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By
Suzanne

Interview with Kyle Schmid & Edwin
Hodge of "SIX" on History 1/10/17
Operator:
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome
to the SIX conference call with Kyle Schmid
and Edwin Hodge. I would now like to turn the
conference over to Kristen Hynes from History Publicity.
Please proceed with your conference.
Kristen
Hynes: Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us for
today’s press conference call for History’s new scripted
drama series, SIX, with stars Kyle Schmid,
who plays Alex Calder and Edwin Hodge, who plays Robert
Chase. As a reminder, SIX makes its series debut next
Wednesday, January the 18th
at
10:00 pm/9:00 Central on
History. I’m going to now turn the call over to Kyle and
Edwin, who are excited to take your questions.
Edwin
Hodge: Good morning everybody.
Kyle
Schmid: Good morning. We’re
all very proud of this show, so we hope that you guys have
had a chance to see it and, you know, we’re here for
whatever you guys want to ask us.
Operator:
Our first question comes from the line of (Rebecca Murray)
with Showbiz Junkie. Please proceed with your question.
(Rebecca
Murray): Good morning, both of you, and thank you so much
for doing the call.
Edwin Hodge:
Good morning.
Kyle
Schmid: Good morning.
(Rebecca
Murray): I wanted to know, first off, did you guys meet with
real Seals? And if not, you know, what did you actually do
to get ready to play the roles; not just physically, but
mentally, to get into that character?
Edwin Hodge:
You want to take it first, Kyle?
Kyle
Schmid: You just take the lead on
this one, buddy.
Edwin Hodge:
All right. Yes, we did. We did work with Veterans Seals. Our
head lead consulted with (Mitchell Hall) — (infamous, in his
words). Highly decorated, highly skilled. We did a four-day
intensive SEALFIT boot camp, where we got a taste of what
it’s like to go through Hell Week, which is a six-month
process for actual candidates who are trying to become Seals
in reality.
So, in doing
so, the physical aspect of it all, the (Mitchell) aspect of
it all, the emotional aspect of it all as well, plays a lot
into building our relationship on screen and off screen.
They worked
us to the bone. They probably took us to the lowest levels
we’ve ever experienced in our lives, only to move those of
us back up and convince us with a new way of thinking, and
knowing that we can surpass a lot of brick walls that we
feel that we’ve either put up for ourselves or other people
put up for us.
So, it was
definitely grueling, but was probably the best and most
humbling process that we could have gone through to prepare
for this show.
Kyle
Schmid: Absolutely. It’s true.
Edwin Hodge:
You want to take it back on that, Kyle?
Kyle
Schmid: Yes. I think we all learned
a lot about ourselves and became very aware of our many
little faults and, you know, were able to kind of move
forward and become stronger.
And I think
it really goes to show in our performances how much we can
trust one another when, you know, we’ve laughed and we’ve
cried with each other. There weren’t any egos coming into
play.
We were just
a bunch of human beings trying to get by with that material
and for forty Seals, because they deserve it. We’re just
trying to give them the respect they deserve with our
performances and the material.
(Rebecca
Murray): Well, great. Thank you, guys. I really appreciate
the answer, and I enjoyed the first four episodes.
Kyle
Schmid: Oh, thank you, we appreciate
it.
Operator:
Our next question comes from the line of (Hunter Ingram)
with Star News. Please proceed with your question.
(Hunter
Ingram): Hey guys, thank you so much for taking the time
today.
Edwin Hodge:
No, thank you.
Kyle
Schmid: Thanks so much.
(Hunter
Ingram): So, I’m the film reporter here in Wilmington, where
you guys shot this show.
Edwin Hodge:
Ah, nice.
(Hunter
Ingram): So, I am curious. You know, a big part of this show
is seeing the home lives and the everyday lives of the
Seals, and do you think it’s kind of benefited the show in
your performances that you did shoot it here in a relatively
small town? You know, kind of off the grid from a larger
city?
Edwin Hodge:
Yes, honestly, I do. You know, being somewhat isolated from
our friends and family put us in a position that we had to
be in and we had conversations every day with each other and
got to hang out.
Kyle and I
became golf buddies, so every other week, weekends, we were
out there trying to figure our (stakes) out. It did
definitely aid in us building the relationship in presenting
and understanding what it is to be, you know, brothers. Or
to be fathers. To be sons.
Also with
the female performers on the show, to be mothers. I think it
takes a very honest person to get acclimated at first to
those who are going to sit back and hopefully enjoy the
show. Be those people in the military, or associated with
the military, or everyday people who are just interested in
what the daily lives of men and women in service are.
It is a
heavy sacrifice for these men and women to go out and put
their lives on the line for you and I. They do what we do,
in part, to keep us safe and protect us from the outside
forces that are coming in here.
So, when we
can actually humanize those people; give them a voice; give
them a face; give them emotions, it makes it easier to
better understand why they do what they do. The sacrifices
in which they take their children’s lives, the children
suffer and miss them so much. And they go there to be a man
and a woman in service.
And I am
humbled to be a part of this show, but I really do think
that the producers and the writers – everybody involved with
it – did an amazing job with just keeping the show honest.
Which is what we wanted to do. I think that was our ultimate
goal.
That was the
goal when we all sat down our first day of reading and
wanted people to understand these people, be able to relate
to these people, and I just looked at them as like robots in
a sense, you know? People who carried guns and go out there
— like, these are your uncles, your brothers, your mother,
your wives, your cousins, like, this is family. So, I’m
really happy with what we’ve done.
Kyle
Schmid: I agree.
Edwin Hodge:
Yes.
(Hunter
Ingram): All right. Well, thank you guys. I hope you guys
enjoyed, you know, being here in Wilmington. I think this
was a different show for our area.
Edwin Hodge:
I mean, it was. And the topography of Wilmington allowed us
to really kind of make the environment authentic. The
beaches in Wilmington are absolutely gorgeous. We were able
to make the backlots of the studio and turn them into
Nigeria. Set Design did an amazing job with everything from
our weapons training to the trucks and the trees that they
brought in.
It was a
very inclusive project for everyone, and I think everyone
will be proud of their work and what they see on the scenes.
Kyle
Schmid: Yes. And I think that goes
for all of us who were part of this show that that worked
from when we came to see it. You know, I think a lot of us
are still close with a lot of the crew and everybody else
that worked on it from North Carolina. There are still
people that I speak to on a regular basis that I met on the
show.
Edwin Hodge:
Yes, exactly.
Kyle
Schmid: It was an incredible
experience. And they say that North Carolina is the most
military-friendly state in America.
But we
definitely saw people step up their standards with our long
days and grueling hours and weather and everything else, and
not complain, and just put the next foot forward, and just
enjoy watching this whole show develop into what it became.
And you’re
working with families and friends and people that, quite
honestly, have your back rain or shine. We developed a
family out there. And that just goes to show you how lucky
we were with the show.
You know,
you really feel like pieces just kind of fall into place.
Shout out to everybody in Wilmington. Thank you for
everything that you guys gave us with the show and we miss
you and love you.
(Hunter
Ingram): Thank you guys.
Kyle
Schmid: Okay.
(Hunter
Ingram): I appreciate it.
Operator:
Our next question comes from the line of (Courtney Voudrais)
with (OSER GREY DOT HEALTH).
(Courtney
Voudrais): Hi. Can you hear me okay?
Edwin Hodge:
Yes, I can.
(Courtney
Voudrais): Wonderful. So, in your research, either in, you
know, what goes into the training for the Seals or what
their job entails, was there anything that you found either
shocking or surprising about, you know, what they’re
expected to do?
Edwin Hodge:
You go ahead, Kyle. You take this one first.
Kyle
Schmid: I think our initial SEALFIT
training was the most shocking for me. You know, we had all
met the day of getting out there and had no idea what to
expect.
And, you
know, we watched these movies – these kind of glamorized
movies – that Hollywood makes, and I think the most
important thing to Bill and David Broyles was to keep some
of the reality of these characters, as Edwin said, the
humility and the humanism, the humanity to these characters.
But I feel like a lot of the post-emotional stress that they
are expected to handle with so little help from the
government after they retire, or after they’ve finished
these major missions, I think that’s what shocked me the
most. You know, you think that to go out there and do what
these guys are expected to do, which is pretty much that
grey area.
And then to
come home and have to deal with family and friends and this
normal life, quote/unquote, you know, that still strikes me
as very unfair, and I think it’s important for the
government and people in America to realize that these guys
sacrifice so much, and come home asking for nothing in
return.
And I think
it’s important to acknowledge the fact that they have
sacrificed so much, and I think it’s up to us to support
them a lot more than we do. Have to shut my emotions up.
Edwin Hodge:
Okay, how do I follow that answer? Edwin is absolutely 100%
correct. I’m the product of two Marines, so I’ve had to grow
up kind of experiencing what it’s like to live with a vet. I
have seen (her) struggles dealing with, you know, the VA,
and trying to get medical care, and so forth. So, it does
have a — or I do have a — personal touch (fully constituted)
on this subject.
We didn’t
know what we were getting ourselves into. I don’t think we
really, truly understood the meaning of sacrifice until we
got into this project. It’s a lot. Mentally, it’s a lot.
Once you’ve
taken a life, how do you know how to deal with that? They
just live there, they can try to digest it and so forth, but
a lot of the times, they can’t deal with that situation
until they get home.
There’s no
way. They’re still on the mission. They’ve still got to save
lives. They still got to evac, they still got to focus on
the go ahead. They don’t deal with most of this stuff until
they come home. And guess what? The wives have to deal with
it. Their children have to deal with it. Their parents have
to deal with it.
And there is
no assistance, because they truly, they don’t know, they’re
not allowed to share this information with their family, so
how are you truly as a family going to help your mother or
your father?
And if there
is some government assistance to do the same, we leave them
in shadows. They are voiceless. They are faceless. So, I
think it is truly important to understand that they take on
a great deal of responsibility that we would never even
want. We have to help them when they come back. We just have
to do it. That’s our responsibility.
They’re out
there risking their lives; we can give some type of
assistance. Monetary, financial, emotional, physical. You
know, they’re trying to do a great job, which we they manage
to fill in these wounded warriors, like the world just
helping you just get back. But we have to do more. We just
do.
(Courtney
Voudrais): Well, thank you both. I really appreciate.
Kyle
Schmid: Yes, thank you.
Operator:
Ladies and gentlemen, as a reminder, if you’d like to
register a question, please press the 1 followed by the 4 on
your telephone. Our next question comes from the line of
(Karen Moll) at (5-5) Vision. Please proceed with your
question.
(Karen
Moll): Hi. Thanks for joining us today. I dialed in a little
bit late, so please, if my question is a duplicate, please
feel free to just let me know.
Edwin Hodge:
Okay.
(Karen
Moll): So, I know that television is many months, and even
years, in development, and this program, you guys were
delayed getting on the air during a time that our sort of
national political conversation really evolved.
I’ve not
seen the screener, and I was wondering if you guys could
talk about the villain of the series. I understand they’ve
chosen a Muslim-American villain, which is an interesting
choice, in light of the conversations going on. And I was
wondering if you guys could provide some context and nuance
into that character.
Edwin Hodge:
Oh, wow.
(Karen
Moll): I know you don’t play that character, so it may not
be totally…
Edwin Hodge:
No, no, it’s fine. I mean, the villain is played by the
lovely Dominic Adams. I’d say as far as the context and the
subject of the show, as (unintelligible), I think it is the
best. And you know, with this up rise of terrorism, be it
Islamic, be it civil, whatever you want to call it, it is a
story that I’m sure a lot of people would like to hear.
For me, it
might give people a better understanding of why one would
feel they need to take up an ideology in response to feeling
like they are (in the system); maybe they’re being the
outsider.
You know,
hatred is fueled by the most simple ideas. And they just
evolve. And people want to categorize Muslims as all bad. We
can’t do that. I mean, we can’t do that with any culture or
with any sex, or gender. We just can’t do that.
And so for
us to tackle, a Muslim-American subject and this idea of a
traitor and one trying against their own country, or what
they should believe or so forth, it resonates strongly with
the world that we’re living in and what we’re going through
today, and this goes back to 9/11 and (further).
With the
show, we’re trying to make use of the facts. We’re not
trying to — fully make you understand. But we want you to be
informed and formulate a articulate opinion about what
you’re seeing, why you’re seeing it, and how others perceive
it.
You know, we
are spoon-fed information that caters to us, specifically,
and therefore there is a lot of ignorance that is presented
in the world. And we take this man, and then we understand
the reasons why he did what he did, then maybe we might be
able to understand a lot of what we are, and why we do what
we do.
It’s a hard
subject for people to deal with, you know. Once the image of
a criminal is present in that light, be it a darker skin,
olive, with hair and a beard, you know, we look at him and,
naturally, we’re like, oh, we fear it, but we have to
eliminate that.
We have to
replace that misjudgment with articulate thinking and due
process. It’s just very interesting. I just hope people –
when they do see his story – that they don’t really vilify
him. I wouldn’t want them to vilify him. I honestly want
them to understand the character.
And then
Episode 8 at the end, if they want to vilify him, do that.
But take that journey with him, you know? Take a journey
with the Seals. Take a journey with the wives on the show.
Take this journey so that you can just understand that this
is what anybody ever wants in this world. They just want to
be understood. And that’s just the take that I see.
(Karen
Moll): That’s great. Thank you. Can I follow up with a way
easier question?
Edwin Hodge:
Yes, go ahead.
(Karen
Moll): I want to ask you guys, History is a town, like
you’ve been more into scripted television, and what’s it
like having a home at History?
Edwin Hodge:
Go ahead, Kyle.
Kyle
Schmid: I’m sorry, would you mind
asking the question again?
(Karen
Moll): I wanted to ask you about working with History
Channel, all of which as, you know, is moving more into
scripted series. I think it’s – many viewers don’t associate
it with great scripted television, although they do have
that. What’s it like working with that network, versus a
network with a different mission?
Kyle
Schmid: Well, as somebody who pretty
much watches History and Discovery channel, and that’s about
it, I was kind of excited. I’m a big fan of Vikings, and I
think that the producers, and the group of people they’ve
brought together to make this show in particular, are very
brave.
And we’re
making the kind of TV that will compete with some of the
best scripted television on cable. And we have better
writers that have not only been nominated for Oscars, but
have actually fought in Viet Nam and in Afghanistan and have
a voice.
So, History
is making a move to put their name up there with all the big
boys, if they aren’t already, in my opinion. But you know, I
think that they’ve picked an incredible show to do that
with, and a very brave show to do that with, for all the
reasons that Edwin just outlined about our show. So, I’m
very proud to be part of History.
Edwin Hodge:
Yes, true love. I’ll piggyback off that. I think it’s great,
because people will now be able to get a more genuine and
authentic approach to watching television, I think. Networks
are great but a lot of it is performance. The (story was
afoot), but with History, they are dedicated to the truth,
and I think that will be present with a lot of this scripted
programming.
As Kyle
said, Vikings is a huge hit. I really didn’t watch a lot of
History channel, to be honest with you. I kind of flunked
History in school. So, you know, when I heard that it was
going to be on the History channel, I was somewhat wavering,
but when I heard about all of the people that were going to
be involved with this project and I personally felt like
there was just going to be something very, very special
about this show.
And History,
in part, has done amazing by the actors, by the producers,
writers; they’ve really given us a leash long enough for us
to really expand and be creative and be genuine and
forthright with our decisions.
You know, it
was great, because while we were shooting, we kept getting
all these emails, and I remember Kyle and I having a
discussion like look, take the emails with a grain of salt.
We’re happy they’re happy, but, like, don’t read anything
into it. We’ll just leave it alone.
You know,
but it was nice to know that the network was really behind
the show and that they were loving. The extra 110% that
everybody was giving to make it successful was incredible.
(Karen
Moll): Cool. Thank you very much.
Edwin Hodge:
Thank you.
Operator:
Our next question comes from the line of (Gabrielle Pinter)
with Hollywood Daily Star. Please proceed with your
question.
(Gabrielle
Pinter): Hi, Kyle and Edwin. Thank you for doing this.
Edwin Hodge:
Thank you.
(Gabrielle
Pinter): My question is how did you emotionally prepare for
the role? I know you talked about how the Seals are – have
to deal with their own emotions, but in doing the role, how
did you deal with what they were going through — or your
characters, rather?
Kyle
Schmid: Edwin would approach his
character from one, and I would approach mine from another,
so Eddie, do you want to go first and I’ll follow you up?
Edwin Hodge:
Yes, sure. As far as the emotional preparation, there was
none. We were kind of thrown into this pit of fire. And we
had to learn how to deal with our emotions. When you are put
in an extreme situation where your body is completely
fatigued, your mind is completely fatigued, you feel like
even though you have people there, you’re still kind of on
this island by yourself.
You know, it
just starts to get to you in a way where you actually have
to start thinking of new ways to make yourself feel better
about the situation. You know in (Wilmington), they told us
to turn off our phones for four days. We weren’t going to
really have contact with our family members and so forth.
And I found
myself, on the second night, I had to call my brother. I had
to break down. I just needed somebody that I knew to tell me
that everything was going to be okay, and that I can make it
through. And literally, that’s all my brother said. He was
like, “You got this. Or whatever it is, man, you got this.”
And
sometimes it’s on you, you know? And the same thing with our
cast mates. Every time I kept saying, man I can’t do this; I
can’t deal with it. I don’t know if I can do this, they were
there. I got you, Bro. We got you. And I said I couldn’t do
this a thousand times. A thousand times
Kyle
Schmid: And then you’d blink, and it
would be Edwin running up a mountain.
Edwin Hodge:
I mean, it was crazy, but just you have to learn how to deal
with yourself in that moment. And it was one of the greatest
educational points that I took from SEALFIT.
They tested
us in ways that you could not even imagine — myself, I’m not
the greatest swimmer but somehow they had me walking on the
bottom of the pool. And I’m tired and still doing that
before my own eyes.
I was just
in a bag of mixed emotions. I was scared – I didn’t know
what was happening. And the coach, he repeated his
instructions in a cadence that calmed me down. And as I
performed in the rhythm of that cadence, I learned to focus,
and center myself, and regain a bit of that fear that I was
exuding.
So, that is
what the men and women have to deal with. They deal with
themselves more than they’re dealing with everybody else.
They’ll tell you, they’ll lose a brother in battle — or a
sister in battle — and their first thing is doing, in a
moment, you don’t stay prepared for it.
And then
they get home and they have to deal with it. As much as the
families are dealing with it, it’s an internal struggle that
nobody will ever, ever understand. You just, you won’t.
Getting prepared emotionally, we weren’t. We had to learn
it. We had to – like I said – understand ourselves before we
can figure out emotions we were going through. It was crazy.
(Gabrielle
Pinter): Okay.
Kyle
Schmid: Yes, I think feelings are –
some parts compartmentalized our emotions and our physical
pain so that we were able to perform regardless of what the
environment was throwing at us.
And that
said, like Edwin was saying, we weren’t prepared for things
that the scripts were throwing at us. The things that were
thrown at us on set.
I mean, we
finished work sometimes, and we’d have to go for a beer
before we could go home, very much like Seals do when they
come back. And we would go to rent something, or been
through something, and either we’d go and try to laugh about
it, or we’d go and we’d cry on one another’s shoulders,
because we don’t know how else to cope with it – we weren’t
prepared for what had just been thrown at us and sometimes
it felt like we never would be.
So, at the
same time, we’re developing our characters and trying to
create these individual people but it was just very, very
difficult, and I’m very thankful for the cast that
surrounded us, because we were brothers.
We had each
other’s backs no matter what, and it didn’t matter when we
showed any sign of weakness because there would be somebody
there right beside you to be strong, and when they weren’t
strong, you were strong.
Edwin Hodge:
You were strong.
Kyle
Schmid: So we made it as a team.
Right after
SEALFIT, when we — I guess you’d say graduated, we received
our coin – our coin of accomplishment. We – all the men, we
hugged each other, and we just started bawling. You know, to
know that that was the end result.
We had to
strengthen ourselves, we had to strengthen each other, and
in doing so, we enjoyed this light-hearted soft moment, and
that’s what it is. For Seals, and that’s what it should be
for us as we continue to do our jobs daily.
(Gabrielle
Pinter): Thank you both so much. That was a great answer. A
great answer.
Kyle
Schmid: Thank you.
Edwin Hodge:
Yes, thank you.
Operator:
Our next question comes from the line of (Anne Easton) with
Observer.com. Please proceed with your question.
(Anne
Easton): Hello. Thanks for doing the call today. Appreciate
it.
Kyle
Schmid: Hi, (Anne).
Edwin Hodge:
Us as well.
(Anne
Easton): You know, there’s so much TV out there right now.
I’m sure you guys could have your choice of roles to play.
What made you pick this? This is pretty intense. So, I just
want to know if you were looking for a challenge, or what
drew you to this?
Edwin Hodge:
Kyle?
Kyle
Schmid: Well, I came into this
project in the end of October of last year and read the
original pilot script, which was basically a feature movie.
And I had never read anything like that for television,
ever, in a million years.
And then you
look at the credentials of the people that are making the
project. And you have Bill Broyles and David and Lesli Linka
Glatter, and Alfredo, and Bruce McKenna, and everybody else
involved.
And all of
the arrows were kind of pointing to yes, this is going to be
something incredible. And then you had cast that started to
sign on and you just kind of began to get more and more
excited.
And what I
think the producers did really well was cast a bunch of
alpha males who were physically capable of doing these
incredible tasks. And instead of expecting them to simply
just act, they put us through this form of SEALFIT training
that we’ve spoken about so much. And that training allowed
us to organically bond and become this family, this group of
brothers.
And so
instead of running around with a gun and trying to play
police officer on another network show, which is what a lot
of actors would die to do, this is an opportunity to
actually push ourselves both mentally and physically and
kind of see what we were actually capable of as human beings
as an entirety.
They broke
us, mentally and physically. That was their job at SEALFIT.
And we learned so, so much about ourselves and scared
ourselves, and pushed ourselves.
And we all
came to a conclusion after all that that this was,
regardless of what the show did, whether or not it was
successful, that this was a moment in our lives that we
would never forget that would change us ultimately for the
rest of our lives.
And so we’re
all extremely thankful for the opportunities, but also for
the fact that we have learned so much about ourselves and
now have this brotherhood that will be there for the rest of
our lives. So, I think following our gut emotions and gut
feelings to take the part were all right, in my opinion.
Edwin Hodge:
Yes. I’m the product of two marines and for me this show was
an opportunity to get a basic understanding of what they
went through. Who they were before I was born because I know
who they are today.
But again,
like Kyle, it was an opportunity to test ourselves. It was
an opportunity to push ourselves to a limit that most men
would die to have this opportunity.
I remember
the very first phone call that Barry and I had. We were on
the line with Mitchell Hall, our consultant, and he was
telling us everything that we were going through, what we
had to go through in SEALFIT training. And I just remember
30 seconds later receiving a text from Barry, saying “what
the hell did we get ourselves into?” My response was,
“Brother, I don’t know.”
And I think
that that fear, that excitement, the anticipation of what we
were about to do, I think that is what ultimately led me to
making this decision, because, yes, you could play a cop;
yes, you could play a doctor or a lawyer on screen.
But there
would never — unless you’re doing a feature film — in my
opinion, there really hasn’t been a show that will test you
mentally, physically and emotionally like this show has done
for us. So for that reason, that is ultimately why I chose
this role.
(Anne
Easton): Awesome. Thanks so much.
Edwin Hodge:
And you.
Operator: We
are showing no further questions at this time. I will turn
the conference back over to you.
Kristen
Hynes: Thank you, everyone, for joining today’s conference
call. We greatly appreciate your time. Again, SIX premiers
next
Wednesday, January 18 at 10:00 pm/9:00
Central on HISTORY immediately following Vikings. For
additional press materials on SIX, please reach out to
either myself or Kirby Dixon from History PR. Thank you
again, and have a wonderful rest of your week.
Operator:
Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude the conference call
for today. We thank you for your participation and ask that
you please disconnect your lines. Have a good day, everyone.
END
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