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Shirtless in Hollywood: Matthias Hues' Wild Ride · Cinema Yūgen

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G'day. That's right. It's that time again. Time for Cinema Lugan.
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Yes, welcome back, Luganites. Cinema Lugan, uh, last classic for the year.
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This classic, Matthias Hughes, it was actually Christmas time.
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Oh jeez, when was it, just before the pandemic I think, just before COVID,
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it was December 2019, I chatted with the mighty Matthias Hughes from his beautiful Balinese villa.
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And which he had a problem with a monkey that kept requisitioning.
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His mobile phone. But we were talking at that time about his book,
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Shirtless in Hollywood.
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In 1986, Matthias Hughes came
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to Hollywood without a shirt, or little more than a shirt, on his back.
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And without a shirt, he built a career that continues, not only to grow, but to evolve.
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Like his predecessors, peers, and the now-imagining class of action stars,
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the mantra has really become adapt or fade
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away but really it has always been that
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way he's a great bloke matthias hughes
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this is a great book it is still out and available yeah you can get down to
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the links in the description shirtless in hollywood through bare manna media
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and also if you remember bare manna media has some other books out there that
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we have had the authors on this year.
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Of course, there is Eric Samuel Wofford's wonderful Crowley Unofficial Film
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Companion and, most recently,
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Brian Kristoffelwitz's Not Coming to a Theatre Near You, 50 great direct-to-video
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action flicks from the early 2000s.
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So those three books, Shirtless, The Crowley Film Companion,
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and Not Coming to a Theatre Near You, get down to the links in the description, from Bear Manor Media.
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But right now, stick around. It's your classic Eugenites, the mighty Matthias Hughes.
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Yes, it was maximum fun shooting it. Maximum fun, yeah.
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You know, it was in Moscow. So Moscow is internationally, it's a huge city, it has a lot of history.
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It was summer, outside a lot. I had no idea. it's like going to Paris or New
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York or London you know it's a vibrant city and no wonder a lot of people you know that for movies,
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Yeah, I was, I was very surprised. A lot of movies are shot there.
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Yeah, I was very surprised because, you know, you don't, you know,
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you see a lot of American movies and European movies, but not a lot of movies
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shot, you know, in and around the area.
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So it looked incredible. I
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love, you know, you got to change your wardrobe quite a bit in this movie.
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I mean, we're talking, we're talking about shirtless and yeah,
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we're talking about shirtless in Hollywood, but in that movie,
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Mathias, you, you went through quite a few, you're For a man in the stars, costume changes.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. That was the characters, you know. They were like these bumbling
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idiots trying to kidnap someone and, you know, constantly trying to blend and then not blend in.
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I thought Mark Dacovkas was really funny, you know.
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He played, I played a psychic, so he's a born comedian, I tell you that.
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So his dance scenes and all that, that was pretty funny.
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But you know the movie I don't even it didn't do that
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well you know it was such an expensive movie we had a great director who's done
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a lot of big A movies and it kind of like poof disappeared I don't know what
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happened which is a shame because Alex sent me the DVD and all that sort of
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thing but it was I mean it's good it's.
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The movies he seems to like to make are those throwbacks to the 80s,
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90s action movies, which you were very experienced in. I think so, yeah.
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You know? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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It's still a market. If you do it right, it's still a market.
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You know, a lot of people still miss it. I feel like it's our generation,
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you know, the ones who are 40, 45, 50.
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We all grew up with that. And that's a diehard fan-type group.
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I noticed that right now there is Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, millions of platforms.
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We don't have DVDs anymore. We don't go to the blockbusters or we don't go to the DVD store.
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So there's so much product right now, especially with Netflix, right?
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So a lot of the new generation doesn't have movie stars that much anymore.
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So in the old days, our days, there were a bunch of bad guys.
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Now it's like maybe it's like The Rock, really, seriously.
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You know, it's getting smaller and smaller. And soon there will be just faceless
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people on Netflix doing vampire movies.
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And I think that diehard people still want to see that personality involved
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acting, faces they grew up with, you know, that time.
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So, yeah, I believe you can actually go back and shoot many more movies,
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you know, two packs of 50, if you want. Yes.
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And... So much, I would. Yeah, totally. And that's what, that's what makes particularly
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these last couple that you've done with Alex and Mark and that whole core group interesting.
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It's a different i mean i can see why it doesn't translate
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as well as it used to because today's audiences are used to a different kind
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of action movie where these yeah these movies and the movies that you've done
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in the past even though they were action movies and genre movies they they were
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more character driven than purely action and special effects driven,
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and all of you guys play a character like even though in Maximum Impact you're Mark Dacascas',
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sidekick you're still your own character you're not just the big tall guy standing next to.
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Right. But in a way, I wish I could convey this to people more.
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So that was an ambitious project. We had an A-list director.
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And I think what people do miss on these particular films, even Maximal Impact
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or Showdown Manila, what was better in the previous movies that we've done,
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there was a giant battle at the end.
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So you always have to have that big battle you cannot
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shortcut we don't have time we don't have this before we
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took one week time like karate attack no regime no surrender or kickboxer where
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we just shot two final fights you know what i mean you built the enemy you built
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the bad guy you built the villains up so much you hate him so much and first
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the villain always got to destroy the hero to pulp.
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You're a million, right? And then in the end, it's gotta be the hero has to
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overcome all these little obstacles and this and that.
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So that's the general formula, and it's not always there anymore.
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So I can only advise, if someone does it, don't shortcut on the fight scenes
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in the end. Just really go all out, you know.
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Maximum impact. I wanted to go all out, believe it or not. We had that location
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on short, and he said, oh, we have Mark to fight, we have you to fight,
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and you already Okay, here we go.
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You know, it's nothing I can do. I wish, you know, I could have done the major
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battle in between. And then once he's already almost demolished,
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he has to still fight Mark.
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And Mark pulls the last thing out of, you know, Alexander Nevsky.
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They even cut fight scenes out. Really?
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You wonder what yeah because it could
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have like you said it could have been good it could have been like that
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bruce lee movie game of death where he's got to fight his way up
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the pagoda you know what i mean that's exactly what
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i think and as shame in showdown manila again
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people don't i mean you never say i almost won the
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olympics and then i fell and tripped but it's the
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same there we were in the jungle and it was raining all
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the time and the location was so far away from
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the hotel so everything was not working out the way Mark could have had a grip
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on it in terms of that these fights could have been much more extensive like
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Kerry Tagara for instance the bad guy showed up in Manila you would expect him
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to be surrounded by an army later that it's a fight to the death,
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but again it's logistics sometimes you know so the thing is in the old days
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real quick you have to understand we had more time and more money Oh, sure, sure, sure.
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Now it's like half the money, half the time.
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Half everything. Half everything. Really, I mean, No Retreat,
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No Surrender was shot for four or five million or something.
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Now it's a million and a half. Yeah, yeah.
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And you were in Thailand quite a while too, weren't you? As opposed to probably
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the last part of the movie you did there.
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You know, so it's, yeah. But anyway, talking about, let's talk about it.
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Shirtless in Hollywood is an incredible book. It's an incredible life that you've
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lived. It's incredible life that you've lived. It might make a good movie one day.
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I don't know who they'd get to play you. Probably Dolph Lundgren.
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But it would be interesting. But it's full of great pieces.
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So I thought rather than ask you sort of the quintessential question,
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I've sort of gone through and I've picked out little bits.
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Because we might be here forever if we talk all about it.
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Because it's a lengthy story. it's a life story it's your life story your career
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story all that kind of thing but to kick it off one of the first things that
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i read that that these are things that sort of jumped out at me,
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it's like did you know there are
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exotic rulers in the world that keep deadly secrets
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and harbor wealth that everyday
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people can't imagine i mean
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that's a that's a different that's a different take
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on on hollywood or that kind of
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you know yeah the take is literally
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that when when you're in hollywood actor you get invited
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to certain countries that most people don't know of that
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have leaders that are dictators rulers and they have wealth beyond anything
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you can ever imagine and once you land in a country like that you're not a free
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person even if you can buy it yeah It's very scary to be in a country of a dictator,
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and there's a lot of things going on.
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You can sense, and you're not allowed to do certain things. I mean,
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I can tell you a lot of stories, you know.
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It's like a movie. It's like, oh, okay, we live in Queensland.
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I live in Bali. I live here in the States.
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I had no idea this totalism.
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I'll be saying it again.
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Totalitarianism. Oh, my God, totalitarianism. Yeah. No, I say terrorism.
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Anyway, it does exist in certain countries. Yeah, yeah.
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Yeah, no, it's just, you know, I mean, it's something that jumped out early because,
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really i mean shirtless in hollywood i
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mean this is just my point of view but it really has two
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it's a it's a title with a double meaning it literally means
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you came to hollywood with not you know shirtless like
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with with nothing but then you've kind
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of had to flourish there because of not not
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because that you're not a good actor a great performer but
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it is all about the look too and you have been cast a lot
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based on your physique and your appearance
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and and all so so it had is that
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is that right is that the reason you went with that title yeah
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i i went with that title because two reasons just
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exactly how you said it you come with nothing the shirt on your back literally
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you have really nothing and then you find out the best way to make your money
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as well the shirt and i mean my first jobs were so stupid but it's like the
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bodybuilder on venice Beach and dragging it with Tom Hanks.
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Then Aykroyd the next one was a t-shirt again bodybuilder in speedos even,
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muscle you know so yeah that's
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how you sort of realize okay there might be a market for me you know and you
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work on a gold's gym there's Han Kogan there's all these other big muscle guys
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80's bigger better deal so yeah you had an actual shot at it and that was shirtless
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in Hollywood you know you become shirtless in Hollywood,
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there's actually two different shots that you had back
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then to be larger than life or to
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be flexible like Van Damme with a world champion title right right right one
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or the other so the shirtless muscle guy like myself would always be the bad
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guy and they would have the new guy the new Van Damme you know Michael Worth
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or whatever you know all these great fantastic fighters,
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Don Wilson, they needed guys like me.
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Shirtless yeah you know and i made sure i made sure every film is ah hold on
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don't you want me to take my shirt off and they said yeah but how is it don't
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worry i know how to take my shirt,
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like uh like like craig baxley who directed you uh actually you quoted his book
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you know if anyone's going to take their shirt off it's going to be matthias because he is the muscle.
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That was my that was one of my favorite things because i
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was i couldn't believe it i mean we talk about doll
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blundering you know he was for me in the
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80s the most iconic figure i've
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ever seen in my life in rocky four i've never
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no one in the world has ever seen anything like it right
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so you know
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i was so intimidated by all of it you know and then
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the director saying that it's like oh okay does it
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does it it it never really
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changes does it like even the older you
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get and the the more the longer your
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career goes on oh yeah the
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longer yeah yeah the longer your career goes on you never get that never really
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leaves you does it like this was the first person like from your where you're
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from originally who made it right and he becomes like the bar for you Like,
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okay, well, if he can do it, so can I.
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Does that ever change or does it, you know, like... Yeah.
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I mean, it's so interesting. Now I'm 60, so Dolph is 60. The oldest of my age, one 60-ish.
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That bar's been already taken by others now, you know.
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So, like, for instance, I saw The Rock coming up and there was nothing anyone
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could do, you know. So, because we get older.
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So, he's now in that age where I was peaking. and I look over and I would love
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to fight the rock you know but I,
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I don't think physically, I'm not sure. I might be able to, but maybe not. I don't know.
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And you're still trying to hang in there as long as you can,
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ironically enough, you know, which is kind of stupid.
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But what are you going to do? What are you going to do? No one's ever,
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ever going to catch anything else unless I make a project myself and that'd
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be like Jim Carrey doing action movies. Who gives a shit, right?
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You know what I mean? I tell you what I wouldn't mind seeing a series like that
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you just did a bunch of Matthias Hughes action movies and it's just you the
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big head on the poster but it's a different story but it's the same story,
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and you just do like a series of just action movies you know I mean why not I mean,
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I mean look look at Liam Neeson I never forget it as long as I live,
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I'm a big fan of Liam Neeson I think we all are the Taken movies just took it,
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And then it helped me to get over all of that anxiety because I saw him at El
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DeGeneres and he had to take a shot off and was sitting in this water cage where you throw the balls.
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And it was horrible to look at all of it.
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And I thought, oh, if he can look like that,
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shit, why do I even worry about, you know, continuing having a six-pack and big arm?
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I mean, you can do a take in any other way.
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But no one will give you a chance at that. You have to create it yourself.
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And these days, it's not that easy.
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I'm not a producer, you know. But I tell you one thing just has nothing to do
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with shirtless, but there is a slight change.
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And I write scripts now because I love the business so much that over the last
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15 years, you just learn it because I'm in the business. So I know script writing.
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I know reeling scripts. I know script writing. I put a lot of work in it.
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So we just approached MGM, and they're actually interested.
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They're going to read Dark Angel, the sequel, I Come in Peace.
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I just finished the script, and I wrote it for Dolph and myself.
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And I wrote it for Dolph as Dolph now.
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As he is now and I survived but I've been held in a black site in Sweden and
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I'm completely damaged as you can imagine and Dolph is by now 61 Sheriff and,
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He's a sheriff in Texas, and he's been placed there because he keeps mumbling
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about aliens, and the government doesn't want him to ever, you know,
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surface with this bullshit story about aliens.
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And long story short, we're going to be reunited in Sweden, you know,
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when I break out that black side.
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But it's written really age-appropriate, but with tons of action,
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tons of action, more aliens.
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And him having a partner, he has to partner up in Sweden, who is like a Dolph
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lookalike, but younger.
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So you know it's these type of films i think we have a shot of humanizing ourselves,
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still kick ass still be the tough guy but
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age appropriate so and i'm sure
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doffa liked the script so i had already a couple meetings so mgm is very interested
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so all we need is mgm to nod off the script and we might have i come in peace
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too with tons of action with two 60-year-old action guys that will still kick some of that.
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I'm sold. I'm sold, Matthias. Take all my money. I'll go and see that next week
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when it opens. That's fantastic.
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You heard it here first folks dark angels too or i come in peace to whichever
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they decide to go with depends what part of the world you're in it was dark
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angel or it was i come in peace right,
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but uh yeah but now that look now that now see that that kind of thing will still fly because,
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anything today that has a built-in audience right i think so even if it is even
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if it's a cult film like i come like all the other yes yeah so i mean that's
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that's got that's got legs and of course if Dolph decides to do it,
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then that's a different story, too. I wrote it for Dolph.
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I wrote it with him in mind. I know Dolph. There's no way he would not want to do this. I know it.
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So, yeah, for me, we are that generation that how many, what do you say,
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how many billions of people are in the world?
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There must be at least 40 million people that would still remember this movie or something. Exactly.
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Worldwide. So, yeah, it has some legs. Yeah, no, I think it's a great idea,
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and I hope that Dolph, if Dolph ever listens to this, Dolph,
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just do it, just do it. Please, please do it.
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Just do it. Please do it for all of us. Yeah, do it for all of us.
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Do it for the world. Matthias is here ready to get it on. He's got his long blonde hair back.
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You just need the contacts in your eyes, you know, make you...
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I know, I know. and obviously the black trench coat and all that sort of thing. Right.
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And you're ready to go. You don't really need to do anything.
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I'm ready. I'm leaving today, actually. You're locked. You'll be on set at 9
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o'clock in the morning. With my iPhone.
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Speaking about Dolph, there was a great chapter where you had one of the first
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times you met him at a dinner, and you asked him about Masters of the Universe.
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Could you tell the audience a little bit about that dinner? Yeah.
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I mean, I wasn't invited to dinner. I was just at Gold's Gym.
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And the manager who is a stuntman, Derek Barton, he said, well,
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you know, just go to Rebecca's, which is the celebrity restaurant in Venice.
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And I heard Dolph is having a dinner reservation at 7 o'clock. Just go.
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Just say, hi, I'm Matthias. I'm also a big man. I want to be in your movie.
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And so I went there and stood there outside with the people not getting in.
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And then so his limo shows up and both get loud.
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First time I see him in my life, 6'5", up to here, you know, cigar, bodyguard.
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And my knees buckled. You know, there's Hollywood power versus someone that
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just arrived in Hollywood sleeping at that time on the floor somewhere, you know.
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It's just like, you know, can't lie to yourself, you know. You know who you are.
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Anyway, so I did ask him, pushed my way through, blocked him, because we same high.
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And he wasn't too friendly and he was kind of put off that anyone would even stop him.
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And I said yeah I want to be an actor I said all the wrong things and he looked at me,
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rightfully so because who the fuck i mean you sorry
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but you can't just walk up and say can i be in your movie that's
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right i did both and he said yeah well
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you know maybe you can be my stand in which is
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obviously someone that is not an actor but stands there when they adjust the
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camera and he's resting but then he took a good look up and down and he said
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nah maybe you're not tall enough but there's just another guy from germany and
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rolf miller who wasn't glad he's taller, you should do it. He pushed me aside.
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So that was my first introduction to what an idiot I am. But how Hollywood doesn't work.
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How it doesn't work. How it doesn't work. And we all have the right to be stupid.
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You've got to learn. How would you know these things?
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If you're doing the same things over and over again, that's insanity.
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You have to listen and learn.
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Adjust. You've got to adjust to the rules.
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I've got to audition, get an agent, get headshots, learn the language,
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get a green card, get a job.
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Exactly, yeah. And like you say, I mean, this book is full of,
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this book is, as much as it is autobiography and a career overview,
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it is kind of a cautionary tale too
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because you know what it's like to sleep on
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floors and you know what it's like to have
23:48
to buy a car for under $500 and you
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know what it's like to say well $296 an
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hour isn't going to buy me an apartment and you
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you know you you have you've done the hard yards you know what it's like at
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the top of the mountains and also at the bottom of the valley you know so that's
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why but it's so normal I mean I think anyone can do it if you're young you can
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do it yeah you know what I mean yeah.
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Oh, it's unbelievable how powerful you are in your 20s. You just don't know
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if I would have known it. Oh, well, I've done it.
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So I would do it again. I would do it again. Yeah.
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Because you kind of, you have that, you have a lot of stupid courage back then.
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You know, when you young. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And you're not,
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you're not as standoffish, like, you know, yeah, I'll go up to Dolph Lundgren and talk to him.
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Like, you know, because you, you, you don't, you don't know the politics yet.
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You don't know the politics yet. You know what? I had almost 800 pages in this book.
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I have so many stories I had to unfortunately cut out because you can't print
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books at size. You know, Amazon won't let you.
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There's so, so many freaky stories of what happens to you when you land with
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your two feet in Hollywood and you don't know your way around.
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Insane. The people I got hooked up with who tried to use me...
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How to get to places. Oh my God. Some of it's so embarrassing and some of it
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stupid, but you know nothing if you don't do it.
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Now, if I think back, Hollywood is so big. It's so hot. It's so frustrating.
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I mean, there was, if you have no car, no phone, I used to walk for hours just
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to So as someone, can I work there, just even carry cables in the film?
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I mean, today I wouldn't even be able to do this anymore.
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It's just crazy. You have to be so hungry.
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You know, hungry, hungry, hungry. Ravenous, yeah.
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I've got to say, I've got to say, Matthias, one of my favorites.
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One of my favorite stories in the book. And if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to.
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And this is a direct quote. there I was in the land of dicks with a woman over
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six feet tall with muscles like Lou Ferrigno.
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Throwing me onto her bed and ripping off my clothes,
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Um, now I, I haven't seen you, I've never seen you in person.
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I've only seen you in movies, but you're, you visibly an imposing person.
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I can only imagine a female of your equal taking you on or taking you out, so to speak.
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I mean, that's yeah.
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It's a Quentin Tarantino move, uh, moment. Yeah.
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This woman is legitimately as big as me, and not as tall, but six foot.
26:55
But you have to understand, it's a woman, so you're not going to hate a woman or anything.
27:00
No, no. There is a moment you let her overpower you because they're equally as strong.
27:07
I work out with women like that, so they do three more reps when I'm already
27:12
throwing up. So in that particular field, they're way stronger.
27:15
However, you could handle a woman like that, I guess. You just don't want to.
27:21
And I've never seen anything like it. If I tell you that every inch of that
27:25
room was plastered with what you just said.
27:30
It's the truth. When you see this, when you walk in with someone that big who
27:35
is that horny and you walk in, it is so shocking. It is so shocking.
27:41
I don't know how women feel when they're raped or something.
27:44
I guess it's fine. Yeah. It's incomprehensible.
27:48
Yeah. Nice woman. Yeah. Fair enough. From what I gather, from like you were
27:52
not ready, I mean, you were not ready for what was waiting for you inside that house.
27:56
I would have them ready for that as long as I live. I mean, no one would be
28:01
ready for that. No. No one.
28:03
I mean, and just like you said, and you used the Me Too thing in the book there.
28:09
Now, we hear a lot, and on the news there is a lot about, from the female's,
28:15
perspective point of view but there are too many
28:18
and there's been a few like terry creed came out and talked about
28:21
his encounters but this is
28:24
this this is real and there is this side of it too that doesn't get talked about
28:28
a lot and that's from males being harassed like this you know and it is and
28:36
it is real and it happens more often than you think it works both ways yeah it works both way.
28:43
Weirdly the same. Maybe there's more women in the business that you just don't hear much by men, right?
28:50
Women you hear all the time, yeah. I guess men don't talk about it. No.
28:56
I hear so many stories and I'm like, well, this could be true.
28:59
This guy, that guy, you know. Until like yourself, until it happens to you, for real.
29:07
Oh yeah, then someone approaches you and you're like, oh, okay, so industrial.
29:17
One thing I noticed, and I always say that with Weinstein and all the other
29:21
people that were sexually abused, so they say, unless you're a good actor or
29:26
actress, it won't help you.
29:29
Well, let's just say that's the route you went for whatever reason.
29:32
You still have to be good. Yeah, sure. Meaning, you know what I mean? Yeah.
29:36
So you have to have something in your career that stands out.
29:41
So how do you get there? That's your, everyone has to think about it.
29:45
How am I going to get there? there's millions of ways to get there and then
29:49
one day you do wake up you know I've been blackmailed blacklisted in town a
29:53
few times not because of me too movements because of I,
29:58
felt the wrong people for the
30:00
most stupidest things and yeah there's such a thing so we live in a very,
30:06
dominant world of power that you
30:09
better learn how to maneuver around it especially in Hollywood Hollywood,
30:16
No, no, yeah, and you have to be careful.
30:19
It's, from what I gather, because I come from a small town, small town politics
30:25
is very much the politics of Hollywood.
30:28
You know, everyone knows everybody. You know that people.
30:32
Yeah. Humans are humans. So even in a small building, you will have the same
30:39
politics as in a village.
30:41
In a village is a country. It's always the same.
30:46
You've got to learn to be socially adept, socially intelligent.
30:52
Don't say stupid things. If you don't have anything good to say,
30:57
maybe you better say nothing.
30:58
You know yeah what what our mothers tried to
31:01
teach us a long time ago hey you got nothing nice to say probably
31:04
not to speak at all you know
31:07
and and but unfortunately because it
31:10
is it is show business it's not just
31:13
show off it's it's a business because
31:17
they all of these films cost money and this money has to come from somewhere
31:21
and and you you know even even as something that sounds like such a sure thing
31:26
as I come in peace too you know like because you know all the elements all the elements are there for,
31:35
success even if it wasn't made for a massive budget there's enough of cult status
31:39
there to make it profitable but it could go the other way it could go the other way,
31:45
yes I want to give you a very quick example so for 20 years I've been trying
31:51
to get a producer interested it.
31:54
But I just didn't know how to get to them, so to speak, because no one knew
31:57
as the rights. And I have a friend who is a doctor.
32:02
He does cryogenics. And he is one of his clients, one of the bosses, SMGM.
32:09
And he just simply mentioned it to him, mentioned it to him.
32:12
And he was, oh, yeah, I'll take a look at it. It was like that.
32:16
You know, it's like it's who you know, how you it's very difficult unless you
32:22
know the right people. Fraternism, French.
32:26
That's why people smoke cigars, play golf, ride horses together.
32:29
Whatever it takes, you have to be in that circuit.
32:32
And it's not always easy because it's a huge circuit. Oh, sure.
32:35
How would I know the head of MGM?
32:38
Exactly. Unless you accidentally bumped into him and says, hey,
32:42
it's Matthias Hughes. Hey, what do you do, mate? Oh, I'm the head of MGM.
32:47
It happened to me before. One of the biggest film companies starts with M.
32:53
They're out of business now not Miramec,
32:58
Miramax, Miramax, Miramax comes to me in the gym, oh, I love your movies,
33:03
I'm a fan, especially I come in peace,
33:05
and I'm ah, and then he left, but you know, it's like, it does happen,
33:10
you know, so, the right people, but what are you going to do?
33:15
I wrote some stuff in the book, I think, with Jerry Brookhamer,
33:18
did I write that in the Yeah, yeah, Jerry Brookhamer, yeah. Stuff like that, yeah.
33:22
So the gym I work out part-time, you know, where I live, has so many A-listers like that.
33:30
I know. You know, and you're just dying to just go, hey, Jerry, what's up?
33:36
You know, Paris is the Caribbean, you know, what the fuck? I mean,
33:38
you know, look at me, you know.
33:40
But you can't do it, then you won't do it. He will not put you in.
33:43
No, no. He just can't do it. It's so frustrating almost, you know. You would have to.
33:49
And they always I'm not a sports trivia person it's so funny all these people
33:54
in that gym talk about the last baseball games,
33:57
basketball and I have no clue about it or football the only way for me to get
34:02
in is like hey you know what about that goal but I just don't know how to speak that language,
34:10
so I always thought damn I have to learn more about American football or something.
34:16
Just read the read the sports pages on the way to the gym so that way you've got a little.
34:22
Head, you know, walking in like, hey, what about those dolphins?
34:25
Yeah, Jerry, Jerry, come here for a second, you know, listen, eh?
34:29
Yeah, what about that pass? I mean, the dolphins, you know. Yeah, come here, man.
34:36
How about your movie, Jerry? How about your movie?
34:41
I've got to admit that I would probably be even more klopsy and stupid than
34:47
I am already if I was in close proximity with you guys because I grew up watching
34:53
you I know I don't know you,
34:58
I don't know you, I know you, but I feel like I do sort of, you know,
35:04
in, you know, in a strange way because I've seen so many performances,
35:08
watched all the movies, the TV, everything.
35:11
And to be like, if, if we met like at a cafe or at an airport or a restaurant
35:16
or whatever, I couldn't help myself. I mean, I just,
35:20
you know it's like like for me right now like this
35:22
is like a childhood fantasy if
35:27
you if you were to go back 20 years
35:30
and tell me like one day i would be sitting with this technology what
35:33
we have right now right right oh yeah talking with matthias hughes at lunchtime
35:40
here i'd say go and have another drink yeah you know you're a funny you're a
35:48
funny guy i get it Because whenever I meet someone famous,
35:52
right, I'm like, oh, my God, that's the guy.
35:56
Yeah, yeah, that's that guy, you know.
36:00
The other day I was sitting with Arnold in the cigar room and he was talking
36:06
and telling us all these stories. I'm like, I'm sitting here with Arnold.
36:10
Exactly, exactly. You're like, that's the Terminator, that's Conan the Barbarian.
36:15
It was really
36:18
cool because I
36:22
was 12 or 15 when I saw him in Commando or something you know what I mean it
36:28
was so impressionable for me and he looks just like in the movies he looks at
36:35
you like straight through you it's almost like is he going to kill me now or something.
36:42
He's got it down this man got it down he's good,
36:47
and you talk about that a lot in the book too and we've touched on it as we've
36:54
been talking before but you talk about being in places where you network and
36:58
you talk a lot about the Rose Cafe is it that's a big hangout,
37:03
and the pictures of you Alex is there and Rolf and does Arnold hang out there
37:10
too sometimes or not no everything changed So what happened is Rose Cafe was...
37:17
A place next to gold, is a place next to gold. Oh, I didn't get to gold.
37:21
Yeah, right next to it. And Arnold had his office next door. Okay.
37:26
So him and Sven Olsen, Ralph Miller, Oliver Stone, many, many people. Wow.
37:34
Yeah, I would sit there every morning and have their coffee and smoke cigars.
37:38
And I wasn't, I was too intimidated. I just sat in the front looking,
37:43
well, these are the big boys. Yeah.
37:45
Well, as it is, you know. And then I was still struggling, and then Van Damme
37:50
is coming with this big Mercedes, you know, and I was like, wow,
37:54
that's the big time, you know, that's the big role.
37:57
Didn't think I would be able to sit there one day, but that's normal, you know.
38:02
But a lot of people sat there who weren't famous because Arnold liked bodybuilders.
38:06
He liked big guys because that's his life.
38:10
So but like i wrote in the book i was just not i
38:14
i thought okay so in one way i want to be like them
38:16
in another way but i don't want to be like them just knowing them you
38:19
know kind of a weird feeling i wanted to make my own way
38:23
exactly i still don't yeah i still and then once i had the same agent i never
38:28
forget the day when i did i come in peace and i had all the big agents same
38:33
as arnold and everyone and vandam comes to me i calls jim and said welcome to
38:38
the family you know I just saw your movie.
38:40
You're going to be the next so-and-so. And I thought, oh, okay.
38:44
Now I'm going to sit with him.
38:47
Now I won't just sit near him. I'll actually talk to him a little bit too. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
38:52
I thought it was great that you wrote that you were at one time constantly being mistaken for Fabio.
39:00
Yeah. I can't believe it's not butter, right?
39:03
It's not butter. I heard this so many times that it would drive me bunkers.
39:11
Because Fabio wasn't an actor, and for me, that was just a completely different guy.
39:19
And I actually auditioned a few times, and they said, oh, Fabio was just there.
39:23
And I thought, oh, now he wants to be an actor.
39:27
I wonder if he got mistaken for Matthias Hughes. I don't think so.
39:35
He was so famous at that time. I can't even explain it to you.
39:39
He was the people that really liked
39:42
him knew him you know the girl i liked him
39:45
he's a very nice guy i know him and he was
39:48
so famous that that restaurant where you had breakfast every morning you couldn't
39:52
get a table unless you're a hot chick you know there were all girls from all
39:57
around the world wanting to meet him and when i walked in there there was no
40:00
mistake in that they didn't think i'm fabio it's more like out there you know
40:05
where people never really paid much attention.
40:08
They're just the imagery of the long hair and the muscles.
40:12
Exactly, yeah. Your tall blonde hair muscles. You must be famous.
40:18
Right. Like my favorite excited gardener, who also had long blonde hair. And was a dancer.
40:27
Yeah. So everywhere, even last month, I'm sitting there with a general counsel
40:32
from Indonesia and Los Angeles talking about movies. And he said,
40:36
one of my favorite movies of yours is Starheart.
40:40
And I was like, should I say yes or no? You know, because what am I going to do? It's 30 years later.
40:46
Everyone says, my favorite movie with you is Starheart. I thought,
40:50
this is crazy. 30 years later, it's just sad. Yeah, yeah.
40:54
Yeah. I don't know. But I mean, it's always, is it a great trap?
41:02
Is it a great trap in Hollywood? Yeah.
41:05
To look too much like someone else and therefore be typecast to the parts that
41:11
they don't want. Really?
41:13
Oh, you never want to look like anyone else. Yeah. Never.
41:16
Never. Luckily, I didn't have that problem because, like I said, Fabio was not an actor.
41:22
Alexander Goodenough died very early. Very young. Yeah, so very young.
41:28
And he was, in the circle, he was known as a character actor already.
41:32
Yeah, yeah. He did a movie, Harrison Ford, The Witness. Yeah.
41:36
Ironically you both did a movie with tom hanks in it yeah
41:40
he did he was he was he was in the money
41:42
pit with tom hanks and you were of course in drag
41:46
yeah so so maybe
41:49
that's how people were confused because he was actually in a movie with tom hanks
41:52
as well so there you go yeah yeah he was actually an actor
41:55
and i was an extra yeah yeah he played uh
41:57
he only he played a very comedic part which was
42:00
is different because really if you look at
42:03
the small roles that he had before he passed he
42:07
played the whole he played the gamut he played a comedy he was
42:10
obviously very serious in Die Hard but then he played like an Amish guy in Witness
42:15
he did such a great job yeah and he looked like an Amish guy yeah and that's
42:20
pretty hard to pull off for a rush well well not necessarily but amazing yeah
42:25
it's so sad how Hollywood takes people away you know yeah yeah.
42:31
But yeah no yeah i mean the is it i mean you talked a lot about dealing with
42:38
anxieties as your career progressed and like you've like i said you've seen
42:43
highs and lows extreme lows and extreme highs like never just.
42:49
Now that you look back, obviously having written this book, was there ever a
42:54
time where there was smooth sailing?
42:56
Like, there used to be peaks and valleys, but was there ever a time in your
43:01
career where everything was just going fine?
43:04
Like, not great or bad, but fine.
43:07
At least 10, 12, maybe 15 years. Just unbelievable. Yeah.
43:13
I mean, couldn't have a better life.
43:16
You cannot imagine that life. I cannot even imagine it anymore. It was unbelievable.
43:22
I could not go anywhere. I was always first in line, never had to rally pack
43:29
my car, everything for free, champagne, wherever I went. It was crazy, crazy.
43:36
A long, long, long, long, beautiful ride.
43:39
But it came to an end when everything came to an end.
43:42
In the early 2000s, there's nothing you could do. And still, I had a great life.
43:49
Even, I'm telling you, with all these adventures that I wrote,
43:53
you have no idea how much fun that is. I lived in all these countries.
43:57
I was always famous, meaning people always know who I am.
44:00
All these parties, all these amazing people I meet, all these precarious situations.
44:07
For me, that was like living the life. Who lives?
44:10
All that stuff is insane. It hasn't even stopped.
44:14
No, no. What I do currently, I mean, I've done so many things,
44:20
you know, my life is so interesting, it never stops. Yeah, and I mean...
44:26
In a strange way, would you say that in trying to become part of this world
44:31
of the movies, your life becomes like a movie? It is like a movie. Yeah.
44:37
Because you take really incredible chances, you know. So I already have new
44:43
plans for new adventures. Yeah.
44:45
I might want to, yeah. I will tell you later if it works out. Okay.
44:51
Crazy shit. All right. Crazy shit. Yeah. So, but all good stuff, all good stuff.
44:57
All good, well, yeah. Yeah, everything is always entertainment oriented.
45:00
Yeah, no, I can't give up. You know, it's a fine line because sometimes I think,
45:05
okay, so I could just live in Bali, you know, do nothing.
45:10
Or I'm going to go full out. Full. Yeah.
45:14
And I'm still going full out. Getting ready for the next big push. Yeah.
45:20
The next big phase, like Marvel. You're going into phase five or phase six or whatever. Yeah.
45:28
A lot has to do with I Come in Peace because a lot of things come together with
45:34
that movie. It gives me much more power to do other things that I want to do.
45:39
Yeah. I have so many scripts and connections around the world.
45:45
People want to do things on the highest levels.
45:47
Like I said, as an actor, you get to, like I was just sitting with the general
45:51
council of Indonesia talking how we're going to do movies in Indonesia and stuff like that.
45:57
I always have the most amazing opportunities because people have seen you over
46:04
the years and they want Hollywood so badly to come to their world.
46:08
And with that you know there's so much you can do yeah and it's a beautiful
46:13
look it's a beautiful country beautiful locations there's no reason why you can't,
46:18
make a lot of great films over there and
46:22
hey look if you need if you need a screenwriter I'll put my hand up and you
46:26
know my number you know you know my number now just give us a whistle say hey
46:31
Kent do you have any good ideas for an action movie I do I've got a lot I've
46:34
got oh good good yeah we talked about that before yeah yeah Yeah,
46:38
you never can have enough ideas because...
46:42
Endless ideas from movies, mate. And you can be the star of all of them.
46:47
I don't know. I will totally ride vehicles for you for the rest of your life
46:53
if you want to. Oh, great.
46:56
We'll make a little industry here in Southeast, in Oceania, and close to Australia,
47:03
we could do an Outback one as well. You can come over here and do it.
47:07
Did you see, did you go, did you happen to be able to go to the location of Aquaman?
47:12
Was that like something people could check out in interviews and stuff? Yeah, yeah, totally.
47:16
Yeah, yeah. Because on the coast, like granted, a lot of it was filmed was green
47:21
screen and all that sort of stuff.
47:23
But, but on that, on that Northern coast there, I mean, it's,
47:27
it's, it's beautiful country.
47:29
You just, you just need to put this, turn the camera on and you've got exotic,
47:33
like Like where you are now, like just looking at the photos in the book of
47:37
just where you're at right now, it's, it's beautiful. It's, it's paradise.
47:43
It's really nice. Yeah. It's right for the taking. Yeah.
47:48
It just needs, just needs someone, someone with a, how do they say it?
47:52
With a little bit of vision to, uh, you know, a little bit, a little bit of,
47:56
a little bit of magic and a little bit of money and, you know, we're making money.
48:02
And and and but before we before we we go tell me about your monkey,
48:09
Oh, the monkey, the monkey is a rescue, and he's a naughty boy all day long, can't trust him.
48:18
I wish I could trust him more.
48:23
He was totally free for so many years because we were alone in the jungle.
48:29
There was no one here. Now we have 10 villas around us.
48:35
10 villas, yeah. And yeah, I couldn't believe it so quick. And he just goes
48:40
to the other villas and steals phones and all it.
48:44
Well, you said you lost your phone. Maybe you didn't. Maybe he's just hidden
48:47
it somewhere in the house there.
48:49
You know, he's not a suspect at the moment because we had a huge Christmas party
48:55
and, like, it's gone, the phone, but it's still pinning somewhere in the house and we can't find it.
49:03
Right. So we know he can't be the subject because he's outside the house. Right.
49:09
But he would have been the first suspect usually, yes. Really?
49:12
Yes. But we took him off the list for now.
49:15
We took him off the list. Yeah, he's not one of the usual suspects, but he might be.
49:21
So still narrowing in on family members.
49:25
That's fantastic. Listen, Matthias, I wish we were better mates so I could say,
49:30
that's a beautiful place I'd like to come around and hang out with you for a
49:34
while but you probably should come who knows I,
49:39
You know, to be honest, we turned it into a business now. Yeah.
49:44
Yeah, and then we'll pack up again and leave and rent it out because you can't
49:49
live in paradise and just don't laugh.
49:52
Exactly, exactly. Especially when you're trying to make the big push.
49:57
Listen, I hope it all comes together well.
50:00
Thank you so much. Shirtless in Hollywood is a fantastic book.
50:03
I hope everyone listening to this gets out.
50:06
Thank you so much. and sees it, reads it, it's a tremendous life.
50:11
It's a tremendous career.
50:13
The little boy in me that watched you and still watches you in movies,
50:19
thanks you very much for this time and the opportunity to read Shirtless in
50:22
Hollywood. It's really cool.
50:24
I'm going to ask Matthias Hughes now in joining me.
50:27
This is the last for the year. Merry Christmas and a happy year, Neer, to everyone.
50:32
Same year. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Yes, Matthias Hughes.
50:37
I hope he got his phone back from that monkey.
50:41
Get down to the links in the description.
50:43
Shirtless in Hollywood.
50:45
Also, crawl the unofficial film companion.
50:49
And not coming to a theater in the 50 great direct-to-video flicks from the early 2000s.
50:58
All from Bear Manor Media.
51:00
Check the links in the description.
51:05
And as always, my little Eugenites, thank you for listening to us on Spotify
51:11
or wherever you choose to listen to your favorite podcasts.
51:15
I'm Kent Hill. And until next time, you've been listening to Cinema Zero Games.