The Royals of Malibu - THE ROYAL BOYS E12 - w/ the Royal Father, Callum!

Episode Date: February 5, 2024

Callum Royal, aka Armen Taylor (@armentaylor), joins his fake sons on this week's episode. Listen as the guys discuss makeup for babies, being broken up with, and playing a family in the show. Every Monday, brothers Chris and Nick Cafero (who play Reed and Easton respectively) will sit down and chat all things Royals season 2, starting with episode 1.  Listen along as they rehash each episode, tell stories, and even bring on guests to discuss the Royal tea.   **LISTEN TO EACH NEW EPISODE OF THE ROYAL BOYS ONE WEEK EARLY ON PATREON**     • Follow [The Royals of Malibu on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/theroyalsofmalibu/) • Follow [The Royals of Malibu on TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@theroyalsofmalibu) • Explore more: [diversionaudio.com](https://diversionaudio.com)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don't know how to get your royal fix after the season finale of the Royals of Malibu? Well, we've got a solution for you. Hi, I'm Nick Caferro and I play Eastern Royal. And I'm Chris Caferro and I play Reed Royal and yes, we are actually brothers in real life too. The rumors are true. Join us every Monday as we re-listen to season 2 and give our own reactions on each episode. We'll also have some very special guests. We'll discuss themes from the episode and so much more. Don't tell them what the much more is. Otherwise, they won't listen. I know. I wasn't going to. I was going to. It's a little cliffhanger. I was just going to say so much more, but they've got to tune in to find out what the more is. Well, where are they going

to do that? You know what? I'm going to tell you right now. Listen to the Royal Boys every Monday on the Royals of Malibu podcast feed on Apple podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you get your podcasts. That's the same place you always listen to the Royals of Malibu. See you there. Bye bye. Hey I'm Chris Caffero and I'm Nick Caffero. And I'm Nick Caffero. We are Real Life Brothers who play fake life brothers read and Easton Royal on the hit podcast, The Royals of Malibu. On this companion podcast, we'll be doing a deep dive into each episode given behind

the scenes insights, talking to some special guests and maybe even having some laughs along the way. Welcome to The Royal Boys. Nicholas, what's up, buddy? Hello, Christopher. Dude, it's our second to last episode, our penultimate episode of the season. You know what I'm gonna say?

What are you gonna say? Can you even believe it? I can't believe it, Nick. When are you gonna start believing? I don't know. I mean, it's done. We're done. We did it. It's like... Yeah, that's true.

We have a great interview lined up with a very special guest, but first, we have a little bit of housekeeping before we jump into the episode. I'm not sweeping your floor again. You have to clean the bathroom at least. I'll do your laundry. Okay, first of all,

Lasagna of the Week goes to my brother. What? Yeah, I'm giving you the Lasagna. Why? Because we can announce and it will air accordingly. You are currently filming a role on the hit television show, Grey's Anatomy. Oh, thank you very much. That's so friggin' cool, dude. Thank you. Yeah, very cool. I'm very, very lucky. So be sure to watch our sweet, sweet, nicky boy on Grey's Anatomy in what, in April, maybe? Late March? No, I think the season premieres in late March, and then I'm at Episode 4, I believe.

Episode 4 of this new season. I'm so excited. You've heard the voice. Now you get to see the face. Oh, wow. Thank you. Thank you. Brace yourself it is it is quite a mug. No no the Grey's Anatomy has a great makeup department. So they fixed it up nice. They fixed up Nick's Anatomy. And secondly and I think it's safe for us to announce we have a very exciting very special guest for our final episode which will be airing a week after this episode. That's true. Who's it gonna be Nick? Don't know if I should say it. Okay, I'm gonna say it the one the only Ella Sinclair herself Alyssa McKay is joining us

Yeah, oh, I'm so excited. It's the perfect way to wrap up an amazing season finale. But we're so excited to have her. But first, let's not get ahead of ourselves because we have a really great episode lined up right now. Yeah, you're going to recognize this guest as soon as he speaks. He's got that sweet, sweet velvet. And it's not me. Nick, you want to lead us in and introduce our guest? Absolutely. I do. He's got that sweet sweet velvet and it's not me

Nick you want to lead us in and introduce our guest absolutely. I do our next guest Needs no introduction. You will recognize him by his beautiful voice Just about every single guest we've had is asked about him and this iconic voice that he So generously shared with the show ladies and gentlemen give it up for the voice of Callum Royal, Mr. Harmon Taylor. Hi, nice to meet you all. I knew it! I knew it, dude! Yeah, it's all fake! Oh, there it is. It's all fake.

Harmon, thank you so much for joining us. Guys, thanks for having me. My sons. In our first season, we've had a lot of really cool, fun, different guests from different walks of life and everything. But I think Nick and I will agree when you have someone from the show, it's a lot of fun because you have a shorthand and you can talk about the juicy stuff. So we're so happy to have you. And we were so lucky to work

with you on two seasons. You were asked about all the time. Yeah, we were very lucky to work with you. You are like the epitome of a professional. Oh, that's very nice. So are you both? I mean, usually we're fantastic. It's weird that you're not wearing a shirt right now, actually, because you usually are so professional. So if listeners, Armin is not sure. He's very odd that I'm just. And he has a single piercing going through both of his nipples.

It's wild. Both nipples, yeah, yeah. They call that the laundry line. Yeah, you can do like a pull up off of it if you want to. And I have as your son. But the truth is, you're wearing a beautiful sweater and you are in a, what looks to be a beautiful sound studio. You definitely have the best setup

of anyone we've spoken to yet. Yeah, that's where I do most of my job from, so yeah. Yeah, well, let's start there. Let's start with there with the voice of God. Where else do you use this thing? Uh, I'm in, uh, I do a lot of video games, um, commercials, uh, promos for AMC. Um, and he's the voice of Nicole Kidman in the AMC. Uh, I am the voice of Nicole Kidman.

Yes. Uh, because here they are. Yes. It feels better when it's painful. Hot break feels good in a place like this. Yes, that's the line. I'm also the Hulk in Spidey and his amazing friends on Disney Junior. So if you want to have a kid or a nephew or a niece or someone who watches that show,

you might have heard me. Can we get a little taste? Uh, oh, hi Spidey, how's it going? We had to make the whole kind of like, not too aggressive, cause you know, kids. I love it. That's amazing. I love it. There's a little like Patrick from SpongeBob in there.

Yeah, a little bit. Yeah, we kind of doped him up a little bit because it's not like marijuana dope. Oh, again, old man phrase. Like marijuana dope. Yeah, a little bit. Yeah, we kind of doped him up a little bit because not like marijuana dope. Oh, again, old man phrase like marijuana. Old man alarm. You're so fucking old. You can smoke in those weed sticks. You're doing the refuck. The devil's lettuce. Armin, you are definitely the most accomplished voiceover actor in the cast. So you and you brought that level of knowledge and professionalism with you into the booth, which was really great to feed off of and really set a great example for everyone else.

My question about this voice and not to like keep harping on your beautiful velvety deep voice, but I'm curious to know. But you can if you want. At what age did it drop to where it is now? Because I love this idea of it dropping before you fully went through puberty and you being like a, oh, you're also very tall for our viewers. You being like 6'3 pre-pubescent and just talking like this. No, sadly, it did get deep, I guess, in high school or something.

My growth spurt, like in fifth grade, most of the girls were my height or maybe even taller. And then in seventh grade, I was the tallest person in the class. So it was a quick acceleration. Hit my head a lot getting into cars because I misjudged the height of things. Bam! Ah, fuck! But no, my voice was, I think,

kind of the normal teenage boy voice. I think I got deeper later, I think. I don't recall being like, hey. Nick, what do you say we hop into this epi? Yeah, I think we hop right into it. I mean, this is very serendipitous. I've said this a lot with our guests, but yes, episode 12. I'm going fucking nuclear.

Wow. Good title. So we know this is going to be a crazy one. And this this episode actually takes a turn that we're not used to. It's only happened once before we start in a different POV. We start from Brooks different POV. We start from Brooke's point of view. The voice actress, Burgundy Trejo Phoenix, who did an incredible job as Brooke. And we start with her kind of treating herself in a bathtub. And she's talking about all the stress that she has. She says there's nothing better than taking your fake baby bump off at the end of a long day which I can

Totally relate to I don't know about you Armin Yes, well Nick you do it so that you can get a seat on the subway and you know people treat you different Yeah, it's it's people just stare at me like I'm a freak but you know well Because you live up north in Seattle where they're notoriously regressive and. Yes, exactly. Yes. Yeah. It's the most cripplingly conservative state in the year. Yeah, that's what they say. Rainy and conservative.

And no. But yeah, terrible. But so well, that would have been how I enjoyed the bathtub with a cup of coffee, but Brooks enjoying it with some wine and a lot of stuff goes on here. She like because we ended the last episode on that cliffhanger of the baby not being real. And now we fully know the story. It's fake. She's like, Callum always wonders why I stay in my condo alone most nights because obviously she's hiding it from him. And then we get a phone call from Dina.

Chris, you wanna take it from here? Well, real quickly, two things. First of all, I wanna say I'm a bath guy. And like a lot of people are not, I don't have a bathtub in my current apartment, but I did in my last one in New York. And it was wonderful. And people make fun of me, including my girlfriend.

She thinks baths are gross, cause she was like, it's just people's soup. You're just like stewing in your own soup. And I'm like, that's not true. I mean, it is a little true, but bath, any bathers here? Well, I've had people's soup before. So I don't appreciate her calling baths that. That's first off.

Second, they sell it at Wendy's. Was it Tacey? Yeah. Wendy's? Do they? Wendy's. Say it Wendy's. Wendy's. And it's called chili. Remember when they found a finger in the chili or like a rumored?

Wendy's is not a sponsor. Certainly not now. That was one of those rumors that went around like every school everywhere in America at the same time, right? Yeah. Which by the way, isn't it a miracle that I mean, here at Old Man Alarm? You're so fucking old. We didn't have social media to the extent we were in high school.

And we still got shit that like other schools and other states got. It's amazing how the original social media was just like going to summer camp and hearing your one your one friend whose parents didn't care about him, who like had porn, who was like, this is what porn is. Yeah. And and like how every school and everyone heard the rumor that Marilyn Manson removed one of his or two of his ribs or something. Yes. Yes. Everyone knew that as facts. Like that was fact when you are

a kid of our age. So funny. So anyway, I'm a bath guy. I'm a big proponent of baths. Everyone should take more baths. I love baths too, but I don't take one because I have a roommate. And it's just like if I had my own home with a nice clean bath, I totally would take more baths. I love baths too, but I don't take one because I have a roommate. And it's just like if I had my own home with a nice clean bath, I totally would take more. Yeah, cleanliness is a major factor in the bath game. Yeah, I just like the sensation of running water like going over me so much.

Like, yes, baths are nice, but like they're very relaxing. But I just like the process of being under like a big stream of running water. It's like delightful. Yeah. And that's why you live in Seattle. The other thing I want to say is, you know, she's living this fake pregnancy lie. I and Nick, you said you're not a good liar earlier. And I'm not a great liar because the stress of having to maintain a lie. Could you imagine having to maintain a lie of this magnitude? So my question is like, for either of you, can you think of a time where you have a very stressful lie that you had to sort of maintain?

No, because I'm not good at lying. So I usually don't. Yeah, that's. Or like if I do, I have to come clean pretty quickly. Yeah, I definitely, totally, relatively benign. I remember having two, because I didn't do as well in school as I should have, one year. I remember in like fifth grade, like running up to the mailbox to intercept the report card from my like elementary school so I could just double check it.

And it wasn't great or like something like that. It either wasn't great or like I needed to explain something. So I like hid it in my room to buy myself time. And that was the most stressful like 24 hours of my life as a fifth grader. I was like, I can't live with myself. Like this is too much. Like every time my parents walked in my room,

I just imagined their eyes were like, boom. There behind the cushion. There, there's the report card. No, so I don't know how Brooke does it. I mean, the amount of I remember actually being in the the studio thinking about this of like, how do you explain to your fiancee why you are leaving every single night for months on end? Like, how often does that escalate into babe?

You're being ridiculous. Like why don't you just stay? Or like why don't I come with you? And she's like, no, I need my, like the lie that you would then have to build upon, to build upon and like the amount of stress and like having to change stories each time would be just. But also what does it say about your character?

Oh, that I'm like, hey babe are you, what? Sorry, I'm on the phone. Yeah, exactly. John settling a deal in Escondido. Yeah, that Callum'm like, hey, babe, are you, what? Sorry, I'm on the phone. Yeah, exactly. John settling a deal in Escondido. Yeah, that Callum's like, I get the bed to myself. Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

I don't think Callum's losing too much on that. I think he's a little annoyed and then he's like, it's not losing sleep. If anything, he's gaining sleep because he gets to the bed to himself. Truly. Truly. I imagine Callum has a fuck you huge bed. Yeah. Bigger than a Cal King. Like it's just like most of a room is a bed. The Callum King. The

Malibu King. But your right line is stressful and that's pretty much what the whole first half of this episode is is how she's dealing with the stress and she's doing it with baths and drinking wine and taking gummies. And then it get weed gummies or those, those marijuana weed gummies, as you would say, old man alarm. The devil's lettuce. The stress is getting even more difficult when Dynacals are, and is like, you said you were going to release a self tape, a sex tape, self tape, Jesus Christ. Self tape, this audition. Tell me you're an actor without Tell me you're an actor,

tell me you're an actor. Yeah, yeah. Brooke Royal, five six, seeking representation. But Dyn is like, where's the sex tape? I need it for the lawsuit. Brooke is kind of having second thoughts and then it's finally like, listen, you want the video, fine,

but then you have to find me a real baby. Which is insane. I get you baby. Yeah, I get you baby. Yeah. I get you baby. I got a baby guy? What kind? Give me the specs, I'll get you a baby by noon.

Just brings in a baby that looks nothing like it could possibly be related to her. What? And Callum wouldn't even know because he'd be on his phone. You didn't specify. Oh yeah, no it isn't. But the thing that made me laugh is

in this scene, Brooke's like, don't pity me. And I'm like, were we? Was anybody pitying her? I don't know. No part of me felt pity at that moment. That is a very funny character trait to be like, whenever you guys don't pity me. And everyone's like, no one pities you.

We hate you. That is quite a manipulative setup, though. You know, like get me a baby and you'll get your tape. And I like when we see Brooke be like manipulative and conniving and kind of good at what she's doing. We saw it a few episodes ago where we caught Ella going through her stuff, but it would be so easy to paint the bro character

as like this oblivious, Malibu, stuck up, but she's smart and she's shrewd and I like that aspect of it. Yeah, definitely with both with the writing, I mean, to create that character, but then also Burgundy, like what she brought to it. The first time I heard her drop into like, no, I actually know what's going on space. I was like, oh, yeah, okay. Like there's a mastermind at work behind the ditzy exterior and she brought both to life so well.

Yeah, it's and it's yeah, credit to her and the writing and so important. I think it's just so much more fun to watch people that are good at what they do or listen in this case. But like, yeah, it's so important and sometimes you forget about because you try to make these characters that are, oh, you're the dumb one, you're the silly one. But like, it's important to have them be good at what they do. I think a good example of that is the office, the American office. Like, you have Michael Scott, who just seems like an idiot. And one of my friends wrote on the office, I remember talking to him about this,

and he said it was very important for them. At one point, they have an episode where he goes to make a sale, and he is very good at it. And he like saves Jim or something. And he makes like a huge sale. And it's like, we needed to show that like he was, in fact, very good at his job. He's just bad at being a boss because he wants to be a comedian and everyone's friend. I think that's a very important thing to have in that.

That actually came apparently from Ricky Gervais when he was helping to adapt the show from the UK version of the US version. One of the things he said to Greg Daniels, the creator and the writers was like, you need to make your version of Michael Scott not an idiot because American audiences won't tolerate it. Like he can be an idiot, but he can't be bad at what he does. Yeah. Yeah. Which makes it because like that's not something you're going to tolerate as an audience. Like if Brooke was just a raging dits, you'd be like,

oh, come on, like, Callum's got to see through this. The family sees through it. Like there's nothing redeemable here. But then it's like, oh no, she's very good at playing all of them. And I feel like through the first season and this season, you, she plays everybody without us all really realizing it. And then this episode is where you kind of get to like fully see the extent of just how deep she is

into it yeah oh shit yeah you are a force to be reckoned with that is and the toll that it's taking on her I mean we we have Callum you you go ahead and you pick her up and it's funny you alluded to this earlier and she yells at you because you're bringing her to launch party but you're on your phone trying to close a deal just not paying attention to her but then I love that you bring her there and you get there and there's like influencers and photo booths since like this whole old Hollywood cool setup and you're like do you like it baby because you clearly just wrote the check and paid for everything but then go immediately to your phone but the stress stays with Brooke and she runs to the bathroom

and has a panic attack and is breathing heavily. And Ella, who has been trying to call her, but has been constantly ignored, finally catches up to her and is like, listen, it's overbroke and they have another bathroom moment again. And then we hear Brooke again with her conniving thoughts. That's why I love that they did it from her perspective for this first half

It's like what does Ella have on me? Obviously, we all know it's Ella found out about the fake baby But yeah, just it's really cool to see those wheels turning and broke there's so much more depth there So kudos to the rider and kudos to burgundy and kudos to you Callum for sticking with somebody that is so awful. Hey, you know, I try to see the best everyone and write checks when necessary. Well, she's awful, but there is, I think this episode shows there's an argument to be made for for Brooks redeeming qualities.

Yes, she's awful, but she's a woman who knows what she wants. She's a small business owner, Baby Glam. She is, you know, she came from nothing. She grew up, you know, with nothing and her parents walked out and everything. So like, you know, she's a self-made woman. Sort of. I mean, I don't, yeah, I don't think anyone is self-made,

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You can binge all episodes of Academy early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus. So then we break a little bit from the Brooke story and we get to Valerie who's the whole cast is at this party This launch party, which is very fun Anytime the whole crew is in one location. I love and so Valerie is all mad because Her ex-girlfriend Tam has been watching her snap stories, but not responding Can we relate?

No, I do not have a snap. Old man alarm. Okay, yeah, old man alarm. I don't have one either. You don't have a, oh gosh, you guys are so old. You're so fucking old. You do? Yeah, I have one.

It's a bit of a burner though. It's like a fake, it's like I just have it to send new other things. Oh, to send nudes. No, I don't do that. But I can you can relate on Instagram because you can see who saw your stories or not only that but like if you send someone a DM and it says that they saw it or read it and they haven't responded. and it says that they saw it or read it and they haven't responded. That would be crazy. Yeah, I cannot wrap my head around people that leave read receipts on their texts. I feel like that is your plan to dangerous. Oh yeah, 100%. That's like the first thing. Do you know anyone that does that?

Yeah, I do. Intentionally. I'm assuming so. Still there. I tell everybody, if someone I'm texting with, has it that I notice for the first time, I'll always be like, hey, by the way, just to let you know, you have your red receipts on.

And sometimes they're like, I know. And sometimes they're like, oh my god, that I had no idea. And that's happened to me. Someone has been like, your red receipts are on. And like you can just turn it on accidentally sometimes if you're just a fumbling idiot like me with technology. But I think that is the equivalent of telling someone they have something in their teeth.

Like a good friend will tell you, hey, like you have this thing in your mouth and it's embarrassing for everybody and it's disgusting and I can't take you seriously, wipe that shit out. Some people don't do that. That's true. Which is crazy to me. That's my royal decree. Tell people they got shit on their face.

That's a good royal decree. All right. It's not me. That's a good royal decree. Yeah, no, because if you, when you find out that you were like in a room full of people and you had fucking lettuce blocking out like two of your teeth and no one said anything,

you're like, so you all were just gonna let me walk out into the world looking like an idiot. Fuck all of you. There was this one time a couple years ago, I was directing a sketch show for my sketch team and we had an early morning rehearsal and I was, I was the day before the show and I was like really getting frustrated and angry and I like yelled at the team and like they all just sort of like

were staring at me and then we had to do like rehearsal and everyone was just like acting weird and I was like, oh, well, it's because I got angry. And then directly from there, I had to go to a voiceover session for this McDonald's campaign that I'd been working on. And all of the producers were there and I was with them for an hour and a half. And then as I was leaving, I go to the bathroom and I look in the mirror and I had

the biggest whitehead of my life. It was the size, it was like a, yeah. I mean, it was like a penny, right on the, like right under my life. Oh, it was the size. It was like a yeah. I mean, it was like a penny right on the like right under my nose on my lip like not. But I was like, I texted my friends immediately and I took a picture and I was like, are you guys fucking kidding me? You didn't say anything. And they were all like, Chris, it was so hard for us to keep a straight face when you were yelling at us. And we just assumed you knew because it was so big

that there's no possible way you could not have known that that thing was on your face. So I had it for like six hours. Which is how long the story is. And it was one of those ones where like, yeah, it was one of those ones where you like, you just touch it and it explodes because it was Just so ready speaking of pimples

Pimples come when you're stressed God dude and Ella is stressed at this party because Isaac Dude that's some of your worst work. It's not Ella. Well, you just told a six minute pimple story, dude. It was 90 seconds. It felt like Carmen. And it's gonna be cut out. And you know we're gonna edit it out, so your bullshit transition is gonna make no sense. We're not getting it, we're not editing it out.

Armin, did you hate his story as much as I did? No, I didn't hate it, that was, I'm alive. Ella is stressed though, because Isaac shows up at this party and it's a little bit of an unexpected reaction for her because she would usually be excited. She likens it to seeing a teacher at a grocery store when like you're not, when somebody like isn't really supposed to be there. I could totally relate to that. But just like seeing him around the Royals and in that world

And she's also afraid that him and Isaac are gonna fights. I mean Isaac and Reed are gonna fight So she goes to like break it up, which I just think is so funny this like Toxic masculinity As they say what what's toxic about it? They're just talking it out. That's just two dudes are just gonna fight over a girl It's very funny to me. They didn't. No, they did not. It's true.

The reason they did not is because the speech starts. Brooke's speech starts. And I just wanna, you know, it's quite an eventful speech. And I really love doing the scene because like, she's giving a speech in my character, Easton and Ella are kind of having little asides while it's going on. But the first thing I want to say is we find out that her company is called Baby Glam. I don't think we found that out before

and it sells makeup for babies. Did you guys know that? I'm a big fan of that because when I'm like out at the grocery store or I'm on Instagram and I see my when I'm like out in the grocery store or I'm on Instagram and I see my friends, I'm like, that baby has blotchy skin. There's blemishes and it's disgusting. And also like some babies just don't have lashes. And so you got to make those things pop with the right mascara. So yeah, like rosacea is very common in babies and I don't want to have to look at that shit So put a foundation on come cover up. This is so awful. I'm just gonna stop you there. I stop No, baby glam is what we need

I'm tired of ugly ass babies. Armin. How do you feel about ugly babies? I Don't know. I think it is funny that there's a phase where all babies look the same. You know, there's sort of like that like early few week phase where it's like, no, that is the all baby. Oh, wow.

But all babies look. Cancel him. Cancel him. All babies look the same in that first few week period, more or less less and the parents Are inevitably like this is the most beautiful child you've ever seen right and it's like It looks like all the other babies and it is so fine hooping right now Which you can tell I am not a dad as evidenced by this

This just a daddy Zaddy well that that's perfect. I'm so glad you said that because that was going to be my question. What is it like playing a father on the show and not being a father in real life? It's interesting. I don't know. It's it, you know, with like with Alyssa being the phenomenal actress that she is, it's very easy to play her father just because she does great work and then I try to not, you know, fuck up the words on either side of what she's saying. But I think playing a father figure role, if you just put your effort

into trying to take care of people and think of yourself as providing in some way. That kind of goes a long way to sort of bridge the gap, I think, if you aren't a father. I don't know. Yeah. Do you think Callum's a good father? No. I think he's growing into becoming one, thanks to Ella, but like I think, you know, his sons are not that their behavior is bad, but their relationship with him is very reflective of

What he provided as a father for them, which was essentially just a check whenever Purr back to the oh, do you like it, babe? Do you like the the baby glam launch like I wrote a check I did my job So I think it's not until Ella kind of pulls him out of it that he starts to become a good father, which requires a lot of playing catch up with his sons. So. Yeah. Yeah.

Not playing catch. No. Playing catch up. No. I'm a firm believer that it's never too late to try to make things right. Yeah, I agreed. I agree. I mean, there's no doubt that the Negative effects are gonna stick with Easton and Reed that's the rest of their life

But if you can mend that relationship, but also like this speech is really the first time I feel like Maybe not the first time, but she really calls Callum out for not supporting her because she's like, you know who's not supported It's me. Well, she's high as hell So she's kind of just goes on a crazy rant, which Easton loves. And she's like, my step kids, take me, Callum, you're on the phone all night. And you're so well, what? You like it, honey? It's a good time. You're doing great. Yeah.

Playing Angry Birds. Exactly. No, he's making a sale to us like some dude still. He's playing that farm game. He's selling crops. Yeah. Armin, are you on your phone a lot? Do you ever get knocked by your wife? I try not to be on it.

I'm really, really trying not to be on it as much. I went through a phase sort of inadvertently recently where in the fall, and I got one of the, you know, like those weekly updates where it's like your screen time report. And it was like, you know, you're up 47% to like the number of hours of my day that had been staring at this thing.

And I was like, oh, I have to stop that. Like that really needs to end. What's your weakness? Like what are you looking at mostly? I spend a lot of time on like Instagram looking at, uh, I follow a little bunch of different, like I either follow a bunch of artists or musicians, or then I follow like business people. So I'm either like trying to like scroll through like micro learning or I'm

looking at more and or cat videos, uh, a lot of cat videos or food recipes and stuff. Um, but then I also kind of will, you know, have this like doom scroll need to go through like news apps and be like, what terrible shit is happening in the world today? Ah, everything's going to hell. Yeah. Yeah. So I need to stop both of those things because neither of them are productive. So Callum is scrolling. My favorite part, though, of this scene is when Easton ch is scrolling. My favorite part though of this scene

is when Easton chimes in. Oh, that killed me. Hi, Easton. Yeah, it made me laugh out loud. Yeah, that was really funny. Do you remember recording that, Nick? Like were you actually listening to Burgundy speak and you chimed in?

Yeah, yeah, we all did it at the same time, which was probably toughest for her to keep the momentum of a speech going with me saying things. I think my favorite line of all the chimens, I think, I was like, she was like, she says something like, you probably think I'm stupid, but I deserve to feel important. And I'm like, you go Brooke. And she's like, shut up, Easton. I'm like, okay. Yes, yeah, yeah. That was my favorite line.

That was great, great writing. But anyway, right after this speech in my little chimes, Brooke pulls Calum out to the patio to scream at him. You always apologize, you never change. You're always on your phone. And then breaks up with him. You always apologize, you never change, you're always on your phone, and then breaks up with him. Woo! Yeah.

Armin, have you been broken up with before? Yeah. I know you're married now. How'd that feel? You know, it's not a great feeling. And I think I can- Why not? Well, you know, you kind of think you're going

in one direction and then something else happens. I will say though, I would imagine for Callum that and having possibly been in a having been in a relatable circumstance, where it's like, it does truly feel like it's coming out of left field. Because it's not like Callum has any he's not because he's not aware enough, which probably is a statement, an accurate statement on a lot of men. Isn't really aware enough of what's going on with Brooke, that when she does break up with him, I think he's like, wait, where the fuck did this come from? I mean, it's coming out of a fight that he's having,

but it's like, people don't break up because we had one fight, so we broke up. Those people are very volatile, but usually it's like a buildup of things. I can imagine Callum's just like, wait, what just happened? Like, what? And honestly, it makes me laugh thinking about because if you think about their arc, like they dated, Callum realized she was crazy, didn't want to be with her anymore because

his sons hated her. And then remember Reed lies to him as like, well, you know, you broke up with Brooke, you couldn't stay with mom, like maybe Ella saw that. So Callum's like, oh, what? Okay, I guess I'll get back with her then he gets back with her and then he And yeah, they think she's having a kid and then she breaks up with them and Calum's what is happening? Yeah, well, that's also why I think you know this while the breakup is a surprise It's not a complete

You know out of left field. Cause they have a very tumultuous relationship. So it's like, yeah, okay. This time they break up, but you know, she's still pregnant with my kid. And you know, there's a level of dependence in both directions on both of them. So it's almost like, okay, you're having a moment.

We're having a moment. This is not unfixable. But what I do think is great about this episode is they are sprinkling in conflict with Brooke between every single other character, which in our season finale, which we'll talk about next week, I think will, you know, help plant some seeds. Yeah, well, they do it without giving away. They do a great job of planting those seeds, but they also do a great job of tying up a lot of the things that we've been focused on this season.

Like with, you know, right after this scene on with Brooke breaking up with Calum, Dina comes in to speak to Ella and was like, I decline your offer. And then Ella's like, you know what, I give up, you can have everything, you can have custody, you can have the trust, I just want this to be over, you have a deal. And Dina's like, okay, great. So that's now solved. And then you have Reed, Reed coming up to Ella to make his move and being like, listen, I'm done with this love triangle. I can't do this anymore. You own, I know that you only think about me. Like, let's just cut the charade with Isaac. And Ella, in her thoughts, we hear her like agreeing with him,

but she really, she can't. She resists the temptation. So we really do tie a lot of the loose ends up quite nicely in this episode, setting us up really well for that finale. And also, speaking of poor people poor Alyssa Or not poor Alyssa well poor Alyssa for as an actress having to portray it Poor Ella having to bounce from like one Conflict zone to the next stop off and like try and comfort Callum partway through it and then like you know It's just this like whirlwind of shit that she's going through

Yeah, and just to clarify She's not giving up everything with Dina. She says she'll split the trust until she's 50 50 and then when she's 18 right And then she'll move out. They'll split it in half So you're looking at over 50 million dollars, which is a lot of money less than a hundred obviously by about half. By about. Good to hear.

But also to go talk about myself and my character, because that's my favorite part. That's the only reason we started this podcast, so I can talk about me. What I liked about this episode was throughout the season, Reed has been like, you know, I understand, take your time, do what you gotta do. I'm doing like the noble thing.

And then in this episode, for the first time, he's like, all right, enough. And then he starts like turning on the sexy. Yeah. He's like, and we see his true colors shining through. Shining through. We on the right side of that song? We do now. Yeah.

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You can binge all episodes of Academy early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. ["Wondery Plus"] There's a moment that's very nice between you guys where Easton is cheering up Cal. Yeah, you don't hear much of it. Oh, yeah. Yeah, we don't hear much of it. It's like, you know, a couple sentences

that's in the background as well approaches. But then my favorite Easter line ever. Oh, look, it's your favorite child coming. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just so ill equipped. It's like, yeah, yeah. Emotion Yeah. Yeah. Just so ill equipped. Yeah. Yeah. Emotionally stunted. Okay. I just, I love that he's so ill equipped.

That reminds me of what Ysans like, yeah, it'll be our, oh, here's your favorite kid. Let her, she's better with the emotional stuff. Yeah. It's like, it's okay. Dad, this stuff happens to normal people. You'll be fine. But it's also kind of nice to see the side of Callum. I mean, your character feels guilty.

He's like, I should have stepped up. I should have tried harder to make it work. I don't think we've seen really seen that. And he's vulnerable in front of his kids. Yeah. Which we haven't seen yet. Yeah, and really the only time he's ever vulnerable or shows any vulnerability to anyone is with Ella.

And it's usually like a sorry you weren't supposed to see that like kind of thing but so I did see it so like we're finished the conversation um like there was a lot of that in previous episodes or a little bit of that in previous episodes but yeah you're right this is the first time that there's any degree of like Cal and being like okay fine here honest honest self-evaluation here also real quick Armin I just want to say you know we talked about this you playing a father You know you're not you're the same age group as Nick And I you're not much older than us and yet you play our father and it's it's so

Convincing and real and authentic and I think In this scene and all these all these other scenes with the whole cast that you're basically peers with and I think that's a testament to your acting ability and your talent that you're able to maintain this role and this character that seems so much more mature and, yeah. Well, it's even though you're not. I would say some of my favorite, or what I consider some of the best acting work that has been done on this show are the scenes between you and Chris, between Calum and Reed. Oh, I was joking. Yeah.

I think, you know, you said, we talked about it earlier before we got on here, but there was a scene where, in season one, where you two fought. And I remember the whole room was like, whoa. So props to both of you. Yeah. Well, I think, you know, one thing that, thank you for saying that. One thing that is, it's like the, what is it? The theater phrase of like, it's not your job to tell everyone you're the king,

it's the other actor's job to show everyone that you're the king, right? Like if I don't play a convincing dad, I, you all treat me, you're gonna act with the deference or degree of hostility that might be born out of a troubled relationship with the father, but everyone else brings that relationship to life. And my job, again, is to just not fuck up everything that everyone else is doing along the way.

And a perfect example of that was that scene with Chris and I from season one. For a little behind the scenes for fans, we weren't in the same booth. We were recording at the same time, but we're in different booths in the same studio building because there was a space storage and we needed more people in. And this is one of the first scenes I think you and I did, Chris. I mean, it was like you guys had shown up that morning and you'd done some stuff, but that was like one of the first things. And so to walk into a scene where you're gonna have like a potentially a full knockdown drag out verbal fight with someone who you don't know as a performer.

There's always an inherent challenge to that. But with what you brought Chris and I was, I was sitting there in the middle of the scene being like, Holy shit, this is fantastic. Not like what we're doing is fantastic work, but like this feels great. Cause like Chris brought all of this passion and heat and there was a, and you were sort of in the room to be like, dad, guys, guys, whoa, what the fine, like, you know, and then, uh, Brooke is there, um, not helping the situation at all.

Uh, but again, that's a testament to like, you know, the work that you do Chris or the work that everyone does is that it just makes it easy to step in and try not to fuck it up. Oh, thanks, man. That was that was a great scene. I remember that I I remember being a little frustrated that I couldn't be in the booth with you, yeah, because I was you. You were in a booth before the people and the whole team. And I was in your own across the building.

Yeah. And I building. Yeah. And I just but so I remember being like when they were like, Chris, you're going to have to go in this other booth. I remember being like, how am I going to act without looking these people in the eyes? Like that sucks. But but I think, you know, everyone brought their A game and being able to hear, you know, it is a vocal medium.

So you guys hold it off. It was great. Not to derail us further on this tangent, which is away from this particular episode, but I do think it's a testament to the creators of the show that they have us all record together because there's so much that you can hear in the performances that are from us being in that room together. Like there's sometimes where you kind of step on each other naturally or whatever that is part of responding off someone. But also there are just moments where like, even if it isn't verbalized, you know, one of us will look or someone will look at the person speaking kind of give him,

you know, act along with them and that's giving them something to be like, no, what, I'm serious when I said that, and like you're helping them. And so that sort of stuff translates really nicely. And I think that's part of why, you know, people really like the show and why it's great to listen to, because you're like, it feels so much more alive than some things can. So. Yeah, I totally agree.

This episode is so great because we were all together, you know, for that. And we were all at this one event. And then it ends in a very dramatic way, setting us up beautifully for the finale. Ella confronts Brooke in the bathroom. Brooke is crying in there. But Ella's like, I know about the baby,

you need to tell Callum the truth. And then all of a sudden they start fighting. They get into a physical fight. It's crazy. And that's something you definitely want to be in the booth with for that person because you're not, they weren't actually hitting each other, but I'm sure they were thinking about it. And Brooke lets it all out. She's like, I'm going nuclear. That's how we get the title. She's like, I'm going to dig up dirt on your family that you never even thought of. I'm going to release everything until your lives are all out. She's like, I'm going nuclear. That's how we get the title. She's like, I'm going to dig up dirt on your family that you never even thought of. I'm going to release everything until your lives are all ruined.

It's like, holy shit. And then she beats the living hell out of Ella. And I actually think Ella could take Brooke, but she's probably being nice to not hit her. But yeah. Wow. What an ending. And what a setup for the for our season finale episode of season two. Yeah, crazy. What a great penultimate episode to the season. It leads us into what is going to be a very, very juicy finale.

Yes. This, I feel like if this were on TV, there would be a to be continued. Hardcore. In the title card right after. Hardcore, hard card. Right after. Yeah. Yeah. They're actually two part season finale. I do say it and they cut it. You said to be continued.

I said to be continued at the end of the episode, but they cut that out. Oh, man. Are you being funny or like that was actually part of the plan? I'm being funny. I didn't do that. So, Nick, we talked about this on other episodes, but don't try to be funny. It's not really your thing. It doesn't look good on you. I'll take the funny.

Let me allow me. Okay. You just be pretty and young and sweet. I do have to say, I think casting two brothers to play brothers is a brilliant fucking move because there's no degree of there's no degree of acting skill that can replicate the level of like natural built-in banter that you two have and like the lifetime of history So like it lends itself so well to having you two even though you're playing characters who are not at all like you as people it just

It adds in something that you just couldn't create you wouldn't think to create as an actor. You wouldn't know to put those little moments in because it's not natural to the relationship, you know? But like for you two, it's like, you know, busting each other's balls our entire lives. I'm used to him being mean. You know, that's nice.

And I have a general lack of respect for most people I work with, which is similar to how I feel about Nick. So I'm able to replicate it pretty easily. So really everyone here got typecast really nicely. Yeah. Hey, you know what time it is Nick? I think I do.

It's time for some royal decree. Oh snap. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. A royal decree. Nick, do you want to start us off? Yeah, I'll start us off. Here's my royal decree. Books are better than audiobooks. Real reading of books.

What are you doing? You're going to sabotage this whole thing, man. This isn't an audiobook. What is wrong with you? Let me continue. This is not an audiobook. This is a fiction scripted podcast based on a book that is different. We have characters and I will go as far to say audio books that are narrated by their authors such as Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain are very entertaining because you are hearing his words through his voice. That is a different situation but if it comes to reading a book or listening to a book, always choose reading the book. It is better. It allows you to create the characters in your head.

It the emotional impact is is greater. The stuff that you will pick up on and remember is is will it will stay with you longer. Reading books is better than listening to books. So that is my royal decree. Thank you. Chris is now a time that I should tell him that I spend a lot of time narrating audiobooks? Yeah, exactly.

I was just going to say that. Yeah. I've narrated audiobooks. Industry that pays our bills. I also agree with you. I agree with you. There are a lot of things I listen to. There are a lot of audiobooks I do listen to.

But if it's something that I really, really, if it's a book that I'm like, no, I want this to be my experience, then 100% I have to read it like in a hard. Absolutely. No, there, audiobooks are fantastic. And especially if you're on the move or you have long commutes, or, you know, I was on a set yesterday in one of the PA's had a, or the makeup woman had headphones and she was listening to an audiobook all day, because, you know, she can move around do her thing do makeup and listen into a book but if you have the choice between reading or listening read it.

Chris you're making a face at me that's because you don't know how to read. That is true me and Leah Michelle and Floyd Money-May-Weather are the most successful, illiterate people. Yeah, if you were saying book versus movie, I understand, I do think that if it's the same text, obviously if you're hearing it aloud, it's a specific interpretation of it, but I think it's a big of a leap as a movie. Because you're still creating the imagery of course.

And you get through it faster. But this is obviously, it's my Royal Decree. So it's my personal experience. And I just can retain things more when I see them because I'm a visual learner than when I listen to them. And that's why I have a podcast. Respect. Alright, what's your Royal Decree, Chris? My Royal Decree is, I have a podcast. Respect. I was your royal decree, Chris. My royal decree is I made a few

already in this episode, but I'll stick with the videos on social media thing. prank videos, not funny. YouTube prank videos, videos of you like sneaking up, hitting camera stuff. It's not funny. It needs to stop. Can you give an example? Well, sure. Well, first of all, there's like, I've seen a couple where like people throw a bag in like a public place and run like it's a bomb or they, which is insane. There was actually a story the other day. This guy got shot. This YouTuber got shot because he was doing some funny prank in a tough neighborhood and he picked the wrong dude and He like I don't know if he was like pants in them or like grabbing their ass or like doing something that was like Ho ho ho and he got shot. I think he's alive

But like damn, but there's this one couple on Instagram the guys a cop and the white They're like this funny young couple, but he leaves like balloons filled with some white. Oh, yeah. In their house all over the place. And he shoots it with like a little airsoft gun and times it so it spills. And then she does the same to him. And they go. Yeah.

And she goes the same to him. And then like what he laughs, he has this really funny laugh and And he he like explodes a confetti cannon in her face every time he gets her. And they keep trying to one up each other. And it is funny, but it's also like they are just destroying their home. There is liquid and chaos all over the place. It's crazy. Like they were on a couch and this guy exploded what looks like milk or white paint all over their living room.

And they're just like super chill about it. It's their house and whatever. But yeah, I agree with you. It's crazy. Yeah. So that's my world of crates. Stop doing prank shows. They stop doing pranks online. They stress me out and they make your house a mess.

I'm gonna take that, I'm gonna piggyback on your Royal Decree and take it a step further per our previous conversation that I'm not sure if it's been edited out or not. But like the screen time thing, my Royal Decree is spend less time on our phones. Like we should spend a lot less time on our phones. And I say that as someone who uses my phone for work and entertainment and escapism, but like, man, I'm pretty sure people had a little bit less stress in their life. History, you know, you go back far enough,

everything is terrible for everyone. Like let's not, let's not kid ourselves. But I'm pretty sure people had less active stress a few years ago before we were so inundated with, with information and technology. And like, yes, everything seems better when you're a kid in a way, but like, I'm fairly certain the late nineties, like in the Matrix movie when it's like, you know, 1999 was, they called that the peak of human civilization. And, uh, and we're like, Oh, that's no way that's the peak.

And then now it's like, Oh, maybe this time stealing someone else's joke was like, Oh, maybe they were right. Maybe the, maybe the robots were right about that. Like we had internet, but not too much internet. Um, you know, our cell phones didn't have any texting or anything. It was, uh, I don't know, I mean, it sound like a cranky old man, but like, I really, really embracing the dad role really embracing the dad role. Really embracing it. Ah, fuck it, why not?

But like, get outside and spend more time outside. Absolutely. That's my world degree. So after you are done using your phone to listen to this podcast, put it away. Yes, yes, yes, yes. After that, and after you like and subscribe. Yes.

And share with your friends. And follow us all. Exactly. And follow us all on social media and love us. Then, then go outside. Go outside and throw a frisbee. Armin, for our listeners, where can they follow you? Where can they find you?

And do you have anything coming up that they should keep an eye out for? They can find me on Instagram or Facebook or I think I technically have a TikTok, I'm never on it but I have one. Or Twitter or X or whatever it's called, X, I know it's called X. At Armand Taylor, just at Armand Taylor,

keep it simple. And yeah, do I have anything coming out? Not that I can talk about. Whoa, that's cool. NDAs. Yeah, yes I do. I have a couple things that are exciting, but no, I can't talk about them. So follow him on all those accounts and when he can, he will let you know.

I will share. That's amazing. Yes. Hey, good for you. That's so exciting and it's not a surprise to me at all. Like I said, you are the ultimate professional. You are incredibly talented and gifted and have such a wonderful voice and on top of that acting ability. And I know I speak for both. No, no, it's true. I speak for both

of us, I'm sure, but I'm sure Chris will have something to say because he always does I'll never speak but it it was really a pleasure working with you You made you made me better and I'm so so happy that we were able to get you on on this podcast to speak to you as well Me too. Me too. It's a pleasure. I Second that and have nothing to add from the top down. I mean, I think everyone that they've brought on board has been great and you too Are such amazing actors you bring such great chemistry and it's a pleasure to get to be your dad. Oh, thank you so much. Armin literally, thanks dad.

Other than Chris. All right, folks, thank you so much. Armin, Nick, a Pharaoh. It's an honor and a privilege to be your brother and your co-host. We will see you all next week. Bye! You won't see me, but take care everyone. Bye guys.