[open to Hilarie and Nick siting on the Riverwalk, continued from last vlog]

Hilarie Burton: Serious questions! [reading next question] ‘What’s been the more important experience for you in the past? With today’s point of view, is there something you would do completely differently?’ God, these are really serious, you guys! I liked it better when you asked what our favorite color was! I mean, I had a friend I grew up with and did theatre with all growing up from elementary school on and he died in Iraq and that was really a turning point for me because it was, like, oh, well I’ve got to keep doing stuff because he’s not around anymore to do stuff. And we had always talked about, when he got out of the military, how he would come and do movies with us, and it sucks and you don’t want to wallow in sadness but you also keep that goal in mind. So I think that was a really big turning point for me. That made me a little more serious in my approach to film stuff for sure. How’s that for a buzz kill? Top that, Nick.

Nicholas Gray: I’m still kind of… I’m not sure I have an answer. I’m trying to come up with where I am now…

HB: I mean, we certainly are much calmer now than we used to be. We went out last night… We were home at eleven. It was really domestic and awesome. [laughs]

NG: We were, we were.

HB: Yeah, that was late! I’m usually in bed by 9:30! For you, I’ll stay out! [laughs]

NG: I’ll stay out all night!

HB: Have dessert. Let’s see. [looks at phone for next question] ‘During life we often gain new experiences and our point of views change constantly. What is happiness and success for you now?’

NG: Oh, okay. Well… happiness and success right now… We mentioned earlier, we are turning 30, both Hilarie and I.

HB: Yeah! But no, we’ve got a whole year before that happens! Let’s be clear.

NG: We do have some time before that happens.

HB: We’ve got a whole seven years before we admit that we’re turning 30!

NG: And nobody ever thinks I’m 30. [smiles]

HB: That’s true, he gets carded! God!

NG: Which I love. But I think I have a bit of age and time anxiety that I’ve been trying to really throw off the dock.

HB: Yeah, get rid of it!

NG: So that’s kind of where I’m at right now… being okay that I’m 30. I think, you know, when I was younger, I definitely thought that by the time I was 30 I was going to be like…

HB: … kickin’ it.

NG: HBIC, doing everything! [both laugh] Doing whatever I wanted to. And life happens! And you just kind of have to roll with it, and I hope that in five more years I’m even more chill about everything.

HB: Yeah, calming down has been a big thing. Like, going to bed early is really awesome now. And also, getting to shower! [both laugh] You know, my life is so busy at this point! Yeah, you just appreciate little things, the older you get, and I think we appreciate the times that we all get to hang out together and work together and I think we appreciate the successes and the victories that we have in our own lives. Yeah, it’s just a much calmer place now and I think we’re more realistic than we used to be.

NG: Definitely. Definitely a little bit more realistic. And I’m always so hard on myself. You know, people from the outside…

HB: [referring to a boat whistle] That boat agrees!

NG: That boat agrees! [imitates boat noise] Stop that!

HB: Toot toot! [laughs]

NG: It’s hard sometimes to recognize your own successes as being successes.

HB: You don’t realize that it was a win at the time!

NG: Yeah, and other people, from their perspective, it’s so clear, and I’m trying to get better at seeing it as clearly as that.

HB: Word. Okay, different paths. [reads next question] ‘If we weren’t in the industry right now, what would we be doing?’

NG: Oh, I would be a forensic scientist. I would be Dexter.

HB: Solving crimes!

NG: Solving crimes.

HB: I’m saying, I went to school for psychological forensics.

NG: But that’s what I was thinking. I was like, if I’m going to stop writing, what am I going to go back to school for? I would go back and try to be Dexter, but not kill anybody!

HB: That we’d tell you about…

NG: Yeah, I love science!

HB: Yeah, I do love science. Science fair, man. Don’t you miss that? Those boards that fold…

NG: Three-way boards!

HB: We love dioramas, it’s our favorite! [looks at next question] On the industry. ‘If you could make/remake any film, what would it be and which actors would play which characters?’ I would remake ‘Baby Doll,’ Tennessee Williams.

NG: You do like that movie.

HB: That was really great. I really like the lead female in that. And I would have Mandy Patinkin play a part in it, and also Elliott Gould! [Nick laughs] I really like Elliott Gould!

NG: Have you seen him on anything recently?

HB: I mean, I like that movie ‘California Split’ he did when he was much younger, but he’s a man who’s aged well. He looks nice!

NG: I would have… oh.

HB: It’s so hard. I’m not going to put you on the spot.

NG: A remake… ‘Cruel Intentions.’

HB: Oh! You love that movie! You’ve always said that was your favorite movie. [Nick laughs] But would you use the same cast?

NG: Yes.

HB: [laughing] Would you use Sarah Michelle Gellar?

NG: I would use the same exact cast.

HB: Oh, that’s so awesome!

NG: Let me make sure everyone’s alive…

HB: That’s so awesome. Yeah, that movie was great!

NG: It was trending on Twitter the other day…

HB: Little Reese Witherspoon!

NG: … because it was on TBS the other day.

HB: Was it really?

NG: Yeah.

HB: Yeah, that’s a good one. [reads next question] ‘What would be your ideal film role?’ [thinks] A spinster… that solves crimes… [laughs] Who would you want to be?

NG: Well, when I was acting, and I guess I’m acting again, I was really good at playing people that were a little bit autistic or… [Hilarie laughs and throws her head into her lap while Nick laughs] I mean, just a little…

HB: You were Seymour in ‘Little Shop’!

NG: Yup.

HB: We used to sing that in the house when we lived together!

NG: I mean, just a little off, a little colorful.

HB: [a bug flies across screen] Oh, a bug! The guy that attracts bugs.

NG: That guy that attracts bugs, maybe somebody who can heal the world with a magical power, a nature intuiter.

HB: Oh!

NG: … can make grass just…

HB: Yeah, yeah. Make leaves fall off the trees to blind your enemies? Yeah, that’s a good skill.

NG: … the earth open up.

HB: I’m into it. [reads question] ‘What do you find most irritating and unfair regarding the movie/media business in the U.S.?’ I’m not irritated. Are you irritated?

NG: I don’t know how to answer that question.

HB: Yeah, I’m not irritated, really.

NG: I wouldn’t say that I’m irritated, I wish for a lot of people that it was easier. I wish that it was easier, but it’s not. When I was acting in New York, when I stopped acting it was because I took an internship with a casting agency in New York and I saw really firsthand how difficult it is.

HB: Well, they just hire the same people over and over again.

NG: Well it was regardless of… I think, for me personally, I like to work hard, and I like to have things happen based on how hard I was working, and I think for actors, until you become well-off enough and independent enough in your career that it does matter if you work hard… Up until that point, it doesn’t matter so much how hard you work.

HB: It’s a game, man.

NG: I wish that wasn’t the case, but it is. And so if you do want to get involved in this industry, you kind of have to go in with the mindset and be ready to knock it out no matter what.

HB: Yeah, I agree. I’m not bitter. [reads next question] Let’s see. ‘Shakespeare: tired-some to study, or fabulous to act?’ Well, I was Puck in ‘Midsummer,’ that ruled. That was a really good time!

NG: Yeah, I mean it can definitely be frustrating for a lot of people, but it’s the bard!

HB: I know, Shakespeare’s awesome! Go to a Renaissance Fair! [Nick laughs] Dip your feet in those waters. [laughs and reads next question] Let’s see. People are asking about ‘Friendship Union Community Theater.’ We were actually talking about that today. You know, the ones that we did… Those were expensive to shoot! Because we did a really nice job. We used some nice cameras and stuff. I think technology exists now, even just a year later, that is so much sharper, so we can do it on a much cheaper budget.

NG: I have ideas on a daily basis about Friendship Union Community Theatre

HB: I think about it all the time.

NG: There’s a lot of ridiculousness out there to make fun of.

HB: Yeah, it’s awesome! And I think on that note, we’ve answered hopefully all of your questions, a lot of your questions certainly. So yeah, if you have more, send them in, we’ll try to get to them. And in the meantime, we’re just keeping busy, telling stories…

NG: … talking to strangers.

HB: … talking to strangers! [laughs and waves] Bye!