Richard Speight Jr. – An Xperience Interview

Richard Speight Jr. – An Xperience Interview – by Liam Sweeny.

RRX: You have left an indelible mark all over Hollywood, both as an actor and a director. You had big roles in the series “Supernatural” and “Band of Brothers,” you’ve directed for the former and for “Lucifer” on Netflix, and you put together “Kings of Con” with Supernatural castmate Rob Benedict. What’s the opus you haven’t done? What’s the elevator pitch?

RSJ: I don’t think of work in those terms. More often than not, I am working on an existing project either as a director or actor (or sometimes both) and I am cool with that. That still affords me a lot of creativity in the world I am visiting as an artist. I’ve gotten to work on dramas and comedies … taken part in wars and westerns … I’ve had a pretty good run and am looking forward to what’s next. I don’t mind being surprised. That’s one of the more fun, creative parts of having no idea what is around the corner.

RRX: With “Supernatural” and “Lucifer” both, a theology or mythos has developed that’s been able to thread the needle of having the topics of religions, but without the pickets and protests by religious folks. How do you think that happened? How were you able to keep such a wide audience tolerant of what were pretty unique takes?

RSJ: This is just a thought, but maybe because those works aren’t challenging the Bible. They pull from all sorts of influences including graphic novels, folklore, legend, etc. Since they are not from one singular source, they aren’t jousting against one specific belief system. That way, they can be a guilty pleasure for the most devout follower of religion without stepping on any specific toes – although I bet you dollars to donuts that somebody out there gets offended by something in every episode of (insert name of show here). You know the old saying – you can please all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.

RRX: In “Supernatural,” Season 13, Episode 20, “Unfinished Business,” you (the archangel Gabriel), fought you (Loki), and it was directed by … you. Were you just like, f**k it, I don’t notebook, I got this? How did it go down?

RSJ: The keys to successfully directing yourself in TV are prep, prep, and prep. I prepped my face off as an actor for the acting parts, prepped my face off for the fighting, then prepped my face off for the directing of it all. I knew every beat backward and forward for every scene and made sure I could clearly and efficiently lay out my shot plan to the crew before each scene. Luckily, I knew that crew very well and trusted them to get what I was going for and to help me get there. And they did all of that in a big way. I am forever grateful because I’ll probably only get one chance to direct myself kicking my own ass on TV and—thanks to prep + teamwork—I’m proud of how it turned out.

RRX: Our alter ego is a pirate radio station, and we will soon be welcoming music by your band, Dick Jr. & The Volunteers. What are we going to be listening to? Is it car music? Office music? DIY punk basement scene music? What will we be treating ourselves to?

RSJ: Dick Jr. & The Volunteers’ music is alt-country—one boot in country, the other in rock, with a little whiskey stank poured over it all. Someone once described our sound as “Willie Nelson meets Kurt Cobain.” Not sure that is spot-on, but I do know it’s toe-tappin’ fun with a bit of a backwoods edge.

RRX: So, being in bands, we always looked forward to the “blowing up” part. Not the “beating the piss out of the drummer” kind of blowing up, but making it. The record label, the tours, the festivals. Where is Dick Jr. and the Volunteers in this? Record label? Fests? What belt notches have ye?

RSJ: Oh, not many notches yet—but notch-hopeful! We have a ways to go before we “blow up,” BUT we do have loyal fans who love the music and show up to see us live. We are on a small label out of Virginia called Caroline County Record Company. The good news with digital music being a thing is that our music can be found everywhere—Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music … (https://dickjrandthevolunteers.hearnow.com) we even went old school and sell CDs (DickJrAndTheVolunteers.myshopify.com).

I would LOVE to be out there playing more, especially at festivals n’ such. Hopefully, that day will come. Fingers crossed!

Music is so universal that a good band can bring people together instantly. It’s probably the first thing we ever did that wasn’t directly related to survival. Or maybe it was the cave paintings; whatever. Can you describe one experience you’ve had with the band that made you feel the depths of the music you were playing?

I’ve played in bands since I was 15. I love music. I love listening to it, playing it, and seeing it live. I love the story of bands that spend years playing in toilets until something clicks and their music finds a broader audience (of varying sizes). To me, playing music is like pick-up basketball. Pure fun, pure joy. That’s not to say I don’t want great things for my music, but I put an s-ton of pressure on myself my whole adult life to make it in the entertainment business as an actor and director. I have no desire to make musical success a “goal” because then I just set myself up for disappointment. I know the music is fun. I know the two albums we’ve put out are good. Do I want a bigger audience for it? Hell yes. Do I want to play live more and get the music out to a bigger, broader audience? HELLS yeah. Playing live is the whole thing—the energy of being on stage and in a groove while feeding off the energy of an audience soaking it up—there’s nothing better. But I always want to keep it fun, keep it enjoyable, and not make it a pressure cooker of an endeavor. Everything else I do IS done in a pressure cooker. Music is my pressure release valve.

RRX: This is where you answer the question I didn’t ask. Remarks? Comments? Educate, enlighten, emote—the floor is yours.

RJS: A) Thanks for the interview. I always appreciate getting to have this kind of conversation with new folks. I genuinely appreciate it.

B) I feel very fortunate to be able to make a living in a profession I dreamt of being a part of as a kid. I truly love each and every day I get to spend in front of the camera or behind it, on a set, in an edit bay, in the studio, or on stage. To everyone who already knows and supports what I do, I can’t thank you enough. To people new to “Richard Speight Jr.” (me), I hope reading this maybe inspires you to watch some of what I do and/or listen to some of my tunes. Either way, to quote bluegrass legend Hubert Davis of Hubert Davis and the Season Travelers, “If you like us, tell your friends about us—and if you don’t, keep your mouth shut.” (When Hubert used to say that at the end of every show, it was funny and endearing. Hopefully it translates that way in print.)
It has been an honor and a pleasure. Thanks for your time. Cheers!

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