One on One: Nick Holmes

Published Aug 3, 2023, 4:00 AM

He got in between Rory and Logan.  He took her to the Quentin Tarantino themed party and it made Logan crazy.  
 
Nick Holmes is Robert!
But, he tells us the part(s) he originally auditioned for...and it may (or may not) surprise you!
 
Nick gets emotional talking about his time on Gilmore Girls.  He remembers everything and his stories are incredible.
 
He reveals the song that he and Matt (Logan) made up on set, he talks about his scenes with Alexis (Rory) and he gives us BTS details that we are unbelievable!
 

I Am all In.

You, I Am all In with Scott Patterson, an iHeartRadio podcast.

Hey Everybody, Scott Patterson, I Am all In Podcast, one on one interview with Nick Holmes. Nick played the role of Robert for four episodes two thousand and five six. He also appeared in Revival's final episode Fall. His first appearance was season five episode seven, You Jump, I Jumped Jack. Last appearance was season six episode eighteen. The Real Paul Anke A Year in the Life. He appeared in Fall. Robert is a rich kid and a student at Yale University. He's arrogant, pompous, and self involved. On a date with Rory, he makes it known his sole goal in life is to cheat his sibling out of their inheritance and leave it to a parrot.

Despite his family.

He was born August fourteenth, nineteen eighty one, Dodge City, Kansas. He's an actor editor known for Guardians of the Galaxy twenty fourteen, Super twenty ten, The First Blood War two thousand and eighty. Has been married to Virginia Madison since twenty twenty. Let's bring him in, Nick, how are you?

I'm dying mind?

Scott good terrific so tell us a little bit about how you got your start in this career.

I did dinner theater when I was a kid, and and then when I moved to Los Angeles at the rest of my several directors that I worked for in that genre, which is a very specific genre. Luckily I was too young to have to actually go out during the braes and poor drinks. I moved to LA and I made a living doing commercials for many years, and then trying and trying to get on television, and Gilmore Girls was my first television job.

Oh great, So what do you remember about the casting part of it?

The casting part of it was very flattering to me because I originally auditioned for the pilot and I loved the script and I wish i'd kept it, the physical copy of it when that was a thing. And they had me auditioned for Dean, which of course, you know, Pedalacic got and it was incredible ad And then they had me auditioned for Tristan, and for my memory doesn't serve, but Mark Casey, one of the casting directors who later really changed my life, and Jane Rudowski remained a fan of me and kept bringing me back. M m and then I got lucky and they had me auditioned for this part that required a marksman, which I am, and that's when I finally got rolled.

I could speak fair a marksman.

The role required you to be a marksman of firing weapons.

Yes. In that episode for you, it's called you Jump I jump Jack and I think you had to have a golf game, yes with Richard. And meanwhile I got to be my first line of work. Do you care to hear about this bit?

I too, I want to hear all of it.

My first night of work was in Griffith Park in a part that's normally shut off, and they had set up this football field long. It was a sweeps episode, so they were spending the money. It footbar one hundred yard long, set like it was from out of Africa, and everybody was dressed like it was from out of Africa, and it was just whimsical. And it was at night, you know, I think my cold time was like ten pm. So I got there and I met the rest of the Life and Death Brigade who had already done episodes together. And I hated Tank, said, just hated him because he was so handsome and comfortable and seemed to know everybody, and now we're great friends, had been for years and years. And met Matt zu Green, who's you know, is the sweetheart he appears to be. I mean, he plays, you know, a cheating liar on the show, but he's he's just a lovely human, one of the nice people I've met, one of the nicest people I've met in show buds, you know. So I get there and meet the director Kenny Ortega, who remains a friend, who's a lovely man, who did that wonderful he was producing that show for Michael Jackson when Michael Jackson died, and then it made that documentary about it. He's a lovely man. That side note. So first night at work, meet every Matt Zuckery is sitting on his trailer steps sort of just strumming the guitar, not being not being a you know, not being a show off, just playing around in the beautiful air. And we made up a song together called give Me Back My Bacon Sandwich. You beautiful, of course beautiful. So that's funny to think about it. I haven't thought about this a long time anyway. So rehearsal comes and it's my first time to meet Alexis, and she's exquisitely simple and lovely and kind to me and is trying to make me feel comfortable, which I wasn't. And we go to shoot the scene, and if you rewatch it, you'll see that my first shot they which they used, is a wide where I walk into frame and I don't stop swinging my arm even though I'm holding still, and I could never take my eyes off that when I rewatched it. And then I got a flat tire on the way down the hill that night and it's you know, like five am, so I had to deal with that, So that's memorable. Then the following day was shot at the Disney Ranch north of Town North Villa, and that's when we did the That's when I had to do the shooting, and there was a there was a time crunch and we had this big shot to do, multiple shots to do, and Amy was mad, and a lot of people because I got the job because I was marksman, came down from the crew trailers to watch me shoot. And on the first of what Amy decided was she wanted to do a long tracking shot instead of individual things so we could pick it up and get it done before the sun went down, and the DP was like, I don't know, and I don't know that gentleman's name. It was certainly a talented fellah. But I think he got fired right then because Amy asked the assistant DP, it's like can you do it? And he was like yep, and she was like you take over.

So I don't know.

I don't know if think I got fired, but he got dismissed. And so there's this long tracking shot across a lot of dialogue of course, that goes around behind me wherein I am already shooting, and then you've got these platforms where men in tuxedos are being launched in the air across from each other, and that's what I'm shooting at, and so I have to hit one when I when they get behind me. That's why they hired me, and because I'm so handsome m h. And so again time crunch, sun's going down, very little light left. They do the first pass and there was no U. There was only a props person. There wasn't a somebody who knew anything about guns, and so I didn't get to handle the weapon first and try it, so it wasn't dialed in. I didn't. I didn't. I wasn't familiar with it, and so I had a few minutes two try it out. And so we do this long tracking shop with all the dialogue goes around behind me, and the guys are getting launched in the air and the gun's on safety and I don't realize it. So I ruined it. If I remember the sentence right, Amy said, mother nature is gonnas in the air, and we have to do this right now. And so I felt a great deal.

Of prayer Amy Amy. Amy's very colorful, to.

Say the least. Anyway, after that, I got it dialed in and we out it over and over again, and then I had just one of bush one of those things that only show business can give you is then she was like, let's just get some roul of you shooting guys. And so for the next half hour until the sun went down, stunt men and tuxedos were getting launcht in the air and I would shoot them. And when I was asked back for my next episode, because you know, it's a bit of entertainment.

We thought we thought that that was one of my favorite scenes in the entire four or five seasons up to that point, where those were those guys flying through the air getting shot.

I just thought it was hysterically.

Funny, just just whimsical.

You know, really terrific. Yeah, Amy drops in these scenes that just take you by surprise, and there.

They're just.

God, what do you what can I compare them to? I mean you almost feel like you're watching a Fellini film at some point, you know, a little points here and there in certain episodes it's like, here's this great European flavor from a great director. It's almost like it's an homage to somebody, you know.

The one of the one of the great treasures of having been a fan of the show, having auditioned for it all those years, but also watching it it was you know, it was didn't have TiVo then, so it was you know, like appointment viewing. You got to watch gilmbor girls like you schedule stuff around it. And so it was a huge fan of the show. When I got the gig, and one of the great privileges was when invited back for the Netflix reunion, well, it's to be able to shoot and stars hollow in full realia because that wasn't my storyline, you know, like I'd never have to I never have to be there. You know, I think you and I I encountered you two times that I can remember. Once you were getting five o'clock shadow done by makeup because you were clean shaven for a reshoot. And then the second time, if I remember right, you were riding a bike around wb going from one place to another.

Oh. I was always doing that, Yeah, yeah, on our on our downtime, I'd get on a bike and ride around just to get a little air.

Well, as a fan of the show.

To suddenly see basically I was stalking others, you know, big time celebrities, trying to get their trailers, trying to meet them.

I support this behavior some thing, but you know, just a funny thing to having not worked in television much just commercials, to suddenly have Scott Patterson writing past just going hit. It was a very memorable moment. Oh back to my point, doing the Netflix revival, it was so wonderful for me to be able to have such a stylish experience in starts hollow because it was all made up and you know, shooting golf balls off the roofs back and forth and being in the market and it was just cool. It was just cool that you know, it's one of those things that as an actor you don't forget, not because just because it was a great experience, but because it mattered to me as a fan and as a person. Sorry, I get emotional talking about.

Oh, don't never apologize for that obviously means a great deal and appreciate your candor. It's what who was that that guy on Seinfeld who always it's.

Gold, Jerry, It's Gold. Who's you also appeared in? Well? Let me let me ask you this. First of all, is there.

Anyone on the cast that you still stay in touch with?

Uh? Tank Satan and I are still friends. But who's become a closest friend? And I had to fight for this friendship his Liz tour Is. I tried to get close to Liz Tours at every cast party and and she was just like she was just not having it. She just thought I was a creep, which is fair. But now I see her multiple times a week. She's she lives down the street nice and uh, I worship her. She's yeah, it's It's one of the great privileges of this experience of the show to have Liz Torres in my life in any kind of regular way, but we've gotten close, very nice.

Give her my best I will.

And Shelley Cole of course, because you did that, You did that beautiful show with the w B. When they read that was so beautiful to be all made up and be able to encounter it.

It was nice.

And Shelley stayed with me when she came to town for them, and uh so, Shelley and I are close, and you know, it's been just a wonderful community to be a part of. They've been supportive of me in many ways. I got two books that were in the Amazon top ten mm hmm. And I'm certain it's because of the Gilmore Girls mm hmm. You know that that community and things like that, and there's not a place I go in the world. And my wife's actress. I think, you know, m I think you worked together on something.

I've never had the privilege of working with Virginia.

You were on a show anyway.

I worked with Well, I worked with her brother Cool. I worked with Michael Cool. You know, Michael Madson and I crossed paths for the first time, interestingly enough, because we just watched the Tarantino the Pulp Friction episode.

Yeah, my beginning, so right.

So, Michael Madsen and I first crossed paths at the audition at the final, final, final audition to play mister Blonde in Reservoir.

Dogs over at Fox.

What a trip.

And then I got to do and I obviously he got it and he was great in it, and I just was pissed off for a year because it was like seventeen auditions. Yeah, he's He's a brilliant, brilliant guy and maybe one of the great screenwriters of all time.

Oh and True Romance is one of my favorite screenplays ever.

It's it's have you ever have you ever dug into to all of us, like read all of his screenplays because you know you can you can download or at least I figured out how to download all those screenplays from the Writer's Guild. And I just sat one afternoon and read all of his scripts and just was blown away the talent that this guy possessed this not only as a writer, but to bring it all to life.

Yeah, it make it work?

Yeah, yeah, because that's the whole that's the hard part. I mean, you think the writing's difficult, but then you got to bring it to life.

I'm an enormous Tony Scott Fan.

Yeah, me too.

And so to have those two talking about true romance, to have those two talents collide. If you haven't seen it in a while, it's worth your time.

Oh no, no, I've seen it.

When we're done with.

This several times. I've seen it several times. Oh good, extraordinary performances all through it. Brad Pitt was genius, James Vandelphini was genius. Gosh, Gary Oldman was Janius. I mean it was just a fan. Christian Slater was great. They were all great. I hate to leave anybody out. There were so many great performances. And that Michael Michael Rappaport was great. Uh yes, he's the one that really beats the tar out of Patricia Quatt and then who gave maybe the performance of the year.

That that performance she gave.

Was beautiful and heartfelt and wonderful.

And Dennis Hopper.

Walking before he kills him.

That scene is one of my favorite scenes, right.

And the moment he realizes that he's going to die, he decides to take his time, have a cigarette and tell the story and then deliver the final insult like I know you're gonna kill me, but I'm still gonna insult you to get.

It was brilliant.

No, it's my favorite Tarantino.

It's the best kind of screenwriting there is. I just don't there's a lot of really good writers out there, but Tarantino man. And you know, he lives in Israel now and he's married and he has a couple of kids, and apparently Tel Aviv and I haven't been, but I've been told that Tel Aviv is like it's like West Hollywood. It's it's like La It's it's very diverse, it's very gay, it's very very open and artistic about thriving, thriving artistic community, painting and filmmaking and dance, and it's wonderful. It's it's like this movable face.

That moved, you know.

It's it was in New York and then it moved to Berlin and now it's now it's in Tel Aviv. Yeah, we're gonna do a little thing called rapid Fire. How do you like your coffee.

Blacker than a thousand mid nights? I actually really like your coffee.

That thank you, yeah, thank you, ye have you binged the.

Entire but it has to be I prefer it percolated, right, okay, I'm a collector of percolators.

Interesting, have you binged the entire Gilmore Girls series?

Not season seven?

Got because you're a purist? Are you team Logan Team Jess or Team Dean.

Team Roberts?

That a way?

Because because I'm the father, there you go as a fan of the show on team Jess.

Gotcha?

What would you order at Luke's Diner, Hamburg, Harvard or Yale?

Yale?

Why?

Uh? I just I'd like the sound of it better.

Best memory of Gilmore Girls.

Of watching the show or being on.

It doesn't specify.

Of watching the show. It's her graduation speech versus yes, I'm all in. You know the graduation you know you remember the graduation speech. And then as a shooting experience would be during the revival, being able to hit a golf ball off the roof of one of the buildings and starts.

Of cast member you texted, most recently chilly, chilly cool.

Gotcha?

Uh something in your life?

You are all in on.

Cooking, cooking, cooking.

Wonderful. Thank you so much for coming on. It was a pleasure getting to know you. I didn't really to meet you, really, I don't. We never really did any scenes together, and I don't think we were on set together very often. You mentioned a couple of times that you saw me, But it's been a pleasure and we'd love to have you back on and get a little more into your Gilmore experience and other areas of your career. So thanks so much for coming on, Nick Holmes.

Everybody, Scott.

It was my privilege and my pleasure to be here and to community communicate with you and recount some of those wonderful memories.

All the best, buddy, take care of Thank you, hey, everybody, and don't forget follow us on Instagram at I Am all In podcast and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com.