Fourteen years following the premiere ofHBOsHow to Make It In AmericastarsBryan GreenbergandVictor Rasukhave reteamed on a podcast.
The point of this podcast series is not to campaign for that, they told Deadline.
It would take many of them years to get over it, like Greenberg (discussed below).
Bryan Greenberg and Victor RasukGetty Images
DEADLINE: How did the idea for the podcast come about?
BRYAN GREENBERG:It was during the actor strike.
Vic and I were like, What are we gonna do?
Bryan Greenberg, Victor Rasuk, Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi and Eddie Kaye Thomas
We gotta do something.
But now, Im in a better place.
Im a different person now and I am ready to appreciate the show for what it is.
I thought it was cool for the fans too.
There are so many fans who still love it so much.
I feel like everybody, myself included, got robbed.
People always ask me, Hey, what happened to that show?
We almost named our podcast that.
The idea for the podcast goes way beyondHow to Make It In Americabecause we only made 16 episodes.
We want to highlight their hustle and hopefully, it will inspire others.
We will speak to people inside and outside of our industry.
I guess people dont talk about it and I never really realized that.
It was all me in my head and my issues.
I wrote back, I appreciate the love but those are my issues to deal with and not yours.
They shouldnt feel guilty asking me about the show.
Im very interested in talking to people about that on the podcast.
What does hustle and grind mean?
Those are universal themes that we want to explore which are much bigger than the show.
DEADLINE: After the show ended, you two remained friends and now youre collaborating again.
Whats that experience been like?
His real passion is community service and acting was his side hustle.
I found that so interesting.
Everyone we have on has found some sort of success.
Victor and I will also recap the show sporadically with specific episodes weve picked.
To be honest, were just trying different things out and seeing what resonates.
Were actors, not podcasters, so this is all coming together organically.
Were just having fun which gives us a lot of freedom.
We have no agenda.
I think good art comes from that.
DEADLINE: Do you have any dream interviewees?
You never know who is reading this.
VR:Id love to have Michelle Obama on the show.
BG:You know her husband Barack Obama used to loveHow To Make It In America.
DEADLINE: And theyre producing now under the Higher Ground production banner so it makes sense.
BG:He can talk about how to make it in America great again.
DEADLINE: How is your rewatch of the show going?
While watching, I texted Victor, Man, we created something really timeless and special.
I cant believe we did the show.
This is so crazy.
This show was so good.
DEADLINE: What are your thoughts on your performances?
BG:I feel like I was very immersed in that character.
I can compartmentalize it.
Everybody on the show was just perfectly cast.
I think thats why it worked.
It was also groundbreaking in a lot of ways.
When youre in it, you dont realize how groundbreaking anything is, right?
You hope that things are going to work, but 12 years later, its still so relevant today.
DEADLINE: Is there a world in which this show could come back for like a reunion special?
Is this a show with a story that could be told again?
VR:Hell yeah, we could do it again!
But were not by any means petitioning for that.
We appreciate the time we had and the show we created.
If it does have a second life, I think wed all be there for that.
But this is not our goal with the podcast.
Were here to appreciate what we did and explore the themes of that show in the current day.
VR:This podcast was not created to bring this show back.
We are very realistic about that.
Its just crazy that I didnt realize that until rewatching these episodes right now.
DEADLINE: You are both busy actors, how will you balance your gigs and making the podcast?
BG:Were dropping episodes weekly so right now, were banking episodes because we are busy.
VR:The producers told us that we will drop episodes weekly until the middle of July.
Theres a lot more to come.
This story has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
