The term “ingenue” is tossed around Hollywood far more often than it is in, let’s say Cleveland. It usually refers to the beauty of a female actor, yes I said actor because the term “actress” is just sooo 2022. There’s one very talented actor FROM Cleveland who burst onto the movie scene as an ingenue out here in LaLa Land. She has co-starred with some of the biggest names in film. Tho in her most relatable role, she tugged at the heartstrings playing a woman she knows well… a mom. This is Still Here Hollywood. I’m Steve Kmetko. Join me with today’s guest, Monica Potter, from “Parenthood”.
https://monicapotterhome.com
Steve Kmetko:
Yes. I'm Still Here Hollywood. And coming up on today's episode.
Monica Potter:
I still have trouble with that--
Steve Kmetko:
Thinking about Robin.
Monica Potter:
Yeah. Thinking that he did that, because that is not something I would ever think that he would do. I mean, really?
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah.
Monica Potter:
He loved his kids so much. When I got pregnant with Danny I was supposed to go to Japan for a six-month modeling contract, and I went and I talked to my agents down there, or my agency, and they said, okay, well you have this modeling contract coming up for Japan. So, we'll take care of this first. And then, and I was like, what? I wasn't getting it. You know, like, well, you know, you're not really going to, and I was excited about having a, I mean.
Steve Kmetko:
They were talking to you about possibly ending your pregnancy.
Monica Potter:
Yeah. Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
That's outrageous.
Monica Potter:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
What training did you have to be an actor? Did you have any?
Monica Potter:
No. I mean, I went to an acting few acting classes and watched, and I was like, something's off. Something's off.
Steve Kmetko:
I think that's pretty common though. People don't like to see themselves or hear themselves.
Monica Potter:
No, it wasn't me, it was the teacher. I was like--
Steve Kmetko:
I'm sorry.
Monica Potter:
*** This guy. He's a pervert. Wait, I might have to burp. Hold on. Do you guys have an outtake tape?
Team Member Voices
Not the other day. So, I'll cut it up.
Monica Potter:
No, contrarian month her.
Steve Kmetko:
She wants you to, she wants to be her.
Monica Potter:
I can do a really good one. I feel it coming, but I just don't know that I should let it all out.
Steve Kmetko:
The term Ingénue is tossed around Hollywood far more often than it is in, let's say, Cleveland. It usually refers to the beauty of a female actor. And yes, I said actor because the term actress is just so 2022. There's one very talented actor from Cleveland who burst onto the movie scene as an Ingénue out here in LA-LA Land. She's co-starred with some of the biggest names in film. No. In her most relatable role, she tugged at the heartstrings playing a woman she knows well. A mom. This is Still Here Hollywood. I'm Steve Kmetko. Join me with today's guest, Monica Potter from Parenthood.
If you'd like to be more involved with us at Still Here Hollywood, you definitely can Just visit patreon.com/still here Hollywood. You can support us for as little as $3 a month. You can get our episodes a day before they post anywhere else. You can see what guests will be coming up and submit questions for them. You can even tell us what stars you want us to have on as guests. You'll see what goes on before and after the episode. Plus, exclusive behind the scenes info picks video and more. Again, that's patreon.com/StillHereHollywood.
Hi Monica. How are you?
Monica Potter:
I'm great.
Steve Kmetko:
In a good mood, huh?
Monica Potter:
Good. How are you?
Steve Kmetko:
Thanks for coming by and talking to us today. I've been wanting to talk to you for the longest time.
Monica Potter:
I know. Me too.
Steve Kmetko:
Ever since Patch Adams.
Monica Potter:
Well, that's a really long time.
Steve Kmetko:
That is a really long time ago.
Monica Potter:
How have we not met?
Steve Kmetko:
I don't know. I don't know. But in Patch Adams, you worked with one of my favorite interviews interview subjects. And that was Robin Williams.
Monica Potter:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
Who was just the greatest guy.
Monica Potter:
Ever!
Steve Kmetko:
Was that the experience you had with Robin?
Monica Potter:
Yes, he understood me and oh boy, we would talk about certain things and he's like, you know, I kind of, he was very shy and he was extremely sensitive and he was very funny as we know. But I saw a part of myself in him and he said, you know, I found my female version of myself and I'm like, where? And he's like, I think he's like, you just have to protect yourself because I'm very sensitive. And sometimes I'll use humor. I mean, I don't normally do funny roles, but we had a lot of talks about things about life.
Steve Kmetko:
He was just the most empathetic person.
Monica Potter:
He, yeah. Yep.
Steve Kmetko:
And I don't think people realize that entirely.
Monica Potter:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
I mean, the average.
Monica Potter:
He, you know, when you cry or something, first of all, this is the only job I could have where you could go to work and be allowed to cry and not get fired, you know? And that's an emotion that we all have. But when we're taught to push that away, laughing and Robin said this to me, laughing and crying is the same thing. And I said, thank you. I've been saying that since I was a little kid. It's the same thing. It's an expression of how you're feeling. And he is the-- he was the biggest empath I've ever met besides my dad.
Steve Kmetko:
Okay. Let me ask about some of the other people you've worked with.
Monica Potter:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
Nicolas Cage?
Monica Potter:
So, fun.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah.
Monica Potter:
Very good kisser.
Steve Kmetko:
Important!
Monica Potter:
I can say that. Now that I'm twice divorced. No, I had good marriage. We'll talk about that on another episode. We had so much fun, the first scene, I was very nervous. It was only my second movie and we couldn't get through the first take of where the bad guys walk up in the bar. And, you know, they said, one of them said something and he was being serious in his role, but Nick and I were kind of standing back and I just went and I heard him go and I went, oh no, but we must have done it 20 times. And it, we couldn't stop laughing. I forget the exact thing he said. It was the other guy, forgive me, I don't remember the actor's name Because it was so long ago.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah. What about Philip Seymour Hoffman?
Monica Potter:
Oh, the time I got to spend with Philip, we played basketball, we went to Walmart. We did things that were so much fun. And again, very, very sensitive. Very serious actor. But also, he kind of had this wall up where, but he was like a big teddy bear. Just, I miss him too. Like, it hard.
Steve Kmetko:
I interviewed him for talented Mr. Ripley.
Monica Potter:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
And I could see at that time just how serious he was.
Monica Potter:
Yeah, he is, but he isn't. I mean, he's one of the funniest people I've ever worked with. It is just. I made him mind know what it was. We were in Chapel Hill and we were filming Patch Adams. And I said, you need to come to my hotel room and watch this documentary. And it's called Hands on A Hard Body. Have you ever heard of it?
Steve Kmetko:
No, I haven't.
Monica Potter:
Okay.
Steve Kmetko:
God knows. I would've watched it that have I heard of it.
Monica Potter:
If you want to get the flu, if you want to feel flu-like symptoms in a moment's notice, just watch that. It's about a group of people that want to win a car or some van, a van. So, they have to have their hand at least one of their hands on the vehicle at all times.
Steve Kmetko:
So, that's the hard body.
Monica Potter:
Exactly. So, Phil and I watched it, and he, it just does yourself a favor. Don't, don't do it. Actually, don't do it. It's so draining. By the end of it, he goes, am I allowed to swear?
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah.
Monica Potter:
Oh, he's like, *** you, Potter. I feel like I have the flu. And he just rolled off the couch. We were crying, laughing because it was one of those things, you can't not watch through till the end to see who wins. Oh God. Flop, sweating, thinking about that. Okay. It's hormones too.
Steve Kmetko:
Okay. And what about one last one because he's one of my favorites is Morgan Freeman.
Monica Potter:
Fun.
Steve Kmetko:
Fun.
Monica Potter:
So, fun. So much fun.
Steve Kmetko:
How do you react with him when that voice comes at you? You know, it seems to me I would be distracted. Was he talking to me, you know?
Monica Potter:
Oh. I found it to be very soothing and very comforting, you know? And one of, I was just talking to someone about this the other day, because it was raining. We had a scene where it was raining, a dusk. Wait, I might have to burp. Hold on. Do you guys have an outtake tape?
Team Member Voices
Not the other day. So, I'll cut it up.
Monica Potter:
No, contrarian month her.
Steve Kmetko:
She wants you to, she wants to be her.
Monica Potter:
I can do a really good one. I feel it coming, but I just don't know that I should let it all out. Morgan Freeman. So, working with him was a blast. I learned so much. You know, Robert Towne, I was my first director for the movie called Pre, and he would always say, learn and earn. I--
Steve Kmetko:
What about pre was Steve Prefontaine?
Monica Potter:
That was the first movie I did. That was the second movie I did. The first movie I did was called Heaven or Vegas. I don't know where it is.
Steve Kmetko:
Real serious.
Monica Potter:
It was.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh, was it?
Monica Potter:
I actually played a Mormon girl. So, but working with Morgan was like, he was serious, but he was also like really funny. I mean, we're not saving the world here, you know? And I feel like the most professional, the most iconic, the most wonderful actors that I've worked with. And actresses. I say actress still. I hope that's okay.
Steve Kmetko:
That's okay.
Monica Potter:
You know what I have already canceled myself. So, I'm just saying I'm canceled. That's the name of my podcast coming up.
Steve Kmetko:
I'm canceled.
Monica Potter:
Already Canceled.
Steve Kmetko:
Already canceled.
Monica Potter:
It's like double jeopardy. Not with Alex Trebek, but you know, you can't cancel me back Because I'm already canceled.
Steve Kmetko:
Why are you canceled?
Monica Potter:
Because I just say what I want to say.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh!
Monica Potter:
And I'm afraid if people are afraid to say anything--
Steve Kmetko:
Anymore?
Monica Potter:
About anything, right? Like anything. And I think that's stinky.
Steve Kmetko:
I saw Whoopi the other day say something about what being woke means. Being woke just means you care about other people.
Monica Potter:
Right.
Steve Kmetko:
Was it her or was it Jane Fonda? Maybe it was Jane Fonda at the SAG Awards. In that wonderful speech she gave, being woke just means, you know. You care about other people.
Monica Potter:
Yeah, other people. That's what I didn't under. I don't even know what woke means. Because if you're woke now, that means that you know what's going on. If you're sleeping, that means, well, you could astral travel and you might know more. But I don't understand all the verbiage of that kind of thing.
Steve Kmetko:
No, neither do I.
Monica Potter:
I just think it's gone too far. Like, everyone just gets along. You really, that's why we're here.
Steve Kmetko:
That's what Rodney King said. Can't we all just get along?
Monica Potter:
That's, I mean,
Steve Kmetko:
Makes sense.
Monica Potter:
Sorry.
Steve Kmetko:
Thank you.
Monica Potter:
You're welcome.
Steve Kmetko:
To put a punctuation, point on it.
Monica Potter:
That, that, okay. So, Morgan Freeman, I'll go back to that really quick. He was so much fun to work with. We had to do a scene where I was, we had to learn how to use guns and all of that stuff. So, I've been, every time there's a gun in any movie, you're heavily trained. He would, we, oh, and I also had to take defensive driving, which I did early in my life too. Because I kind of was like a tomboy. But I remember having to make this really long drive. And it was on the edge of this cliff. And Morgan is in the seat next to me, and I'm driving and it's raining. And then on top of it, it's movie rain. And we're on this cliff and we're shooting in Vancouver. And I was like, we didn't have any dialogue, but I'm like, holy, how am I going to do this? like, holy, how am I going to do this? He goes like, don't you dare put your foot on the brake. Keep your foot on the pedal and don't break. I'm like, I know, because he's right. You know, your instinct is to break while you're making the turn. But I did it. I mean, he just was little things like that.
Steve Kmetko:
So, you liked him?
Monica Potter:
I love him. I do.
Steve Kmetko:
You seem like kind of a fun person.
Monica Potter:
I am. I like to do things that I like to do, you know. My dad was an inventor and he had a genius IQ. He died young at 64.
Steve Kmetko:
That is young.
Monica Potter:
Yeah. And he was my best friend. And while he was so intelligent, he was also, he reminded me a lot of Robin a lot.
Steve Kmetko:
How so?
Monica Potter:
Empathy. There's a part of my dad that I just saw in Robin too, like, always wanting to feel accepted and appreciated without hurting anybody, you know? And my mom is very, she's 100% Irish, so she's, it was a good balance. My mom's great. She's 80, she'll be 84. And they, it's good when you have a balance like that when you're with your parents especially. My dad really pushed me a lot when I was little to become an actor. He said, movie star. And I just thought it was something I said, I want to go across, this is what it was. I was three. And I said, I want to go across the water to help brown people. I have no idea where that came from. And then he said, Machi, you know, that was my nickname. He thought I was going to be the boy of the family, obviously. Well, you never know. Just kidding. And he said, go to Hollywood, become a movie star and you can help way more people. So, I thought about wearing this sandwich board like a star. And I saw myself, how I knew this, I don't know, on the Hollywood Walk of fame with the marble, like the stars Passing out money and hugging people. And--
Steve Kmetko:
That's something to aspire to.
Monica Potter:
Yeah. Well, I've done the passing out money thing a lot. And like, I love hugging. I love people, but I think it goes a little deeper. I'm not, and that's where I'm at right now with the award shows. The business side of this business is a lot. It's, you know, and especially with everything swirling around these days with conspiracy theories and people going down rabbit holes, and we're not paying attention to why we're really here. And that's to serve and to be one with each other. And I'm not into this like woo-woo new age stuff that's just how I was raised is, you know, we grew up very poor.
Steve Kmetko:
So, how did how you were raised impact how you raised your children?
Monica Potter:
Well--
Steve Kmetko:
Did your father's empathy rub off. Oh, with your kids?
Monica Potter:
Oh yeah. My kids are very, very empathetic. Very much, very sensitive, very and all of my sisters are too. They're all, Jessica's the oldest. I'm second Bridget, they're all in healthcare. My sister Jessica works with autistic adults, and Bridget is one of the head nurses at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland. And Carrie works with the poorest of the poor that need help with mental health. So, they're all like, they're my favorite people in the whole world.
Steve Kmetko:
My sisters.
Monica Potter:
And so, you just kind of, it's not something that rubs off. It's something that you have, I believe in your lineage. When I was in Ireland visiting my family there, I saw it, you know, because so many of my family members were all the same that way. But we do like to have fun too in a weird way.
Steve Kmetko:
I can tell.
Monica Potter:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
We'll be back in a moment.
Tell me something about your father invented.
Monica Potter:
Well, my dad had 87 patents, but he never made money on them because he worked for companies that would make the money. Anyhow, he invented a fishing lore called Whiptail. And I remember going to his little factory on St. Clair Avenue in Cleveland. Every morning, I would hear the old Buick start up. And, you know, so I would, and if he left the house without me, I would run downstairs in my diaper and whatever onesie I was in, and chase him down the street. And we lived on, I still have thumb. And he would look in the rear-view mirror and go, oh. And he would back up and put me in the car. And I just remember learning about how he was making things and how he treated people. And he always wanted to employ people especially those that were not always given a second chance.
And that is also something I learned from him. But the fishing lure called the Whiptail, it was for bass fishing. And I love fishing, but I don't know, I don't like to keep the fish, so I don't really want now. I'm like, well, if you're catching a fish, why do you do that? That's mean. Anyhow, I digress. So, he invented the whiptail, and a friend of his said, Paul, you can come out. That's my dad's name. You can come out to the pond with your daughters. It was Jessica and I at the time. And Bridget, I think Bridget was there too. And test out the whiptail and see, you know, how it does, because he had a big pond, or lake full of bass and catfish and whatever. And we stood there, my sisters and I, for about all day. It was just taking breaks or whatever.
And it was getting, towards the end of the day, it was probably around 7:30 PM and we hadn't caught a fish. And I said, he's like, okay, Machi, let's just pack it up and let's get going. And I'm like, I had this real thick boy. So, I was like, probably about seven maybe. I'm like, okay, that'll be, I was just like, I wore husky jeans as a kid. I was just thick. My mom would say that she's thick, she's or husky, whatever. I stood there with the fishing pole and I said, one more second or one more second. And I said, God, please, please, please let me catch a fish. So, my dad knows that this fishing lure will work, and it does work. And I closed my eyes and I held the pole. And all of a sudden, I felt this huge tug at the end of it.
And all I remember is throwing the fishing pole over my shoulder and running as fast as I could up the hill and pulling this fish out. That was, he was like, it works. It's working, it's working. And I said, I know, I told you it would work. And from that, he sold many of them. And I still have some at home, so I just and it goes deeper too. It's like wanting people to believe more in themselves than they give themselves credit for. And kind of like healing that inner voice of not feeling worthy enough. Or even if they do something great for mankind or whatever, an invention, whatever it is, they still don't feel like it's enough or they're enough. And I think that's going back to teaching or coaching, acting, that's something that I want to instill in people because this can be a tricky industry.
Steve Kmetko:
Yes. It can be. What's the trickiest part, do you think?
Monica Potter:
The tricks learning what I mean--
Steve Kmetko:
Tricks of the trade.
Monica Potter:
It's about knowing when to use your voice and when to listen, you know? And trusting your instincts.
Steve Kmetko:
That only comes with experience though, doesn't it?
Monica Potter:
No, I think, I mean, yes and no. I think because I started so young in Cleveland. I started when I was 12 modeling and doing commercials with David and Lee, and then in Chicago where you're from, where you live. And I think it's about knowing and trusting your inner child like your inner child. You know, little kids know things that we're trained to forget, you know? So, knowing when to stand up for something and pull out your sword because it's something you believe in and you want to protect or fight for, is something that a lot of people are afraid to do.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah. Pulling up my sword has gotten me in trouble.
Monica Potter:
Yeah. But you know, what would you-- how so-- would you go back and put your sword back in and not pull it out?
Steve Kmetko:
This is leading to too many places.
Monica Potter:
See. I mean, we could go anywhere with this thing.
Steve Kmetko:
Okay.
Monica Potter:
Okay.
Steve Kmetko:
I have a couple of questions here from our subscribers at Patreon.
Monica Potter:
Okay.
Steve Kmetko:
One is Zoe Dego is how she signed her name.
Monica Potter:
Oh, hi Zoe Dego.
Steve Kmetko:
You burst on the film scene in such a big way. It felt that you were another Julia or Sandra. What was it that steered you from movies to television?
Monica Potter:
Oh, well, thank you. I guess, I don't know. I mean, I don't know the answer to that. I think when I was at the height of my career, like when I was doing movie after movie, after movie, I was going through my first divorce. I'd been married for 10 years, so I got married at 18 and then had Danny at 19, was married for a while, and then moved back to Ohio while at the height of my career, but then continued to do films. I don't know, I still do movies, but, and I love movies and I love working, I love being on set. I don't like to be out and about. And I told, you know, Jim knows the, our producer here, he's, I'm just not agoraphobic, but when I'm on set, I feel, no matter what set it is, unless there's some mean people, but I take care of that real quick.
Steve Kmetko:
Okay.
Monica Potter:
But it's, I don't know. I think that's just how it happened. It wasn't something, it was probably the material also. And it had to do with the business side of things too, because I stood up for myself and kind of--
Steve Kmetko:
You have to do that early on, don't you?
Monica Potter:
Yeah, you do always. And I think a lot of people are desperately trying to please people. But when you know something is wrong and you call somebody out on it that maybe is like a higher up or someone in the agency, wherever it is they don't like that. And so, you know, you move around to different agencies sometimes, as you know, I'm sure you just, and whatever path you're on and you can pivot. But usually there's a great experience of learning and trusting, and that's how we build up to who we are.
Steve Kmetko:
Okay. Another Patreon subscriber asks, there was a seeded Patch Adams where Robin Williams character talks to you about attempting suicide. Did you reflect on that after his death?
Monica Potter:
No. I don't remember the scene. I still have trouble with that.
Steve Kmetko:
Thinking about Robin.
Monica Potter:
Yeah. Thinking that he did that, because that is not something I would ever think that he would do. I mean, really? Yeah. He loved his kids so much that I, and I guess, yeah, I don't remember that scene and maybe I've blocked it out on purpose. I don't know.
Steve Kmetko:
And also in parenthood, your character was diagnosed with cancer. Did that have an impact on your real life at all?
Monica Potter:
It had an impact on my kids because Danny, my oldest, who's also, he's an actor, and he said, mom, you know, protect yourself with this role because you take on everything as if it is and--
Steve Kmetko:
Carry it around with you.
Monica Potter:
Right. Except when I'm in the scene or when I black out, you know, I remember certain things like, but I'm not clocking it in my head. I just kind of go with the flow and then, or whatever comes out is, is the way it comes out. And I think my kids were more worried about that than I was.
Steve Kmetko:
And your oldest is Danny.
Monica Potter:
Danny's the oldest. He's 34.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh!
Monica Potter:
And then Liam is Liam just turned 30 and Molly is 19.
Steve Kmetko:
Did you push him into acting?
Monica Potter:
No.
Steve Kmetko:
Did you encourage him?
Monica Potter:
No.
Steve Kmetko:
Did you give him any advice? Sounds like he gave you some.
Monica Potter:
I didn't want my kids to do any of it. Yeah. Just because I grew up in it with and I wanted them to be kids. But Danny was actually playing football at the University of Wyoming, and he called me, he was upset and said, mom, I want to come home and I want to go to acting school. And I go, just come home. But football's not for you. He was, they're so sensitive. And then Liam went to Columbia here and studied writing. Liam's a lot like my dad, very sensitive, very quiet. And Molly now wants, she's always wanted to act. She's grew up, they all grew up on set and they all remember Robin and, you know coming to set and meeting all kinds of people and just being embraced by the goodness of the good people. And I've been so blessed and lucky to work with really, really good people.
Steve Kmetko:
Good people.
Monica Potter:
Nice kind people.
Steve Kmetko:
Monica, tell me, your TV son hung out with your real son.
Monica Potter:
Yes. Max.
Steve Kmetko:
How did that go along?
Monica Potter:
Max Burkholder. No, they have the same kind of, I met Max when he was, gosh, was he nine and now he's in his twenties. And the kids in this whole neighborhood all sort of know each other. They're all really good kids. They're not snotty, bratty kids that are not like the typical, what people think Hollywood kids are. You know, we're middle class. That's what we are. We're not very blessed-- we're blessed, but we've also been through a lot, like, like everyone. So, to see the two, Danny, I'm sorry, Liam, my middle one, and Max kind of meet outside of the business because of who they are as individuals. And Kelly, Max's mom is such a great person, a great woman. And that is a true testament to how he, she raised, you know max and James his brother. And so, Liam told me, mom, I was out at the Eminem market and I ran into Max and I'm like, what were you guys doing? It's like, we're buying beer. And I'm like, max is not old enough to buy beer. And, but he is. So, it was just like one of those things where they would hang out in certain parties and interact and then, you know, it is like a big family. And when I work with kids especially, I take I'm very protective. Very protective.
Steve Kmetko:
Good for you.
Monica Potter:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
You still consider Cleveland home?
Monica Potter:
I do. I do. I still have my home there. I bought it back in, I almost said 1916. What the ***!
Steve Kmetko:
And it doesn't work.
Monica Potter:
How do you know? It was built--
Steve Kmetko:
Just a guess.
Monica Potter:
Let's see, it's over a hundred years old. So, we sold it when I was moved, when we had to move to Alabama. My dad wanted to get like a real job. So, we moved to Arab, Alabama. That didn't last very long. Being from the north and not being informed on the culture, I guess. But I do love my friends that I made down there. So, what was I, where were we going with this one?
Steve Kmetko:
We were just going around and around, around the neighborhood--
Monica Potter:
So, okay. My house in Cleveland, we moved in a day before I was born. So, June 30th, 1971. My mom was hanging shower curtains in our bathroom at the time she went into labor. So, I was basically born in the house. Oh, June. Not in the house, not that old, but it happens. You know, a good push, you're out.
Steve Kmetko:
Reaching up to put up shower curtains that could do it too. Can hope everything?
Monica Potter:
It could. It done. Yeah, I think--
Steve Kmetko:
Gravity.
Monica Potter:
That it's also why I don't like to have things around my, I think the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck in utero. I had a hernia, like it was, I was just a mess before I even came out. But so, she was hanging shower curtains, went into labor and then we lived there and we had to sell the house when we moved to Alabama when I was in, when I was 16. And I looked at the house and I said, I will be back for you. I promise I'll never forget it. So, 2015 I believe comes around and I heard that my house, the guy that we sold the house to had passed away. And the house, his name was Jim Jones. Not that one. Nope, not that one. A different one. A good one. He was 50 and he was in a band called Pere Ubu.
And he was kind of a hermit and you know, like to collect, he had dogs. So, he lived in the house since we had sold it to him in 1987. And I was told that the house is back on the market and it was just one of my neighbors called on the street and said, we know how much you want your home, here's the number. And it was like this generic, it was called like neighborhood realtor. The number was like scribbled in and no one came to collect any of Jim's belongings. I don't know why, but he was kind of a pack rat and said, so the realtor said, it is as is. And I said, okay, well what are you at? What is, he's like, I don't know, 40 grand. And I went, okay, perfect.
Steve Kmetko:
I'll speak.
Monica Potter:
I'll wire you the money, however.
Steve Kmetko:
Okay, here comes the other shoe.
Monica Potter:
No, it was so fun though. This is the best part. I love exploring. I love finding, and you know, I call it Scooby doing. I bought the house back the amount of work we had to put into it. I actually did a show called Welcome Back Potter that we put up on HGTV, I think it's still up there. But when we went in, we found all of my dad's old invention benches tables that we had, excuse me, left because we couldn't afford to ship them down to Alabama. The dining room table was still there. Jim kept everything that we had left for him. And so, it was almost like preserved waiting for me to come back. And my dad had already passed away. So, it was just quite a journey redoing the house as well, you know, and I love it. It's my sacred place. And I moved back in actually June 30th, 2016. So, June 30th is my birthday. So how many years later?
Steve Kmetko:
A happy birthday soon. Not for a while.
Monica Potter:
Yeah. Thank you.
Steve Kmetko:
When you got back to your house. Did it look a lot different from when you grew up there?
Monica Potter:
It was. You couldn't walk because everything, I'm a hoarder, but not like this kind of hoarding. I'm an organized hoarder. I like to collect things like leaves, rocks just things. But this was, this was a lot. So yeah, we had to redo the whole thing, but it did look, the plastic plant in the corner from the seventies was still there. Everything was the same.
Steve Kmetko:
Like a Time capsule.
Monica Potter:
Like a Time capsule except run, rundown.
Steve Kmetko:
I remember when we went back to my house in Cleveland for the first time. Because We moved to Chicago when I was six. I just remember the house and I don't remember how old I was when I saw it for the first time, but it seemed so small. I couldn't believe how small it was. We were a family of five.
Monica Potter:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
I don't know where they put us all.
Monica Potter:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
You know?
Monica Potter:
We were, it doesn't seem small.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah.
Monica Potter:
It seems bigger now.
Steve Kmetko:
Well, my family grew up to be giant, so maybe it.
Monica Potter:
I mean, what I'm tall, how tall are you?
Steve Kmetko:
I used to be six one, but Osteoporosis.
Monica Potter:
Osteoporosis. That's like sugar, diabetes.
Steve Kmetko:
I've got. I've compressed. My doctor tells me my spine is compressed about two inches or so, so.
Monica Potter:
Yeah, it happens.
Steve Kmetko:
That would make me 5/11.
Monica Potter:
But, but no, I understand what you're saying because everything did seem, it almost seemed smaller back then, maybe because we, I renovated it and did the things that my dad wanted to do while he was alive. So, he died in January 2nd, 2004. And, I got to go back with my sisters and redo things and then punch out walls. And that was a quite a journey that.
Steve Kmetko:
Did you handle some of the tools yourself?
Monica Potter:
Oh yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah.
Monica Potter:
Oh yeah. I mean, we didn't, we did it with we filmed it while redoing the entire house, which I would never do again, because you have to stop. And I love him now. But we got in, I got in many, many butted heads with the showrunner. But he was fantastic, but every day it was like, Nope, this is my home. We're not just going to like, and he understood and he was very, very kind and very patient with, with us. So, but getting all of us in one place at one time, we're Irish and I'm the one that's always late. Because I'm always like, but I am also, I love to produce, but when I'm producing, I'm very, very extremely focused. And so that was something we had fun doing, but it brought up a lot of stuff that I didn't know existed inside of each of us and how we remember things differently. So, I think there's a part two coming to that whole thing.
Steve Kmetko:
Okay.
Monica Potter:
Now that the house is done.
Steve Kmetko:
We'll be back for more in a moment. Is there anything about acting that you'd like to dispel to actors who have the dream that you had?
Monica Potter:
Dispel? I think there's no magic way. I mean, Jeez Louise, I just had a knowingness that that's what I was supposed to do because I was told at an early age, you know, and it's on tape. I have the tape in my basement in Cleveland of my dad saying all of it. And I had to sing like a rhinestone cowboy to, I don't even know the words to it. But it's, and I don't even know where it came from because we don't have anybody in my family that's been in the movie business. But I feel like if you're in it, like what is the reason you're doing it? And that's the first question I ask the kids or people that I'm working, that I coach. What is the reason you're doing it? Why do you do it? Why do you want to do it? And because I'm not for everybody if they say to be famous. And I do think sometimes fear or coming from a place of lack does propel and does push you to work harder and be an overachiever, which is something I've been known to do. Because you want to save your family and you want to help your family because--
Steve Kmetko:
Was that your motive?
Monica Potter:
A lot of it was, yeah. It was because we grew up poor, you know?
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah.
Monica Potter:
We never went without. But my mom would clean the mall at the Euclid Square Mall. And our house was always pristine, always clean. Always, we had the best childhood, the best. And--
Steve Kmetko:
And you had three sisters?
Monica Potter:
Yes. And we didn't have a phone for like seven years, but it was okay. Because the whole street came over to celebrate. Was it seven years you couldn't pro? I don't know. It was just one phone. It was yellow. And then when it was installed, the whole street came over and it was great. We got our phone and, I am very, it's almost like the peaks and valleys you go through in life are just like, part of what makes you want to be an actor maybe. And you just haven't explored them yet. But I've been really lucky. But you have to also know, sometimes it's, there's a prayer called Don't say a word. And I don't, I can't recall how, what all the words are, maybe, Because I'm not supposed to say a word, but it's about knowing what you want to do and just having tunnel vision.
Not comparing yourself with others, but also don't talk about it so much. Because people always are, they want to encourage you mostly, but they might do, you know, how hard that is to do? And that is like, when I got pregnant with Danny I was supposed to go to Japan for a six-month modeling contract. And I went and I talked to my agents down there or my agency, and they said, okay, well you have this modeling contract coming up for Japan. So, we'll take care of this first. And then, and I was like, what? I wasn't getting it. You know, like, well, you know, you're not really going to, and I was excited about having a, I mean.
Steve Kmetko:
Meaning they were talking to you about possibly ending your pregnancy.
Monica Potter:
Yeah. Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
That's outrageous.
Monica Potter:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
And not that long ago, really?
Monica Potter:
I was never even a thought in my head. Never, like, it was just never a thought. And here, you know, I never had a lot of boyfriends in high school, and I never, I was always pretty free spirited. But, you know, I also wanted to be a nun, so I was the least likely to be married first or whatever. And I was the first one to get married and have a baby. And then I had Liam at age 23 and I was on a soap opera and I got fired. Thank God. I was terrible. I was terrible. No, I sucked Steve. It was so bad. It was and I'd still be on probably acting worse. And those actors on like sitcoms too. It is not for me where it's like, dun-dun-dun. That's a tough thing. That's hard.
Steve Kmetko:
Dun-dun-dun punchline!
Monica Potter:
Right. Yes. Or I don't think that quickly or I'm not able to. Like, you know, being diagnosed by a few doctors on the spectrum, you're on whatever. Well, what else am I, you know, you're, I take my time with things I do things that are different and the way I go about things I do differently. So, but going back to dispel--
Steve Kmetko:
I should look that up while you were.
Monica Potter:
Yeah. I think you just pulled that one right out of your bottom.
Steve Kmetko:
I did not. I know what spell means. It just slipped my mind.
Monica Potter:
Sure.
Steve Kmetko:
Let's see here. iPhone unavailable. Try again in one minute.
Monica Potter:
Well, the grid's going down today after the big one hits, guys.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh, is it?
Monica Potter:
Oh, it's off. Don't get--
Steve Kmetko:
Do you have a secret talent. Seeing into the future?
Monica Potter:
Secret talents? I can read people very well, but sometimes it's an overwhelming thing, which is also why I can't, it's something I had really strongly as a kid when I was really little. I would be alone a lot. And in the field behind my house, and every day I would come home with a different animal. My mom said, Machi you came home with a mouse, two snakes, every, you know turtles, wild rabbits. And like, I don't know how I caught these things.
Steve Kmetko:
Well, they were probably living in glass houses in Cleveland.
Monica Potter:
Well, they were in the field behind our house on Lake Erie. So, I would just sit there and kind of like, talk to them. And, you know, I guess I understand, I don't know if it's a secret talent, but I understand beings that are not able to be vocal, if that makes any sense. Whether it's a treat. And I know this sounds very new Ingénue and weird.
Steve Kmetko:
Woo-woo-woo.
Monica Potter:
It's not. No, I swear it's not. And this was confirmed when I went back to when I went to Ireland because it's something that I used to try to hide. And it also comes from the place of being empathetic too. And another talent I have is attracting people that aren't that way.
Steve Kmetko:
That aren't empathetic.
Monica Potter:
Oh yeah. You know, those people that I, but I'm getting better at--
Steve Kmetko:
Recognizing it.
Monica Potter:
Sure. Ahead of time. Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
Nip it in the bud!
Monica Potter:
Or just shut it down. Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
And we'll be right back.
What training did you have to be an actor? Did you have any?
Monica Potter:
No. I mean, I went to an acting, few acting classes and watched and I was like, something's off. But, something's odd for me.
Steve Kmetko:
I think that's pretty common though. People don't like to see themselves or hear themselves.
Monica Potter:
No, it wasn't me, it was the teacher. I was like--
Steve Kmetko:
I'm sorry!
Monica Potter:
*** this guy. He's a pervert. I just knew something was like, it's almost like I saw through, not all of them. I went to Janet Ante she's was a great teacher. I went to a few of her classes and she said to me, come here. And I said, yeah. She said, you don't need me.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh!
Monica Potter:
Because she didn't want to condition. It almost feels like sometimes acting teachers, not all of them. Because There are so many great ones, I'm sure, but I don't have a method. I don't understand I theater or like NYU stuff or all that stuff, Film School. I don't, I just understand what I understand. And that's feeling the nuns at school would say to me--
Steve Kmetko:
Join us!
Monica Potter:
Ms. Broco, well that too, or not really. Not, I don't know. I investigated a few of them. Funnel? No Ms. Broco, that was my maiden name, you don't think. And I remember I just would burst into tears and I said, it's Because I feel everything though. And this is the only job that I could get where you could feel, and sometimes I really have to temper that because I am, even as an adult, you know, it's not always easy to not show your emotion, you know? And so, with the acting schools or acting classes, I would audit a few of them and then I would see these kids that were my age. I mean, it was in my twenties early and go, these people that are like yelling at these students are making them like, some kind of weird manipulation or breaking them down to build them back up so they become reliant on them. That's not what you do.
Steve Kmetko:
But it's very common.
Monica Potter:
But that's a bad thing. You want everyone to, to feel, you know, free. And, I do have a hidden talent of being able to, to see who is got it and who maybe doesn't. And I would never want to work with anyone. And, you know but that would, that's just subjective also, you know. But you can also tell the real, the actors that are trained that are sometimes not the best people. I have a gift for that too.
Steve Kmetko:
Okay.
Monica Potter:
That's a fun one.
Steve Kmetko:
Tell me this. Who first told you were beautiful? Do you remember? Someone must have; you were modeling?
Monica Potter:
That's a, that is not a, I don't, I feel like--
Steve Kmetko:
It's a difficult question to answer if you answer it in the affirmative. I'll tell you who first told me I was beautiful. Then people think conceited.
Monica Potter:
No, no. I mean, I don't know. I mean, but I'm not, thank you. I never thought about that. I like, I don't think of myself, I think of myself as a character actor, actress, because I haven't even scratched the surface on what do you know that kind, that side of me. But modeling was, I didn't love it, but was a good way to make money and learn on how to do business and stuff like that. But I always think the word beautiful is also subject. It's like, you can be pretty on the outside and, you know?
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah.
Monica Potter:
I think maybe my grandma broke ha my mom, my dad's mom. I don't, yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
Okay.
Monica Potter:
I don't know. Because I always think of myself too, like a boy, like a guy, like, because I was raised like a tomboy. So, I don't like, think of the word beautiful. I equate that to nature more than, than any like, people or people's souls. I do. But yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
You talked earlier about doing a soap opera, Young and the Restless, right? Young and the Restless, as we called it. What did you learn from doing a soap that still serves you, nothing?
Monica Potter:
That I never wanted to do it again.
Steve Kmetko:
Okay. Okay.
Monica Potter:
That I couldn't, I wanted to be fired from it. And ironically, I got pregnant with Liam. Is that a tissue for me?
Team Member Voice:
Yeah.
Monica Potter:
Thank you. I got pregnant. Check the gate.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah, the gate's empty.
Monica Potter:
Okay. I know that's my favorite line when I say it. You know who's old in the business and then those that are like, what is that? It's clear. It's my favorite. That's one of my talents coming up with Humdingers like that. Wait, what did you just ask me again?
Steve Kmetko:
Oh God.
Monica Potter:
I know!
Steve Kmetko:
if you didn't take so long to answer a question--
Monica Potter:
No, no, Steve!
Steve Kmetko:
What did you learn from Young and the Restless?
Monica Potter:
Oh, nothing.
Steve Kmetko:
Nothing.
Monica Potter:
No, I learned that I don't, that I'm not good. I'm not good there.
Steve Kmetko:
Okay. Period.
Monica Potter:
I'm not good there. I was not meant, I actually not true. I was meant to experience that so that I knew how badly I sucked at it. So never to it. I would have anxiety every single day. Plus, I was pregnant with Liam and I was playing like a 16-year-old. And when the casting director found out, she's so sweet, her name's Jill, I think. And I said, I'm pregnant and blah, blah. She's like, we're letting you go, anyway, I was like, God, thank you, God, thank you, God, thank you God. But then we struggled for a long time and, but we stuck it out and stayed here, but you have to have a certain skill to be honest hope. I don't have it.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah. Hey, you had a home in and beauty line, right? A decor?
Monica Potter:
I do. I mean, I had liked a store, a couple of stores, but I do love decorating. I love making every house feel like a home. I love the seasons. I love deck. I actually brought you guys some seed buckthorn balm that I created for, I had eczema growing up and, you know, my dad being an inventor and stuff, that's why my finger is like this. People are like, you're doing that on purpose. So, eczema's like, kind of an autoimmune thing. I had it really bad as a kid, so I made this balm with sea buckthorn balm. It's oil, it's a berry. Anyway, I brought you guys some. And I love doing stuff like that. I love I alchemy, I love mixing things and trying different things, and I always test them on myself to see if it works. I love inventing things. So that's a secret. Maybe talent. I also love digging for things. I go on hikes.
Steve Kmetko:
You're going to be thinking about this question the rest of the day. What could I have said?
Monica Potter:
No, I'm just letting it out there. You know, like a secret. I don't even think they're secret talents. They're just things that come up that I love to do.
Steve Kmetko:
Yeah.
Monica Potter:
And then the hard part is marketing for, because I don't, I want to just give it away for free for people that need it. But I realize that you have to make money to, for the overhead in order to do that. So, or like, I'll go on digs for crystals up in the mountains, and then people are like, you should sell those on Etsy or sell those on. And I'm like, some of them go for--
Steve Kmetko:
A lot of money.
Monica Potter:
A lot of money. And I'm like, no, I, because they're not mine. I didn't create them, you know, God did. So, I give them away as gifts. And I have some for you guys, but they're in my backpack. I love Indiana Jones. Is that his name?
Steve Kmetko:
Yep.
Monica Potter:
I love all of those things. I want; I love archeology. I love anthropology.
Steve Kmetko:
Me too.
Monica Potter:
Geology obsessed. I love it. I love camping. I love staying in my teepee out in the desert. I love being alone and going on digs. I love reading about certain things and history and I love books and I love being in my own world sometimes.
Steve Kmetko:
Well, thanks for letting us come in.
Monica Potter:
Yeah.
Steve Kmetko:
I so enjoyed this.
Monica Potter:
I did so.
Steve Kmetko:
I'm so glad you came and talked to us and I think you're beautiful, so.
Monica Potter:
Well, thank you.
Steve Kmetko:
You're welcome.
Monica Potter:
I think you are too.
Steve Kmetko:
Oh, thanks.
Monica Potter:
I really do.
Steve Kmetko:
Thank you.
Monica Potter:
You have a beautiful soul. And I am very grateful that maybe we didn't meet before. Maybe this was the time for us to come together.
Steve Kmetko:
Maybe!
Monica Potter:
Because you're super famous and--
Steve Kmetko:
I'm not super famous!
Monica Potter:
Yes. Everyone that I've said that I was going to meet you, they were like, really, really? So yeah, you are.
Steve Kmetko:
You probably pronounced the name wrong and they thought it was someone else. Thank you, Monica.
Monica Potter:
Thank you.
Steve Kmetko:
I've enjoyed this.
Monica Potter:
Me too. And I love you.
Steve Kmetko:
Thank you.
Monica Potter:
I do. You're a good man.
Steve Kmetko:
No one has said that to me in ages.
Monica Potter:
Well, it's the truth.
Steve Kmetko:
Thank you!
Still Here Hollywood is a production of the Still Here network. All things technical run by Justin Zangerle. Theme music by Brian Sanyshyn and executive producer is Jim Lichtenstein.