Harold Perrineau: The Struggles They Don’t Tell You About in Acting
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Welcome to a very special episode. We have someone that I've been a big fan of for many years, and I'm sure you have too. You've probably seen him on the big screen. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Harold Perrineau is a true legend in film and television, known for iconic roles in Lost... Right out of my hands. They took my son and... Oz... We were out of game face all day. The Matrix trilogy, and so much more.

He's doing his Superman thing. Beyond acting, he stepped into entrepreneurship as a co-founder of Sable Bourbon, a premium whiskey brand created alongside longtime friends and co-stars. I don't want to just sit through the rest of my life, you know what I mean? And I don't want to just keep doing things that I know how to do because then I'll be bored. And so, yeah, I like to try new stuff and just get out there and see it. That's why success...

isn't so straight line. And it's not like, I'm so desperate to be successful. It's just like, I just want to keep learning stuff. - And your life story and the lessons, I know it's going to impact thousands or tens of thousands of people. That's why we do what we do here. - Exactly right. - What would you give to tips to entrepreneurs starting out that look up to you? They've watched you in "Lost" and all these movies. - I would say to you, and I say it directly,

My name is Rudy Moore, host of Living the Red Life podcast, and I'm here to change the way you see your life in your earpiece every single week. If you're ready to start living the red life, ditch the blue pill, take the red pill, join me in Wonderland and change your life. What's up, everyone? Welcome to a very special episode. We have someone that I've been a big fan of for many years, and I'm sure you have too. You've probably seen him on the big screen.

uh harold sat with me today uh legendary from lost from which is one of my new favorite shows good good uh my my wife's very scared of it and we watch it late at night and lots of awesome movies and we're going to talk today about you know the entertainment acting

career and industry and how it links to success and failure and resilience and what we go for as entrepreneurs. And so excited for this. So welcome. Thank you. Thank you for having me. And listen, before we even start, what I really want to know is,

Where'd you get those red necks from? Those are hot, I like them. So the funny thing about the red, right, is my personal brand, so all I wear is red. Okay. And when you can only wear red, that's all I wear, you find a lot of fascinating red things and you're always Googling and like it's a never-ending search for like crazy red things. When we were about to start, I was looking down and I was like, damn, those are the ones I like the most.

I'll get you a pair next time we see each other. All right. But let's talk about what you want to talk about. Okay. So, I mean, let's just start with your, I know we've been filming today and I know your life story very well at this point, but let's summarize it for people listening. Like I love that. Like, you know, it really is that like from, from nothing that, that story of just believing in yourself and defining the odds and just going for it. And one thing that I think people don't see in acting,

in Hollywood is it's not a straight line just like business it's almost identical you know can you just summarize that journey for a bit it's it's uh it's really easy to summarize I come from uh uh these projects in in Brooklyn called uh Cypress Hills I do that all the time Cypress Hills is in East New York and um you know nobody in my neighborhood was an actor or anything like that and uh

And it's been a long journey from, you know, Cypress Hills to the Matrix Revolutions and Reloaded and all of those things. And so, yeah, those things are filled with so many ups and downs and, like, learning new skills for a long time. I was a dancer. You know, I wrote some songs, and so I was in the music part of it for a while. Always wanted to be an actor and had to keep struggling to do that. And so there are lots of twists and turns and pivots in order to get to a place where, you know,

you might call success. Well, the funny thing about success, and we'll come back to it, but it's like an ever-moving target, right? Because it's like in a lot of people's eyes, I think both of us sat here have had a lot of success, right? But for us, it's still like we're like, what's next? Exactly right. Do you think about that now? All the time. I wish I could stop thinking about that. Somebody asked me the other day, they said, oh, when did you realize that you made it?

And it's like, I don't know what you're talking about. I made it. I'm still on the wheel. And it's not like I haven't done well, right? We've done well. But still, there's always another new step to keep you interested. I think that's the successful trade of like, you know, I work with a ton of pro athletes, as you know, and get to meet so many amazing people. And I love what I do because of that. And we all have this like, we're all connected somehow with this like, I say I'm a little delusional, right? Hey.

And you said you still think you're normal, even though your family tell you you're not. You haven't cottoned on, you're not yet. But we have to have this level of like, just we're out the box. We're not a normal person. We keep striving for more and we don't settle. Yeah, I'm really glad that when I started acting, I didn't know what it took because I would have never done it. I'm really glad that at this point I was just like, I just believe I can act

And the truth was, I probably shouldn't. But I did believe it. And so then you just keep going and keep working it out and keep working it out. But there is a real delusion. There's a real like, no, no, no. No, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I know. I'm weird. I'm weird looking. But I'm still going to be an actor.

And then here I am. So it's pretty cool. It's the same in business because it's like when you start, everything doesn't work. You have no money. And you think, oh, yeah, when I have like I have 100 employees roughly now. And you're like, oh, yeah, when you're at that level, everything's good. And it's like, no, you have like a million dollars a month in expenses. Yeah.

People try and, you know, employees will trip over something and try and sue you for no reason. People you've never met will try and sue you and then everyone else will try and copy you. That's really wild. I mean, that's wild. That's so many things that are really the same as like an actor. Like, you know what I mean? Like I have to take out insurance in my house because if I have a party and somebody does a thing, they could try to sue you, which has actually happened. So it's crazy. And I didn't realize so many things were happening.

Until we were talking today, so many things were so similar with entrepreneurs. And I'm glad you're telling me about this. You know, I just started a bourbon business, which we talked about. And so now I got things to look forward to. The ups and downs of bourbon. You're doing it all over again. Yeah, exactly. And I'm kind of doing it in the reverse. I just started, you know, getting into it. Media TV. Yeah, on TV. That's right. I was telling you earlier, you know, I struggle to memorize free lines. Right. Right.

So I'm like the beginner over there, you know. But that's also, I think, something interesting. Like we always like to challenge ourselves. You're challenging yourself constantly. I do. You know, why is that? I do like because it's always like,

It's really interesting. Every challenge is something new and interesting. I don't want to be bored. I don't want to just sit through the rest of my life. I don't want to just keep doing things that I know how to do because then I'll be bored. I like to try new stuff and just get out there and see it. That's why success...

isn't so straight line. And it's not like I'm so desperate to be successful. It's just like, I just want to keep learning stuff. You know, there's funny ups and downs of success, very similar in my entrepreneur journey and entrepreneurs I see in the acting side. Right. And I remember one thing that you were talking about earlier was being the tree in the back of...

A dance performance. Exactly, yeah. I want to talk now about like your, you know, the summary of your success in this industry, right? You're highly respected, very well known in some of the biggest shows and movies on the planet. How does it feel going from the tree in the back of your head, just wiggling around, to now you're leading this amazing role in From, being in Lost, in Matrix, 28 weeks later. How does that feel to reflect on that? It's really inspiring.

interesting to like think back in the whole journey to think back on the time when you're like damn i'm just gonna be stuck in the bronx forever so i used to live in the bronx for a little while and um to actually be here today like leading the show on prom and stuff like that and it just makes me you know it it makes me really understand like the power of belief

Like, I can only say, like, you just really have to believe, like, I'm fully living proof that that's how you move forward. You have to pivot. You have to do all these things. You have to, and you have to be tree number three. Like, you actually have to go and do that because that keeps inspiring you to, like, not have to do it again.

You know what I mean? You'll be tree number three, and the next time you're going to be tree number one. And then the next time, you're going to be the dude. So it really, when I think back about it, man, it's been a long journey. And of course, when we look back, it's been really interesting and cool. But at the time, it was all felt really tricky and like, ugh.

So it's going to take forever. But now here we are. We're like, I'm doing stuff that I love. And there's still hard times. There's still hard times. But I really am doing things that I love. And I couldn't be happier. I've been a really lucky dude. You had this idea of who you wanted to become. Right. And it's very different to all your friends and your environment you were born in. So talk about that. And also, I'd love you to talk about if someone's in an environment right now and they're the odd one out.

Like, I was in England. Were you the odd one out in England? Yeah, I was an entrepreneur. Very different, obsessed with money. And you, very similar to me, you were totally different. Like, you knew you were different. Yeah, yeah. Can you talk about that? Yeah, no, when I was in, when I grew up in Brooklyn in Cypress Hills, I was just the cat that wasn't like, you know, I couldn't play any of the sports.

I wasn't that cool to hang out with. You know, people used to do the dozens. Yo mama is so stupid. My yo mama jokes were the worst jokes you have ever heard. Like, you know what I mean? And anything that I could do wasn't really cool. Like, I was really good at math. That wasn't cool. And then I became a dancer, and that wasn't so cool. But like a ballet dancer. There's lots of people who can dance, but I was like a ballet dancer. And so all that stuff was really, really tricky to see yourself

To see yourself succeeding, even though where the environment where you are, you're completely failing, because it's just not where you belong. And you really just have to go like, "You know what? This is not for me, man.

I'm not knocking anybody else. It's just, this is not for me. I don't belong here. I can't hustle drugs. I just can't. I don't know how to do it. Do you know what I mean? I don't have that kind of, I'm not that brave. I'm not interested in it. And so what I want to do is I want to be, I want to go do Swan Lake. I really, really do. Like I want to learn how to dance to Tchaikovsky. I really, really do. I do want to go read like, you know, the great plays by Arthur Miller and, and,

and do those on Broadway. That's what I want to do. I want to do Shakespeare. And so it's been really tricky to be that goofy guy, but like just...

step into it and just be like all right then i'm just gonna i just gotta be that goofy guy and i'm just gonna have to see where that goes and listen it's taken me pretty far and if someone's listening they feel they're the yeah man absolutely and that's one of the things again we talked about this earlier we talked about representation right it's really important to see different types of people uh who do all these things to see uh women who are entrepreneurs and men who are

who are dancers, bisexual people who don't have to talk about their sexuality at all but really succeed in whatever field they're in. Representation is so important because if somebody is out there that feels like they're alone, they're the only person who looks like them, is like them, thinks like them, you know what I mean? You have to know that you're not the only person like that and you need to see people who felt the same way

and actually have been able to succeed in their own journey. And following up from that, what would you say to someone that they're stuck in the environment? Because I meet a lot of entrepreneurs and people trying to get started, but everyone says they shouldn't quit their job, they shouldn't become an entrepreneur, their idea is stupid, they're going to fail. What would you say to someone? Listen, at the end of the day, I'd say what I've been saying the whole time, you really just have to believe it. I don't know if you should quit your job.

I don't know. Like, I had a lot of jobs that I didn't quit, and I just kept going. I met everybody that I could who was, like, doing plays, and I would do all these readings, like, a place for no money at all, and then I would go to my bartending job or my, uh,

you know, my waiting job and then come back. And I just did everything I could to stretch myself to be in the place where I wanted to be. I started treating myself as if I was already there. Like if I had to do a bartending gig, I'd do my bartending gig and it's like, oh, hold on, I got to go meet this director. And it really is just a friend of mine who's directing a little play and that's all good, but that's really the place I want to be. Like you have to try to put yourself in those places where, you know,

where you will find your community. Every one of us will find, you know, the community of people that vibe with us. And you'll be able to really sail when you find those people. Well, and I admire that about you. You've got that hustle, right? And you always had that hustle. And then we were just talking now, you still got that hustle. You know, you're about to leave, you know, amazing California,

in Hollywood. You've got your family here, you're set here. You go into Nova Scotia, which isn't quite the same. It's far away, man. And you're going to be there for many, many months filming from. You don't have to probably go and do that. Right, right. But I do because I'm still hustling, right? I'm still trying to make

I'm still trying to make great art. I'm still trying to make a name for myself, even as it were. And, you know, my daughter just turned 12 and I'm just going to miss this part of her 12, which is going to be really, I'm going to try to do everything I can to see her as much as I can. But, you know, I'm sacrificing that thing because, you know, I have this desire. I have this desire to succeed.

My success isn't more important than my daughter, but I want her to see that, you know, you have to be able to work hard, and sometimes you have to do a little sacrificing.

right now to get what you want eventually do you know what i mean and how is that you know on the family side like you know you're a role model right like i think it's so important too because especially you know i'm not a parent but i have a lot of friends where their kids uh you know their parents are worth 10 20 million right or the you know you you're obviously a successful actor how important do you think that is for them to see you hustling still in that

that role model like figure? Like, I think it's, look, I think it's important about to raise like great human beings, right? And so being a great human being means you're active in your own life as well. And so I like them to see me do things that I succeed at or that I work really hard for. And because they're not going to see the part that's really hard, which is parenting. Yeah.

Parenting is really hard. They're not going to see that part, but they're going to see the other things that I do and realize that even within that, I still try to incorporate them as well. And I think it's going to help make, help them be really great rounded human beings and find their own passions and figure out like, oh, my dad, he used to work really hard. I remember those times he would go away. So,

You know, I might not have to I mean, I might not be able to be my friends tonight, but I do want to go and do this thing because it's really going to serve me and whatever it is I'm looking for. And so hopefully they'll see those things happening with me and and that'll inspire them in some way, I hope.

I hope. And just last couple of questions, we come to wrap up. I'd love to reflect on some of your biggest highlights, right? So, you know, you were in obviously lost now from Romeo and Juliet, you know, matrix. Was there any one moment in all of those or a different show or movie where you got the call or you got the role and you're like, you reflected and you're like, wow, that's crazy. I got to say that, you know, in my career, I've had a lot, I've been really successful in,

is what I mean. Not just successful, but like there are a lot of actors and there are a lot of great actors.

And, like, not only working hard, but it takes a little bit of luck. You know what I mean? And luck is almost where you make it. You put yourself in the position to be lucky. But I do remember when I got William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and I had the dreads, and I was just, you know, and I was like this dancer who was weird and wacky. And I didn't think I had a shot in hell to get it, but I kept going back and going back and going back. And Baz was like, let's try this. Let's try this. And then I wound up being there, and I remember when I got it, I was just like...

oh, snap, I'm about to do Shakespeare, Shakespeare, with, you know, some of the greatest actors on the planet and this amazing young director, Baz Luhrmann. And it was one of those times when I was just like, this is wild. Like, this is wild. We shot in Mexico City. It was really, really amazing. It felt like...

Yeah, yeah, it felt really good to have to do that. That's a great one. And I also know you talk about another one where like some of the maybe actors you looked up to or some of the big famous ones along, you know, that you've seen in other big movies. Right. They come up to you on red carpet. Yeah, yeah. I had done this movie also. I did this movie called The Edge.

And it's me and it was Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins, which is already mind-blowing. Like, it's mind-blowing. It's crazy. And we go to the premiere and we walk out of the premiere and somebody goes, young man, that bear ate you up. And I look up to see who it is and it's Morgan Freeman. And I stop. I'm just like,

I wish to be a lawyer. Like, I can barely say a word. Like, you know, it's crazy. Or, like, I did this play, and Denzel Washington came backstage. He's like, man, you a tough dude. And I was like, oh, Scott, that's Denzel Washington. You know, like, these are people who I've looked up to my whole career and sort of tried to emulate part of my career. Like, they're amazing, amazing artists, and they work really hard, and I've tried to emulate them, and it's just...

Such a wild thing when when they come up and they're talking to me. It's crazy. It's great I always love I ask these questions because I personally like I love those you know And I always say it's the ones that you go home and like tell your wife about yeah What's funny with my wife is she's like busy in the kitchen, and I'll tell her this crazy story right? Came up to you or whatever. Oh, yes the great baby

I don't know if you ever get that. I get that all the time. Like, oh, yeah, that's really cool. My wife isn't impressed by mostly anything. The only thing my wife wants to do, and I've never been able to do it, is meet Larry Bird. That's her whole, like, her whole... I could tell her I met...

anybody I could say Nelson Mandela came back and was talking to me and she'd be like oh that's interesting I actually can make that intro you can make it into the Larry Bird alright man if you can we'll do it because that's all she wants to do and then she'll be impressed I thought you were going to say it was you doing a triathlon no

No, that would be me. I'd be like, oh, snap, you did that? Yes, I did. We're going to get you on one of the sprint ones. Okay, okay. I've got to learn to swim, though. I really do. So last couple of questions. I always like to ask this at the end of these sort of interviews is, and I already asked you earlier offline, but someone's listening. They're inspired by your work, right, and all the amazing things you've done. Talk to them as an everyday entrepreneur because you are now an entrepreneur. Yeah.

Especially now with the new business. But even I think as an actor, you don't get a salary. You have to go out there and work. That's an entrepreneur.

Yeah, every time I get an application, it's like, who's your employer? I am. And you write the IRS nice checks every year too, right? Exactly right. So you're an entrepreneur and you have been for many years. What would you give to tips to entrepreneurs starting out that look up to you? They've watched you in Lost and all these movies. Look, I would say to you, and I would say it directly, you have to stay engaged with what you do. Like,

Things may change or you'll find different pivot points, but you have to stay engaged because you have to stay interested in what you're doing. And the more interested you are, the more success that you'll have. You'll just have to keep going.

And your interest will be the thing that drives you to keep going. So stay in there. Keep trying. Keep working on it. Keep building. Every time you get someplace else, you want to get another place, right? So just keep doing it. But you really have to, like, enjoy what you're doing. And I don't mean, like, I'm laughing and giggling. I mean, you have to really enjoy the process, right, of creating and building and doing something new all the time.

Okay, and one final question, probably the most important one. The most important question. Everybody listen up. Here we go. You've maybe been asked it before too. Okay. Where's Waltz?

Right. Okay, so here's the thing. Walt is out here in California. He's a rapper. He's so good. He got off the island. Malcolm Kelly. I love Malcolm Kelly. Malcolm's a rapper. Do you guys stay in touch? We have seen each other now and again,

throughout the years. In fact, we did one of these Comic-Cons where we signed things, and I had him there and also the young man who plays my son now. And so it was really kind of dope to have them both there, and we just took pictures together. So I see him once in a while. I follow him on social media. I'm really proud of him for all the stuff that he's doing.

And I guess just lastly, tell us about the new, you know, what you're working on, the big projects right now. I'm going back to the fourth season of From, and that's been a really amazing journey. We've been producing a film called Slay the Dreamer that we finally, I think, got fully greenlit. My buddy Lawrence Fishburne is going to be in it, Jeremy Irons, Anthony Hopkins. We've got all these really great talent.

That's going to be in it. We are on tour with Sable Bourbon that I'm doing with my buddy Taye Diggs and Morris Chestnut and Malcolm D. Lee. And we are just in the mix, just like doing a bunch of new things, like putting new projects together and

Just like I said, staying creative. It's not easy, but we're just staying in. Yep. I think From, I mean, is that blowing up more than you expected? Like I feel it's... From has blown up way more than I expected. It's doing really good. It's doing really, really good. When we first shot the show, you know, we were like, oh...

I don't know. This is really scary to me and kind of cool, but, like, I don't know. I mean, people might like it." And then people just started loving it. And I was like, "Whoo!" I thought I was crazy, which we've talked about already. But, yeah, lots of people are really digging it now. I was at the doctor's office the other day, and the doctor came out of the door to get somebody else. He goes, "Boyd is in the house!" I was like, "Oh, that's weird."

It's so good. The hook, like the storyline. I'm like, I don't watch TV that often. Like I watch a lot of movies, but it takes a lot to get me in a TV show. Right. Right. But it's like, I got to know what, where's this going? Yeah. Yeah. And that's the thing we were talking about earlier about connecting with people. We have a lot of characters in that thing. And,

and they connect with different people and different points. So many people can see themselves as Boyd or as Sarah or as Donna or any of the characters, and that's what keeps people coming back. It's not just, oh, this is scary, because you can see yourself. It's really...

It's really good writing. Really, really good. - Yeah, very good. - I really like it. - Very good. Well, it's been an honor and a pleasure to have you here today. - Pleasure's in good mind. - You've been amazing. And your life story and the lessons, I know it's gonna impact thousands or tens of thousands of people. That's why we do what we do here. - Exactly right. - So thank you so much for coming in.

Everyone, go watch From if you've not already. I promise you it's one of the best shows I've seen probably ever, especially in this space. It's awesome. And thank you so much for your time. Thank you, sir. That's a wrap. Keep working hard. Have an impact. Build a legacy. I'll see you guys soon. Take care.