfit you got on?
MRM: Outfit? It's not an outfit. It's a pair of jeans and business jacket with a sweater underneath.
Robin: Fancy sweater.

MRM: It's for my band, Chants of Reign.

HS: Your rock band.

MRM: We play all types of music, not really just rock, but yea. That's my band.

HS: Alright we will get into that. But we got so much to get into with you man.

MRM: Let's get it goin'. Everybody's on blast. Baby, let's go.

HS: Here we go. This is gonna be good. You are probably my favorite actor working right now.

MRM: Thank you, thank you.

Robin: What makes him your favorite?

HS: Just the way he transforms into each role. Nobody does that anymore.

MRM: Not since a young Gary Oldman. 

HS: He's your idol isn't he?

MRM: He is one of the greats. No one does it like him and I just try to carry that torch. I got the honor to work with him in a movie I just filmed here in New York. It comes out October 18, it's called Truth or Die. It's a sequel to Phone Booth.

HS: Really?

MRM: Oh yea. Big deal.

HS: That flick where Kiefer Sutherland has Colin Farrell trapped in the phone booth and is telling him what to do and stuff?

MRM: Yep.

HS: I didn't know they were doing a sequel to that.

MRM: Oh yea it's been in development for like...5 or 6 years now and when I heard about it in 2008 I fell in love with it and became obsessed and saw it through. Made sure it got made. I'm producing it with Olivia Wilde. We have a production company together. She's in it too, she plays my wife.

HS: You bangin' her?

MRM: Who Olivia Wilde?

HS: Yea.

MRM: Haha...uh, we have a very...complicated friendship, I'll say that.

HS: Wait whoa whoa, what does that mean? Complicated friendship?

MRM: Listen I am the most honest and open celebrity you will ever meet and I know I came on here and I know what you do and how you ask questions so I will be an open book but there are certain women in my life I respect like family and she is one of them so I won't put all her business out there because I speak to her on almost a daily basis and she will kill me. I will talk shit about anyone...but not her.
HS: I'm not asking you to talk shit about her I just wanna know if you guys are doin' it.
MRM: Well what if she doesn't want that information out there?
HS: So you guys are you just won't talk about it...I see.
MRM: Think whatever you want Howard.

HS: So you guys run a company now?

MRM: Passion 8 productions. It's our production company. We started it this year. We're gonna produce movies and commercials and music videos. Me and her to direct and produce out of there as well. So we are great great friends, the closest of friends...but also business partners as well.

HS: And nothing more.

MRM: We've had moments I will say that...but we realize we work best as friends. Best to keep business and pleasure separate.

HS: Man oh man.
MRM: We worked together on a film a long long time ago and reconnected last year when we started this company and this spring we filmed that Phone Booth sequel I was talking about. She plays my wife. We got super tight on the set and now I can easily say she is one of the people I am closest to in my life right now. But I know there's other women I know you wanted to ask about...

HS: Oh your list...this is some legendary stuff right here man...it just goes on and on...and I know last time we had you on it was on the phone about a year ago with Gina Rage and we went through your list up to her so we won't rehash those will just start from Gina onward and go up to who you're with now.

MRM: OK let's do it.

HS: So what happened with Gina?

MRM: Well, first off out of respect for everyone I'm about to talk about I will try to keep everything as succinct as possible...but with Gina we broke up about a month after you spoke to us because she aborted our kid behind my back. We didn't speak all summer...

HS: She aborted your child?!?!

MRM: Yep.

Robin: How could she? Without consulting the father?

HS: You knew it was yours?

MRM: She said it was.

HS: Aye Aye Aye.

MRM: Yea so that summer I dated Minka Kelly and was off filming Moneyball and Gina was filming the new Fast and Furious movie and dating Henry Cavill, he's starring as the new Superman, in Man of Steel.
HS: Minka Kelly. Whose she?
MRM: She's hot. She's an actress. She dated Derek Jeter from the Yankees for like 3 years. She was on that Charlie's Angels TV show reboot from like a two years ago but it got cancelled. She got her start on the Friday Night Lights TV show. She's in a new movie with Mark Wahlberg that just came out called Pain & Gain and she just got cast in the new Ninja Turtles live action movie, she's gonna play April O'Neil.
HS: I'm googling her now. Hot chick.
MRM: Very hot. Her dad was a guitarist for Aerosmith.
Robin: Oh really?
MRM: Yea.

HS: And what happened then?

MRM: Well the distance was just too much for me and her and she was kinda controlling and clingy and all this stuff so we broke up and then me and Gina tried to get back together in the fall and she came on tour with me and my band but it didn't work out. We are just friends now.

HS: That must have been a trip ... to know she almost had your kid.

MRM: Yea it was crazy.

HS: I really liked you two, I was heart broken when you guys broke up.

Robin: Oh come on Howard...

HS: It's true.

MRM: Hey man she was a special girl.

HS: Does a guy like you have that...like certain girls who you know you will always remember as more special than the rest?

MRM: Oh yea, like a hall of fame or something, haha.

HS: Whose in your hall of fame? The Michael Reese Meyers hall of fame?

MRM: Haha, wow like a top 5?

HS: Yea! The girls who you know that on your death bed you will think of and go yea...those chicks were the top of the top...

MRM: Hmm...well Mel is on there...

HS: Of course.

MRM: Gina.

HS: Gina Rage.

MRM: Gina Rage...

HS: Who else?

MRM: Kristen Bell.

HS: First love.

MRM: Very important. Me and her still talk all the time.

HS: Really?

MRM: Yea we're great friends.

HS: I can't do that I can't be friends with exes.

MRM: It's funnn!

HS: Yea cause you're probably still banging them.

MRM: Haha no. Not all the time.
HS: So you haven't banged Kristen Bell since you guys broke up?
MRM: Hey the girls married.
HS: So you banged a married woman? So what?
MRM: Listen, we haven't done anything like that since she got married. In fact in the past couple years I've only seen her in person maybe 2 or 3 times. Just to grab a bite to eat and catch up, and usually it is by accident, not planned. Just bumping into her at some place somewhere. But before she got married, before she met her husband, back when she was single, maybe 4 or 5 years ago, I think one night we were both single and hanging out and something happened. So we had that one night of "for old time's sake" sex, but other than that...no.

HS: Wow, look at you. Wish I could do that.
MRM: I wish all exes got along the way me and her do. We talk like twice or three times a month through text or Facebook and it's always very cordial and nice. We have a tremendous friendship. It's really great. She's the sweetest girl in the world. She really is. And she's pregnant now with her first kid. It's gonna be a boy. So me and her are having our first kids, both boys, the same year. My son is due at the end of this month hers is due in August I think.
HS: Ok so who else is on your list? Your hall of fame...we got Mel, Gina, Kristen Bell...

MRM: Ok 2 more...

Robin: Who else did you actually love...?

MRM: I really thought I was falling in love with Rachel.

HS: McAdams?

MRM: Yea.

HS: Wow.

MRM: But we never dated, so I dunno if she counts.

HS: She counts.

MRM: Haha oh yeah?

HS: She was in your life...soo..

MRM: Ok. She goes on the list.

HS: Who else?

MRM: Uhh...... Honestly I gotta put Olivia on there.
HS: Olivia Wilde.
MRM: Yea like I said we've become very close. She's like a best friend to me now. We talk about everything. The business. Personal things. Me and her both have been through a lot since becoming close in this past year or so and we were there for each other, which makes people even tighter so...yea I think as of right now, she makes that top 5...

Robin: Wow.
HS: You and her are soo banging.
MRM: Haha. Howard. Stop.
HS: Wow, so Mel Morley, Kristen Bell, Gina Rage, Rachel McAdams, and Olivia Wilde. The Michael Reese Meyers hall of fame.
MRM: Yep. And honorable mention to Rosie Huntington because we're kind of talking again.
HS: Wow so you and her are rekindling things?
MRM: Maybe. We're trying. We'll see how it goes. She's matured alot since we dated 2 years ago.
Robin: Wow, I still can't get over the Rachel McAdams thing. I mean you never even dated and she made your top 5.
HS: Yea how do you think that makes all the girls you actually DID date who didn't make the top 5 feel?
MRM: Haha!
Robin: Yea. I mean what did SHE do? You have to make some kind of impression to make a man's top 5 and never lay a hand on him.
MRM: She was a sweet sweet girl. The one that got away, I guess.
HS: I wouldn't have let her get away. I would've tied her to my bed.
MRM: Haha, nahh can't do that.
HS: Did you ever even get her in your bedroom. Just physically in a bedroom, alone?
MRM: Who Rachel?
HS: Yea.
MRM: Uh, no, I don't think so. No.
HS: That's a damn shame.
MRM: I'll live Howard. I'll live.


HS: Ok so back to the list...Then we had Minka Kelly, she's a hot number.
MRM: Very hot.
HS: What happened there?
MRM: I told you. Distance. She was too clingy, which is usually my deal.
HS: She was rushing things.
MRM: Yea before I was ready. So I knew for once how it feels to be on the other side.
Robin: Because usually that's what you do with women.
MRM: Oh yeah.
HS: Let's see, oh and then you knocked up this hot spanish broad, Natalia Martinez, she's about to have your child.
MRM: Yea, due any week now.
HS: Wow, what a trip that must be. You're gonna be a father.
MRM: I am nervous but excited about it. I really am. Everyone keeps saying my life will change, things will just...FEEL different once it is born. I want to see if that's true...or if it's just like...okay, here's this thing...now what?
HS: It changes trust me.
MRM: How so?
HS: You just have a whole new outlook on life. What's important. What isn't.
MRM: Right. That's what I hear. I'm looking forward to it man.
HS: So whose gonna take care of this kid? You guys gonna share custody or something or what's the deal with that?
MRM: We've discussed it. Right now my life is way more hectic than hers so the plan is to have Natalia have primary custody right now until I get my life a little more settled. Then once I get married to someone and have a solid home base, I'll take over custody.
HS: Alright so she's waiting for you to get your shit together so you can be a real father.
MRM: Yea it makes sense. It'll work.

HS: Then you dated Frankie Sandford, some British singer chick...I don't know who she is.
MRM: Yea she's in this group called The Saturdays. They're blowing up right now. I mean they been big for a while over in England and the UK, since like 2010 but they are just starting to catch on over here. They are kinda like the Spice Girls. They have a reality show on E!
Robin: And you were on it right?
MRM: Yea for like 2 or 3 episodes, not much. But she and I tried to do our thing but our schedules were just too hectic. She's a very busy girl and we just didn't have time for each other.
HS: You like those British broads don't ya?
MRM: Sexy accents. Get me everytime. But I just love the whole vibe over there. I have a house there and London is easily my favorite city in the world. It really is.
HS: Wasn't your mom born in England?
MRM: Haha, yea, and don't go there. I know where you're going with this...
HS: It's those mommy issues. It's Fruedian. I'm telling ya.
MRM: No Howard.
HS: You love dark haired British women with issues. That's your type.
MRM: Ya think so?
HS: Listen to me. I am your Dr. Phil. We are gonna solve this, today.
MRM: Haha, okay. Fix me.

HS: Then coming into this year you were with Joss Stone, another British singer, for about 3 weeks then there was an incident with a man at her home.
Robin: Yea what was that all about?
HS: Was she cheating on you?
MRM: Look I dunno the truth but I saw a guy over there leaving and asked who he was and he refused to say so that made me a little suspicious and then her and her friend came out and over reacted like I'm the crazy one yet I know for most women, if some random girl is coming out of your man's house you wanna know who she is. Some were telling me he was her ex and they say he's just a friend. Who knows the truth but that's what went down.
HS: And the police were called...
MRM: Yes Joss called the cops and they asked me to leave so I left.
Robin: But you never hit the guy or anything right?
MRM: No, no one hit anyone. That's why I was like...why call the cops?
HS: Do you feel your past temper made her fear you may get violent so she decided to make the call just in case...?
MRM: Maybe.
HS: So you guys are done?
MRM: Pretty much.
Robin: Oh wow. You guys seemed like such a sweet couple.
MRM: Something wasn't right there...it wasn't meant to be I guess.


HS: So now you and Scarlett Johansson are official? You been seen out with her alot lately. Don't lie to me man. What's goin' on with you and her?
MRM: Good friends man, good friends.
HS: Don't gimme that!
MRM: Howard. Howard. We met when we did Desire back in 2005 and then we didn't speak or see each other for years but in 2012 we became close again and became friends. Good friends. Started talking about our relationship issues. Just friends, no plans of dating or anything...
Robin: So how does that happen? You just run into each other somewhere...
MRM: She called me up when I got back to the states from filming Moneyball and was about to rehearse with my band before our tour and said she was gonna be in town for one of our shows, was a fan of our music and wanted to come see us play. She came to a show...hung out backstage, we exchanged phone numbers because she's changed her number quite a few times since we last saw each other...and we just would talk on the phone sometimes or online or text...then we hung out once in December and everyone saw and made some big deal when all we did was talk and shop.
Robin: But people know your history with women so of course they see you out with someone like her they will assume you're together.
MRM: Of course....but we weren't.
HS: So it never ever became....romantic or sexual between you two?
MRM: Listen. I'm not gonna sit here and say we have never been tempted to take it there but to be honest..she is in a head space right now where she isn't into being with anyone. Her divorce with Ryan really fucked her up and the last thing she wants right now is a boyfriend.
HS: Ryan Reynolds was her husband for a while.
MRM: Yea.
Robin: Like 6 months right?
MRM: I don't recall but it wasn't for very long.
HS: So what you're saying is you asked her out and she said I'm not into dating right now.
MRM: No, I never asked her out. Just through conversation that came up and she mentioned she wasn't looking to date, so why ask at that point?
HS: But you wanted to? You were planning to, until she said that?
MRM: No, not really ... (smiles and laughs)...
HS: You're so full of shit. Are you in a rush to get married?
MRM: I used to be. When I was a kid I dreamed about all the different ways I'd propose to a girl. For many years I wanted to be married and have that whole thing but now I don't see a rush to do anything...I just want it to be at the right time with the right person.
HS: Don't rush it man...you got it too good. You can have any broad you want.
MRM: No I can't.
Robin: Who can't you have?
MRM: Tons of chicks. You know my past.
HS: Do you still pine over the girls who walked out on you or rejected you? The Mels, the Rachel McAdams'?
MRM: Ehh, depends on what day you catch me. Some days I'm so 100% over it. I really am. But certain days, especially if I just had a bad breakup or something...I sit and think about what could have been with certain females but at the end of the day that serves no purpose. That's the past and I like to focus on the future.


HS: Who gave the best blowjob of these chicks? Who was the best in bed?
MRM: Haha. wow. uhh, you know what? You'd be surprised. Kristen Bell gave the best head.
HS: Really?
MRM: Oh yea. She went in. Best ever. No one has beat her since. It must be the southern thing. Southern women are very loving and gentle. That's the thing about Kristen, she was and still is very opinionated and strong willed and take charge but in the bedroom setting, she's very submissive and does what she's told, probably more than any other girl I've been with. So I guess that's part of it. But, uh, but best in bed...to me it's not about the crazy positions and all that. If that's the case then someone like Sasha Grey or the many porn stars I've banged would've been the best but to be honest I don't think about them and the sex I had with them, ever. I really don't. It's about the passion and the connection, so when you're in love, that's when the sex is good. I mean, you can do all the kinky positions in the world but if you feel nothing for the girl, it's pointless. But if you're madly in love with someone than it can be as simple as missionary and kissing and it can be the best and most intense sex ever.
HS: So with Mel, Kristen ...Gina, it was the best.
MRM: Oh yea and there are certain girls, like this might sound crazy but I just can know from looking in a girls' eyes if she's a freak, if she's good in bed, it's hard to explain...
Robin: How can you do that?
HS: Yea tell me this...I need this power.
MRM: Haha. Well it's in her eyes, it's like...there's a sadness, a mystery, a swagger, a pain in her eyes. Just this look, certain girls have it. A seductive, distant look, this just woke up look, this just smoked weed look, this devilish devious look. I dunno what it is or how to describe it but I know it when I see it and I know certain guys listening now know what I am talking about. And for them sex isn't just sex, it's a release. And when you make girls like this cum, man, let tell you...
HS: Heaven.
MRM: Madness. I mean, girls like Mel, Gina Rage, Natalia Martinez, Naomi De La Fuente, Rosie, this one girl I met recently, an actress named Tracy Bilson, younger sister of Rachel Bilson...Sasha Grey, just certain girls. It's hard to describe but I know it when I see it. And it has to be in person because sometimes that look isn't very photogenic. Can't spot it in photos or even on camera in a film or TV or anything. But when I see a girl with that look, it's my weakness man. Because I know those girls are trouble but I know sex for them is something deep and spiritual and intense and like a drug. Sex with those types of girls is unforgettable. And most girls when they moan, it's fake. They aren't getting off. They just go on auto pilot and assume that's what guys wanna hear.
HS: To make us feel like we're doing something right.
MRM: Exactly. But most of the time you ain't doin' shit. But the girls I'm talking about, nothing is fake with them. They really feel that shit.
HS: Man you sound like the expert on this.
Robin: I know.


MRM: Haha, well I hey man I just speak from my experience but to me, honestly it is more than about sex, it is about love. That's what I want, and to be honest even though I am not in a rush to get married but at the same time I get sick of the meeting and breaking up and the whole cycle all over again...the drama. I just want the simplicity and consistency of a good relationship, be it a marriage or not just...one woman, everyday, who I know I can count on. I mean, you have Beth and you never have to wonder how she feels or where she is or what's gonna happen. That's a great feeling.
HS: It's the best.
MRM: Yea that's what I want. So that part of it, is frustrating. That fear of...when is it gonna fail? When is the other shoe gonna drop? Something always goes wrong. It's very annoying. It's like a journey and you never know when it's gonna end. Your feet get tired. Searching.
HS: Searching for love.
MRM: Yea, searching for the one, for that one woman who completes you.
Robin: You're a romantic aren't you?
MRM: Oh yea, definitely. Since day one.
HS: Do you feel your need for love and a constant relationship comes from your screwed up childhood because from what I know about you, you grew up in Beverly Hills...
MRM: Yea born in Laguna Beach, moved to Beverly Hills when I was 9...
HS: Yea, rich neighborhood....
Robin: One of the richest in the world!
HS: But your parents were crazy right? Your dad beat your mom. And your mom...who I see sometimes on what's that show...
Robin: Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
HS: Yea, does she not embarrass you on that show? I see her acting like some 16 year old school girl with all this reality show drama and I go you know, I'd slap her around my damn self. Ok I'm kidding, haha. But seriously. She's one of those rich spoiled LA women who thinks her shit don't stink and she wasn't a good mother to you, not that I condone violence against women and if her your father abused her he's a prick for doing so but you have a lot of issues with her correct?
MRM: Listen I've touched on this many times but to clear everything up, yes there was abuse in my house growing up, all of which between my mom and dad, none toward me. But it wasn't every night. It was maybe once or twice a year. Really. And we had a very privileged life. We traveled a lot. By the time I was 12 or 13 I had been to Jamaica, London, Miami, all over the U.S. We went on all sorts of cruises and trips and my parents also loved to vacation without us kids. So me and my brothers were left to my grandmother and the babysitters. But my dad is a super cool, charismatic hard working guy. Both my parents are from Ireland. My dad was born there, the 4th of 6 kids and his dad died when my dad was 9 or 10 and both my dad's older brothers were into drugs and gangs and in and out of jail. So my dad had to be the man of the house from the time he was a teenager. Never finished high school. He had to work to help his mom and give money to his sisters because if they didn't have money they'd have to get it from the local tough guys who would take advantage of them sexually. My mom was born in England, she was the result of my grandma who was 17 at the time being a mistress to a rich married man and so my grandma decided not to abort my mom but give birth to her then ship her off to Ireland with relatives. But my mom was really sick as a child. So these relatives got sick of dealing with her...
Robin: What was wrong with her?
MRM: She had really bad ear infections and would pass out alot. She'd faint and stuff. Get dehydrated a lot. Just very weak. For whatever reason. So she went to a foster home. These people thought she was adorable and had connections to get her a job as a child actor on a TV show and so my mom ended up acting as the daughter on a TV series that was essentially the Irish version of Little House on the Prairie. But she only lasted two seasons because her health became an issue and they got sick of her fainting all the time so they re-cast her. But she grew up, got better, and went to nursing school. Became a military nurse. That's how she met my dad. He almost got shot in the head by a bullet and had this huge scar on his forehead he needed stitches for. She was the nurse caring for him when he woke up from the operation or whatever and he asked her to a military dance and she said yes. They been together ever since.
HS: When did they come to America?
MRM: A few years later. They got pregnant with my oldest brother, then left him in Ireland with my grandma and came to New York. Got involved in real estate then when that got good they brought my oldest brother and my grandma to LA. That's when my other brother Joe was born and then I came along.
HS: But you said you and your mom don't get along. You said she loved your other brother more...
MRM: That was an old interview. Look, me and her had our issues and my mom has her own issues, most of which I won't get into here but she did not even know who her father was for a long time. Her and my grandma had a lot of issues because my grandma lied about my mom's true origins for years. A lot of that was covered on the housewives show. But, my mom growing up was always very critical of me and people in general. Even to how I did things as a kid because I was left handed and I was a slow learner. My oldest brother Tony and her did not get along and still don't. That story is a movie in and of itself. But as far as me and her, I was very shy growing up and just not very good at a lot of things but my middle brother Joe, he's younger than Tony and older than me, he seemed like the favorite because he was a good athlete, good with girls, good at cooking, great at helping my dad fix things around the house, just good with his hands and a quick learner. A real perfectionist and talented at everything he tried. Like right away. And my mom always compared me to him ya know? Why can't you do this like Joe? Joe would do this so much better. Blah blah blah. And I dunno but that frustrated the hell out of me.
HS: You felt she loved him more...
MRM: I dunno if that's what I consciously thought. But I just found it crazy annoying. But over the years we have gotten much closer and now we are great. We get along so well. She has changed so much as have I. We talk about everything now. She's not so judgmental anymore.
HS: What was she judgmental about?
MRM: Everything. She has an opinion about everything I did, from my acting and movie choices, to the way I spend my money, to what I eat, what I wear, who I date...just everything...and usually it was an opinion I didn't like. And she was the type who thought you're an idiot if you don't agree and I hate people like that.
Robin: But now she's lightened up.
MRM: Oh yea she's mellowed out now thank God. And our relationship is much better for it and I'm glad.



Robin: Do you ever feel like you are too open with your personal life? I mean, I hear most actors say 'oh I don't want people knowing too much about me. It ruins the illusion'...
MRM: Oh that's such bullshit. Actors who say that are full of it. I mean I respect everyone has their own opinions and stuff or whatever but I don't think that even makes any sense. I mean come on, people know we are not the characters up there on the screen. We're acting! So if someone knows nothing about your life does that mean they are really gonna think you're Abraham Lincoln or Howard Hughes? No. So that's dumb to me. In fact I like being so open because by showing people I'm human too, I have family problems too, relationship issues, other demons...it shows my fans that I am just like them, despite my fame and money, whatever it is. I am not better than you. I am you. I represent you. My fans that I have met said they love that about me. I am not fake. My music is another even better way for me to express my true self to my fans. But being honest and open in interviews is another way too. And another thing that pisses me off is when actors say 'Oh the director is so important when I pick a project' and 'I feel I need to work with such and such director'. I've never cared about who the director is. To me, a director isn't going to make me better. My co-star will make me better. Working with a DeNiro or a Pacino or a Mickey Rourke or a Denzel will make you better. No director has ever brought a good performance out of an actor. You can't make someone good or bad. They either are a good actor or they aren't. I don't need a director to direct me. I direct myself. So when actors say they make a big deal out of what filmmakers they work with, it's all prestige and ego and check listing, they just wanna be able to say 'hey I worked with Scorsese or Spielberg' or whatever. But to me, I won't feel I missed out on something just because I never got to work with a certain director. What interests me is the role. The character. The challenge of creating that character, inside and out. Then after that it's the story. Is the plot interesting. Is this a film I'd wanna sit and watch. I worked with quite a few 'legendary directors' who I thought were overrated. I've worked with first timers who were amazing.
HS: Who did you think was overrated?
MRM: Eastwood. Oliver Stone. But that's just my opinion. A lot of actors loved working with those guys. A lot of great directors I've worked with lived up to their reputation too. Ridley Scott is probably my favorite director I've ever worked with. Worked with him twice. He's just so calm and confident and knows his shit. He allows you to do what you need to do to get into the part. He doesn't force some agenda on you. Some directors have this legacy or reputation about themself and the way they like to run a set and sometimes it negatively effects your acting and your process. The best directors I always felt kept that stuff out of the way and just let the actors act. Fincher is the one guy who forced a certain pace and energy and scheduling style that actually worked for me though. He does ALOT of takes but that serves me perfectly because that's how I like to work. I love to try things over and over and refine it and refine it so that style works perfectly with me. I loved working with Fincher. He's a real dude. A pure genius. Never worked with a smarter director. DePalma is cool too. He's like your crazy funny uncle or grandfather you just wanna have a beer with and chat with. Awesome guy and awesome filmmaker.

HS: Who do you think are the top actors working right now. Gimme your top 5...
MRM: Daniel Day Lewis. Gary Oldman. Denzel. Uhh...Mickey Rourke. And Sean Penn. That's my list.
Robin: Heck of a list.
MRM: And I'm number six. haha.
HS: Oh cocky there...
MRM: Hey listen in my line of work you gotta have a swagger. You gotta be confident. I love knowing that when I walk on set, I have a bravado inside me that says 'i will straight up destroy anyone who tries to get on screen with me'. It's that simple. You gotta come ready to kill. You can't fuck around. Jennifer Lawrence. I worked with her. She doesn't fuck around. Just did a movie with Sean Penn and Gary Oldman. Those guys don't fuck around. Anya Camilla Bella, Charlize Theron, Denzel Washington, all some of the best in the business that I've worked with and they can be intimidating. Bruce Willis, just his aura and presence, was intimidating. Russell Crowe. All these guys. So you gotta go in and say to yourself, you know what. I know I'm good. I know my lines. I know my character well enough to improvise and adlib, keep my co-star on their toes. I'm intense at all times, I'm in the moment, and I'm ready to kill. I look you in the eyes as an actor and see if you're there with me. If you are I know you are ready to go. If not, then it's cake. I'm gonna embarrass you. And Jennifer Lawrence does the same thing but she will call you on it. I've never had an actor do that.
Robin: What does she do?
MRM: When you are in a scene with her and you give a false line reading, meaning you say a line but she can tell you were just, 'acting' and it didn't sound real per say, she will go off script and say something like 'I don't believe you' or 'Oh come on say that like you mean it'. That shit blew me away. I was like, 'this little bitch'. But that's who she is.

HS: What's her deal? I always wonder what these actress chicks are really like and I know she just won the Oscar and she's the new it girl or whatever but what is she really like?
MRM: Off set she is the nicest coolest most down to Earth person. She reminds me of this girl I knew in high school, and I think we all knew someone like this in high school. That girl whose kinda cute but sits in the back of the classroom who talks to no one and you think she's all weird and disturbed until you actually take the time to sit and talk to her and you realize she's the coolest and funniest person you ever met and you just have great conversation and you say to her 'damn if you just hung out with people more and showed people your personality you'd be the most popular girl in school' but she goes 'I don't give a shit about being popular'. Ya know? I mean, she eats potato chips and burps and wears sweat pants and knows comic books and laughs at the dirtiest jokes and tells even dirtier ones. She's a tomboy but sexy ya know? She's so warm and friendly, she's easy going on set, not in her head or walking around with her headphones on trying to get in her zone like so many actors do. She doesn't stress. Her method is 'do less'. She's alot like me in the fact that she doesn't like to make a big show out of 'getting into her character'. She just gets on with it. To the untrained eye it may look like she's being lazy because she doesn't like to rehearse or do a ton of research per say but her thing is being natural and in the moment and instinctual. She finds some common ground with the character and starts from there, colors it with the circumstances and certain aspects that are unique to the character and then she just LIVES IT. Most actors don't do that, they don't live it. They act it. She's different and that's what makes her special and acting with her such a breath of fresh air. What she has, what she does, you can't teach.
HS: But you said she can tell when another actor is faking it and she will call you on it.

MRM: Yea as I was saying she is like me in the sense that all that nice-ness and 'I'm putting no effort into this' attitude goes away when she gets into character and we are about to shoot. She becomes this vicious bully. She has a swagger and gets intense and becomes the character and she doesn't play. She literally switches off and becomes someone else. It's quite jarring. She's like me in the fact she treats acting like a sport. I compare her to ... haha, this is gonna sound crazy, but I compare her to Kevin Garnett. The Celtics player. He will trash talk to you to the point of tears but off the court he's your best friend. Well on set when you fuck up a line or give a fake line reading, when she calls you on it, that's her version of trash talk. She is trying to make you nervous, psych you out. Get in your head. So it makes your performance worse and her's better. It's a great trick. I hate when actors say 'oh I want to give my co-star support and make them as good as possible'. I'm like really? I'm here to make you look as bad as possible so I look good. Jennifer gets that and that's why I like her.
HS: Are you one of those types who stays in character at all times?
MRM: Yes...and no. I used to alot more but mainly what I do is I stay in the 'zone'. And to be honest most actors when they say they stay in character they don't truly mean they stay in the character and walk around thinking they are really their character. They just stay with the accent if they are using one, and maintain the mannerisms and overall energy of the character. Some will even request cast and crew continue to call them by their character's name...but I don't do that. But I do try to maintain the vibe of the character but not everything. That's too weird. It gets a little weird. I have a gift of being able to jump in and out. Not all actors can, so maybe that's why they do it.

Robin: My question is there a chick you HAVEN'T been with in Hollywood yet, haha, I mean...?
HS: Yea or better question is who do you want to bang who you haven't yet?
MRM: Aw man you're gonna get me in trouble now.
HS: Come on who haven't you banged yet that you would like to?
MRM: Uh...I have some crushes out there.
HS: Like who?
MRM: Some might sound crazy like...uh, Shannen Doherty. I always had a thing for her.
Robin: Shannen Doherty?
HS: From 90210?
MRM: Yea man she's sexy!
HS: Isn't she a little old for you?
MRM: Hey I was with Famke Janssen remember? So no. No age limit here man. Hot is hot.
HS: Who else?
MRM: Sophia Bush is sexy. You know her? She was on One Tree Hill.
Robin: One of those teen shows I presume.
HS: I'm not familiar with that show.
MRM: Yea' I'd do her. Uhh, Maria Menonous, from Extra. She's hot. And this might get me in trouble but the British actress I did this last Bond film with, Gemma Arterton. She's married but she's like my ideal woman. So classy and sexy and smart and witty. Just perfect.
HS: You got love scenes with her in that film?
MRM: Oh yea.
HS: Man that must've been hard not to mess with her huh?
MRM: Well she's married so...but yea it's definitely frustrating but what am I gonna do?
Robin: So if she was single...it'd be a different story?
MRM: Yea I would've made a move.
Robin: But Famke was married and you slept with her.
MRM: No she made the first move. That's different.
Robin: Oh she did I didn't know that.
RM: Yea she made the first move. When that happens, I'm like hey, all bets are off. But I have great respect for Gemma. And we may bring her character back in a future Bond film so I don't wanna ruin that professional relationship since we may see each other again down the road.

HS: I wanna know. Who are your Hollywood friends? I know you're best friends with James Franco...
MRM: We went to high school together.
HS: You guys still tight?
MRM: Oh yea. I mean you know how busy he is. Going to every school ever invented plus acting and everything else he is up to. But we haven't chilled in person since like December 2011 which is crazy but we spoke a few weeks ago. When we have time we hang. But yea he's my boy. Whenever I get married he's gonna be my best man. I love him like a brother.
HS: Who in Hollywood are you close with though? Do you hang with a certain crowd? Do you have any beefs? Any enemies?
MRM: I don't think I have any beefs or enemies. Well other than the people from The Best Tears, but they don't matter, haha. As far as friends, no there's no crowd I hang with. No celebs that you'd know who I would say I'm good friends with outside of James and Olivia and Scarlett. I mean, I met DiCaprio in 2006 at a Lakers game and ever since we been cool. We worked on Inception together a couple years ago. Gosling and I became cool when we did a movie called Brotherly Love back in 2010. Uh...but no I don't hang with them on a regular basis. We just keep in touch and stuff. I call a true friend someone I see and speak to on a regularly basis. There are a lot of actors in Hollywood I have their phone numbers and when I happen to see them I am friendly with them...but that doesn't make you my friend.
HS: So who are your friends?
MRM: I don't really have friends, haha. Sounds sad I know.
Robin: Really?
MRM: I spend my time working or with my Chants of Reign band. I guess you could say they're my friends. Franco is my friend. And whoever I'm dating. That is usually who I spend most of my time with. Which is why when I am single I'm miserable because when I'm dating that person becomes my world and when I'm not, I have absolutely nothing to do, haha.
HS: That's not good man, you need to get a life.
MRM: Haha I know right. But I've always been that way. I've never been much of a 'go get the boys together and hang out' kinda guy. Even back in high school. You can ask James. It's usually James who calls me up and says hey let's hang out and I have to reluctantly say yes. Me, him and Alex his brother used to hang out a lot. Us and Alex's friends. Or a few friends from L.A. that James has. He has a lot of friends. But I like to hang with girls. I like that energy. I prefer the company of women than men. I don't know if that makes me weird, but that's just how I am.


HS: So be honest with me...you're not a sex addict anymore?
MRM: No that's been over with. I got that under control. Not an issue anymore.
HS: You over Mel? Really over her? Because how do you get over something like that when you put someone's name on your neck...I still don't understand that...?
MRM: Listen and I don't wanna...look, haha. I mean, I'll put it this way. When I look at my other exes, see pictures of them or whatever ... it's like whatever...I feel nothing. Or at times I even feel...wow, what was I thinkin'? Ya know, haha?
HS: Who do you look back on and think...'what was I thinkin'?
MRM: Haha, I can't say...
HS: Come on who?
MRM: I guess Leighton Meester. Demi Lovato. Audrina. Mila Kunis. That's the few I can name off the top of my head...but everyone else it's just numb, it's like nothing...but..
HS: When you look at Mel...
MRM: Yea I dunno what. It's like...I know I'm over her but when I see photos of her or hear her interviewed or like this year at the Oscars when she presented and I sat there and looked up at her on that stage, just moments like that...you feel...
HS: Your feelings start to come back.
MRM: Well no I wouldn't say that but you're just reminded of why you fell so hard and she's just...I mean the girl is fine okay. She's just, she's perfect.
HS: She's perfect!?
MRM: Haha yea I mean, she's got an energy about her that can be addicting. Her accent, her swagger, her mystery. Her confidence. Her free spirit attitude. She's very deep. She writes some of the sickest poetry I've ever seen. She's intelligent, which is rare these days in beautiful women. She's very confident in her opinions. She has a strange and fascinating way at looking at life. She walks into a room and owns it without saying a word. I mean Jake Scott, the guy left his wife and kids for her. Who does that?
HS: She must be great in the sack? Is she?
MRM: Haha. She's no gymnast. Like I said, girls who have that look in their eyes, it's intense. It's sensual. It means something. That's my style.
HS: What is she like in bed? I need to know. Because she just LOOKS kinky.
MRM: She's into...she likes......
HS: What is it?
Robin: You ok?
MRM: I don't wanna talk about it.
HS: What do you mean you don't wanna talk about it?
MRM: I'm just sick of it man. I'm sick of talking about her. It's like enough already, I don't wanna go back there.
Robin: Easy now.
HS: Yea I don't want you kickin' my ass.
MRM: I'm sorry it's just not my favorite subject.
HS: But she was the love of your life! Come on. You're telling me that thing you have for her is dead?
MRM: Yes.
HS: Bull shit. Doesn't sound like it to me.
Robin: A few minutes ago you said she was perfect.
MRM: That doesn't mean anything...it just means.
HS: Mike. Be honest with us and with yourself. You are still in love with her.
MRM: Listen. Here is what I will say. You asked me about sex addiction before. Here's the deal. The truth is I have a few addictions I battle everyday. I try my hardest to resist the temptation and so far I'm succeeding. Sex addiction, pills, and Mel. Those are my three addictions that I fight everyday and the more I focus on it the worse it is so that's why I said I don't wanna talk about it. If I sit here and say yea she likes ecstasy while she fucks, she likes to be choked, she likes to go all night, she likes S&M, she likes monkeys and kittens, I mean, what does that do for you? What does that do for me other than bring back bad memories? Or good memories I don't wanna remember? I mean it's weird because I can sit here and talk about sex over and over and then relapse with sex addiction and start having crazy meaningless sex again. With pills I can talk about it here and start abusing them again. With her, there's nothing I can do. I can't call her up. She won't answer. So I can't even relapse. I can't satisfy that. Which makes it torture. So why go there? Like that's a serious serious serious issue with me. I don't wanna take myself there. I really don't.
HS: So she's into S and M and all that shit?
MRM: Haha. No I was making most of that up. Wow, after all that that's all you heard?
Robin: I know this guy is pouring his heart out to you and all you hear Howard is S and M.
HS: I'm a perv. I can't help it. But you are telling me if she walked in this room right now and said Mike let's be together you would say no?
MRM: That would never happen. What's the point in considering something that is impossible?
HS: Oh come on. I am giving you a hypothetical.
MRM: It wouldn't work. Listen. She is a very moody and complicated person. We had violent arguments. I mean really bad. We fought all the time.
HS: Then why did you love her so much if you guys made each other so miserable?
MRM: That's the thing, like, I dunno if it was even love. I mean yea we got along in spurts. For 30 seconds or up to 30 minutes even we'd get along great. You saw the show. And those moments would be like heaven. But they didn't last. If she was like that all the time, we'd be together now. But her mood swings killed it. We were one of those couples that fought all the time and were terribly abusive toward each other, verbally, mentally, physically. It was awful. We hurt each other all the time. It wasn't healthy. And who knows if we tried to date if it would work. She was not an easy person to be around. She is very up and down, hot and cold. One minute she is being nice and sweet and open and the next you can say the wrong thing, the littlest thing and she flies off the handle. And I'm not the most patient person in the world and I don't take kindly to being treated like shit when I treat you like you are the queen of the universe so when you mix someone like me who gives 100% and expects it back and someone like her who pushes people's buttons for the heck of it with zero remorse, it's not a good combo. And we both have vicious vicious tempers. And she's a manic depressive, bi-polar. I grew up around that and they aren't easy people to be around all day everyday.
HS: Your mother...
MRM: Yea...so...
HS: Do you think that is part of why you fell so hard in love with her? Because she reminds you of your mom?
MRM: Come on man. I dunno...
Robin: He might be on to something there.

HS: But let me ask this and I promise I will get off the topic before you beat me to death, haha. What on Earth possesses you to tattoo her name on your neck? That was just insane!
MRM: I know. I didn't care. Look this is how I explain it to people. I felt this huge sense of both pride, selfishness, possessiveness, and loss at that moment. It was like, I had this huge sense of pride that this awesome sexy enigmatic creation of a woman was mine and in my life at one point. I had her. But I lost her. And she wasn't coming back. I physically couldn't bring her back. No amount of convincing could get her back in my life. So I felt I had to do something...
HS: To literally keep her with you.
MRM: Yes. Exactly. So it was like a symbol in a way I guess. I wanted something to show her and the world and maybe ultimately myself, at one moment in time, I had you, and I have this tattoo on my neck to remind you and myself and the world and I put it on my neck because the neck is a very visible place. I didn't wanna hide it. I was proud of it. The neck is a very sensual erogenous zone. Your vital vein is there. So it just seemed like the right place to do it. I know it sounds crazy but to me, it was better than the main reason people get tattoos of someone's name. Usually it is when they are still together and...
HS: And they assume this will last forever so let me tattoo their name on my body.
MRM: Yea, it's stupid. Now granted coming from me and what I did, maybe I shouldn't judge, haha. But, in hind sight looking back on it yea maybe what I did was just a different type of stupid but at the time I didn't see it that way. I didn't see it like those other tattoos where you get it while you are with someone hoping it lasts. This was different. This was, 'I know it's over, physically. But you will never leave me, because of this tattoo. you can never leave me. you're still mine'. Ya know? I dunno. It was like if I can't have you, at least I can have this ink on my neck, haha. Ya know?
HS: I see what you're saying.
MRM: Yea I mean in my last James Bond film Quantum of Solace, Bond loved this chick and during their relationship she gave him a necklace. Well she didn't give it to him willingly, but it was something she wore and after she died he kept it as a reminder of her. But in many relationships there are little things like that. Little trinkets or gifts or things. Jewelry or whatever. That the person gave to you or you kept from your time together and you hold on to it as a memory. You may even wear it. But in our relationship she never gave me anything. I had nothing to remember her by, so I decided to give myself something to remember her by. And again, it was a pride thing too. Not bragging but it was like I wanted to remind the world. Okay, she left me, but at one point she was mine. Here, look it's written all over my neck. I mean, imagine being that obsessed and infatuated with someone, that even after they leave you, you are so caught up in how fucking awesome it was to have them, how much you defined your own happiness and self worth and swagger by being WITH THEM, that you felt you had to plaster their name or face or likeness on your body in permanent ink just to remind yourself and the world, 'Hey, that hot piece of perfection over there, I had her, I loved her, and I want everyone to know'. I dunno. That's the best way I can explain it.

HS: Well you finally got smart and got rid of it.
MRM: Yea I did. I'm glad I did. Kind of.
HS: Don't tell me you regret getting rid of it.
MRM: I miss it sometimes. But that's just the side of me that's addicted to her and the side of me that doesn't give a shit what people think. But then I listen to the other half of my brain that realized, there's no way another woman is going to take me serious that I am moved on and ready to love someone new with that girl's name on my body.
HS: So that's why you got rid of it, for other women. To show them...
MRM: That I'm over her. Yea.
HS: Well, I dunno. Doesn't sound like it to me. But what do I know?
MRM: Well you also have to remember, I was on some heavy drugs when I got that tattoo so I wasn't thinking very clearly, haha.

HS: So you still into drugs? I know you've done coke, pills, what you doin' now?
MRM: I never got into coke or weed. Tried them but they never really did anything for me. Didn't get me that high. But pills for some reason got to me.
HS: You had to go to rehab.
MRM: Oh yea. Everyone's body is different and certain drugs just click with you.
HS: So you did ecstasy or pain killers or what?
MRM: Pain killers.
HS: What do those do for you? I never understood the high of that?
MRM: Well it's not like other drugs. As I'm sure you know a lot of people get injuries in life and get prescribed vicodin or percosets by doctors and they get hooked. I started off the opposite way. I did a movie long time ago called 16 Grams where I started doing drugs for the first time and that was one of them.
HS: Vicodin?
MRM: Yea. I started taking it to get high and that's the one drug that I continued to use over the years. It was at it's worst the summer and fall of 2008 after The Best Tears said I wasn't coming back and that's when I went to rehab that fall and winter going into 2009. I got better. Then I had some injuries making The Fighter. Mark Wahlberg hit me with a left and caught my jaw on the right and shattered it.
Robin: Oh!!!
HS: My God!
MRM: Yea. Worst pain ever. I mean you can't even imagine. So I started taking pills again for that.
HS: Gets you right back in the addiction.
MRM: Yea because it wasn't just that. It was a string of things. Because in 2009 I had Inception where I worked with Mel again and that got me back on coke and pills and then on Alien: Genesis I broke my feet when I wrecked a bike. That brought the pills back and this was in 2011 and then just recently while filming Truth or Die, the Phone Booth sequel, I had a penis injury where my groin got smashed up because of a harnass I was wearing while standing up on that ledge.
HS: You injured your penis? You ok?
MRM: Yea I'm taking tons and tons of pills. Pain killers. Nerve damage pills. Scar tissue pills. It was pretty bad but the good news is it's getting better. But I had to abstain from all sex and masturbation for a few weeks.
HS: Oh my God! You have nerve damage in your dick?!
MRM: Yea in my dorsal nerve, that's the nerve on the top of your shaft.
HS: So what's the deal, you can't get it up or what?
MRM: Oh no, that's not the problem. Erection is still as good as ever. I can fuck ... I can cum. It's just the sensitivity in the shaft is like, 60% of what it should be so slowly that is coming back.
HS: But what is the high from pain killers?
MRM: Well it's like this...pain killers numb whatever part of your body is aching but when nothing is aching and you just pop them they go to random parts of your body, for me it's usually my back, and there is this weird almost subtle vibrating feeling. You get these little tingles. It's less of a high and more of a physical zen relaxation thing. Like ancupunture. It's weird to explain, but it feels good.


HS: So let's switch gears here. James Bond and then you say you are getting bored with acting.
Robin: Yea are you retiring?
MRM: There's more to life than acting. I love it, but, there's more to life.
HS: Moneyball. What's the plot of this one?
MRM: Basically this one takes place a few months after the events of Quantum of Solace, the last film. Bond is still emotionally reeling from what happened with Tracy from the last film, Rachel Stevens' character, betraying him and he he's hurt by that. He has some trust issues with women you can say, which I can certainly relate to, haha. And so it opens with him on a mission with a 00 agent in training and she makes a mistake and shoots him by accident and I spend much of the film injured because of this. Meanwhile Javier Bardem is the villain, a guy named Max Amilion and he is this billionaire businessman who puts a good portion of his fortune in this giant round vault and it gets hijacked during a flight and gets lost. There's a big twist about what his motives are behind all this and a bunch of secrets from M's past back to haunt her, she's my boss played by Judie Dench, and she is also dealing with a health issue in this film. And Bond teams up with another agent who starts to fall for him but he is emotionally closed off. So a bunch of stuff going on. It's gonna be great.
HS: Is it true Sean Connery makes a cameo?
MRM: Can't say. Just see the film.
HS: So this is your second time playing James freakin' Bond. Does it still trip you out? You're 007.
MRM: I pinch myself everyday. This character defined my childhood. I never had any idea there would be a chance of an American playing Bond, a guy young like me, me at all. I have to thank Chris Nolan for having the faith in me to pull this off. It's truly the role of a lifetime and a true honor to play this part, be apart of the timeless franchise, and be mentioned in the same breath as the great actors who've played him before. It's a dream come true, it really is.

HS: But you don't want to act anymore? What is this? Don't quit man. You're the only actor in this generation who really reminds me of the good old days. When actors were real actors. Ya know?
MRM: Honestly I'm bored with it man. I'm just, I want something new to stimulate me. music does that. And that's why I'm doing a comedy. I'm doing a movie soon called Ted next written and directed by Seth McFarlane where I play a stoner Boston guy who is friends with a talking teddy bear and we smoke weed together and hit on hot girls together and it's really raunchy and the crap we get into is pissing off my girlfriend who is played by Amy Adams and she wants me to grow up and she wants to move in and all this stuff. It's really hilarious and I have never done a comedy and I'm terrified but I'm so excited.
HS: That sounds interesting.
MRM: Yea and after that I shoot two more Bond films. But outside of that I'm taking a break and getting my life in order. I'm not acting as much as I used to, that's all I meant. I'm not retiring. I'm 29 years old. That's a little young to hang 'em up.
HS: But it's not fun for you anymore? What is it?
MRM: I've done it all. I've worn all the make up. Played all the villains. Played the hero. Been romantic. Been tough. Been the shy guy. After I do Ted, I honestly don't know what I haven't tried. And honestly, I went into acting for very personal reasons. I never wanted fame. I never got into this for money. My family has money. I came into this for almost self therapeutic reasons. I needed to channel my rage. I had so much anger inside me that if I didn't have acting to focus it, I swear I would have killed someone by now. I mean that.
Robin: Wow.
HS: You had that much anger?
MRM: Oh yea.
HS: From your issues with your mom and just your parents being so fucked up and stuff?
MRM: Yea and not just that but everything. Problems at home. Problems at school. Being bullied. Being rejected by girls. Self esteem issues with my body. How skinny I was. The sound of my voice. Everything that was bothering me.
HS: And now you feel...acting doesn't do it for you anymore?
MRM: It's weird, acting used to be this thing I felt I NEEDED to do to get that side out but I feel I have let it all out and there's nothing left. Am I 100% healed from all my issues? No. But I dunno, I just feel as if I have done all I can with acting and it isn't working. Or I've vented all I need to vent and now I have music to express myself in a much more healthier way. To be honest this is really the first time I am analyzing it this deeply. The best way I can describe it is...you know when I did a movie like say Malibu's Most Wanted, a film I did back in 2006 with Bruce Willis and Emile Hirsch and Justin Timberlake and Olivia Wilde, I played a neo-nazi skinhead guy. I had this screaming scene at the very end and scenes like that, were like sex to me. That's why I got into acting. To do scenes like that. Afterwards I felt a release like you wouldn't believe. It was therapy. But now, I feel if I did a scene like that today, not only would it be pointless but it would be embarrassing. It doesn't help. I've outgrown the need to yell my problems away. They're still there. You have to actively change your life and the way you behave. That's how you grow. No amount of drugs or sex or partying or kissing actresses in fake love scenes or screaming in rage is gonna make your real life problems go away. I see that now. Acting was a placebo that I finally see through now. It did nothing. It was a distraction. I don't know how or when I made this realization in the past few months but I did and now that I see that acting isn't my therapy anymore, it's like a veil has been lifted and the illusion is gone. Now acting has become a JOB. I go to set, I say my lines. I go home. I don't want acting to become that. So until it becomes something more to me again, why do it, ya know?
Robin: Ok so let me get this straight. You started acting not for the love of it but to channel your rage?
MRM: Right.
Robin: But now you wanna quit, not because the rage is gone but because you realized acting isn't working in helping you with your rage and demons?
MRM: Right. Music is. It's like this. Acting was a girl A girl I was dating and fucking because I thought to myself, fucking her will make me happy and take my sadness away. But over time I realized after years of fucking her, I was still as sad as before. Then I meet this new girl called music, and after one kiss, most of my pain starts to go away, slowly but surely. And I go 'Ah-Hah'. So let me focus on this new girl and leave this old girl called acting alone for a while, ya know? I mean I could keep fucking this old girl, but it wouldn't be because I really care about her, it would just be because I have nothing better to do. But that's not fair to her, ya know?
Robin: And that's your band you have?
MRM: Chants of Reign. Yea.

HS: So what's the deal with this band? Chants of Reign is the name. You goin' all rock star now? Like that guy...Jared Leto?

MRM: My band, Chants of Reign...is literally an extension of who I am as an actor and overall artist. In my acting I'm a chameleon, changing how I look and act from role to role, and musically my band is the same way, changing our sound from album to album. No band has ever done that. It's exciting and the beautiful thing is our fans love it and really support it. I love that. They are willing to ride with us and trust us on whatever type of music we bring. On June 4th we drop our third album Ill Escape. It's a fun album. It's a relaxing album. It has alot of techno and trance instrumentals as well as regular songs. The first single has been out for about a month now and it's doing real well. The second and third singles have already been chosen. The next one is a party club track with a sick beat and the third track is probably one of the deepest and realest songs we've ever done as a band and I think any guy or girl who has ever been trapped in the dreaded friend zone will be able to really relate to it. But I just love making music, I love touring, performing. I never ever expected to be in a band but this music, it found me.

Robin: How? When did you decide...I wanna sing in a band?

MRM: Back in 2008 I went to rehab for pill addiction and and wrote songs to help me deal with everything I was going through. To be honest one of the biggest musical influences of our band and that first album was Kanye West's "808's and Heartbreak". Remember he released 3 albums before that which were just rap albums and I wasn't really his biggest fan but then he dropped that, which was this super auto tuned depressing techno sounding album with him singing about loss and pain and it was one of the most, in my opinion, creative and revolutionary albums of all time. I really believe that. I listened to it over and over in rehab and it painted such an epic and vivid picture of depression and despair and I wanted to create an album like that, but a rock version. So anyway, I wasn't sure if a whole album would be made but I just started writing and writing and I ended up writing a song called With This Knife and that leaked and the response was insane. People really really loved it. So I kept writing more and more and decided, I need to do something with all this material. It's funny how this has all grown. I wasn't gonna even make a full album. I was just gonna make that one video for With This Knife and then next thing you know I met these guys who wanted to make a band with me and I became compelled with this notion of marking that moment in time and forming a group with the sole purpose...the SOLE PURPOSE, of creating the most depressing album of all time. And that's it. I had no intention of making anymore albums. So we formed the group, made our album These Empty Streets and the Lonely Heart That Still Beats. Our second single was our biggest hit to date...a super sad track called Love Misled which many of our fans have tattooed on their bodies and have said is their favorite song of all time. That song really struck a chord with people. And then I kind of woke up out of my funk and got back to acting for a few years. And next thing ya know 3 years goes by and I get the urge to make music again. But happy music this time. So I spent 2011 and 2012 working on new material with the group and we put together our second album. That came out last September and we toured in the fall and to be honest, Ill Escape wasn't supposed to be a full album with actual songs. It was gonna be some little filler thing we put out there just with instrumental tracks our DJ James was gonna do and it was gonna hold our fans over until our 2014 R and B/Funk album. But James met all these producers and writers who kept giving him these unfinished tracks and he'd send them to me and he'd be like 'Mike these tracks are fuckin' awesome and they'd be even better with a verse here or a hook here'...because alot of these songs had the hook but no verses, or verses but no hook. And next thing you know the album has a bunch of songs with lyrics as well as instrumentals and we decided okay let's make a real album out of this. But we're very meticulous about what we do with our music. We plan our singles out, our albums out. The fourth album will be out next February, it's gonna be a very romantic and sensual album for people who are in love and in relationships. It's gonna have an all R and B and funk/jazz type sound. Very mellow. It's called The Last Romantic Left & His Phunky Phresh Phlow. We've already begun writing that and we start recording officially in LA this fall. Then our next album after that for 2015 or 2016 will be an all reggae album, inspired by 311, 420, Wayne Wonder, the Beach Boys, of course Bob Marley. So we keep it rollin' and we keep our fans happy with constant good music. We took a lot of time off between the first and second album so I guess we're making up for lost time, haha.

Robin: But when did you find out you can sing?

MRM: Well when I was in high school I did a play, a musical for Lion King. That was my first time ever acting and that's also when I discovered I had a good singing voice. Then in 2005 I played Elvis Presley in Ring of Fire, got nominated for an Oscar and won the Golden Globe for that, I really sang my parts in that. 2 years later I played a rock singer in August Rush, a movie I did in 2007, I also sang my parts in that. So I knew I had that skill and when I was in rehab in 2008 and started writing those songs it was just a natural fit.

HS: Well they are telling me you gotta go so I just want to leave you with this...please don't leave acting. Keep making these great films. Keep acting and giving us these great performances. The music is great and all but acting is your true calling. We look forward to Moneyball. I'm hearing great things. And please come back again soon. You really are one of my favorites. I know we have some callers who wanna ask you some questions but we we are all out of time. Thanks for coming by.

MRM: Thanks for having me. Hey now!
HS: Hey now! We will be right back after...these words!