Scratch The Surface With Ej Scott

Amber Benson may be best known as Tara (the lesbian witch) on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But she has been acting professionally for over 20 years and has racked up quite the resume. As well as being a writer (screenplays, novels, comics), a director of films, a dancer, a singer. We talk about growing up in Birminham, Alabama by 2 therapists as parents, how their divorce was probably for the best, how impactful her character from Buffy was on others and how the death of the character maybe wasnt the best idea, we talk about Joss Whedon, Tobey Maguire, James Marsters, Brian Dennehy, Steven Soderbergh, Alicia Silverstone, Cary Elwes, shooting Stephen Dorff, getting shot on Buffy by her future boyfriend/ex-boyfriend, seeing a ghost... maybe, religion, knowing the Backstreet Boys, her mom selling her stuff on eBay and how her mom socializes with Buffy fans, her dads preference for Latina women, Tori Spelling and a ton more things!!!  Please listen, share and enjoy!! Follow me on Twitter... @ejscott @ejpodcast Insta

Mark Beltzman has been around the block and he's been around the world. He's a staple in the improv/ sketch scene in Los Angeles and Chicago. He goes way back to the first days of Improv Olympic aka iO and studied closely with Del Close. He was on the Second City Mainstage in Chicago. He has worked a few times with John Hughes, George Wendt, Adam Sandler, Norm MacDonald, Larry David. He talks about the late great Jay Leggett, Chris Farley, Del Close. He's been on According to Jim, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Mo Money, Home Alone, Billy Madison, Wedding Singer, Speed 2, Norm, House M.D., Pretty Little Liars and more!!   Mark tells me about Del Closes death bed conversation with Mark, cursing out Larry David, how Chris Farley replaced Mark on the Secind City Mainstage, the big drug scene in the early days and his participation, how improv teaches lessons for life, growing up in Detroit, his love for the tuba, obesity in his family, co-writing (sort of) John Candy's lines in Home Alone, his 32 year long rela

Director Darren Lynn Bousman opens up about his frustrations with the movie business, his insecurities about his talent (or lack there of according to him), being over weight, being raised in Kansas, how his parents gave him freedom to watch whatever he wnated which lead to a love of horror movies, how his mother was blind when he was born and the numerous eye surgeries he has had, his love of musicals, plays me a singing voice mail message from Paul Sorvino, Repo the Genetic Rock Opera, the real story behind Scream Queens, getting fired on the X-Files, directing SAW 2, 3 and 4, how he manipulated a company and buzz for a script he wroite so other people would gain interest, working with my girlfriend Deborah Ann Woll, his new film Abattoir, working with the late Cory Monteith, killing people in flash mobs, working with Stephen Moyer on the Barrens, working with Nina Dobrev, Anthony Head, Michael Rooker and so much more!! Give a listen, give a share, and ENJOY!!   Twitter.. @ejscott @EJPodcast www.ejscott.com

Marshall Allman played shapeshifter Tommy for 2 seasons on True Blood on HBO. He also has a very impressive resume for any age but especially for a 29 year old. Marshall tells a great story about how he met his wife, actress Jamie Anne Allman (from the Killing and the Shield) by sneaking into a bar at age 18 and kissing her while she still had a boyfriend and how a year and a half later they went on their first date, we talk about how a knee injury encouraged him to try acting, we talk about his soccer and art background, working with Aaron Paul and talking with Aaron about not asking out Jamie, how Camryn Manheim was his hero when he did an episode of the Practice, working on Prison Break, Mad Men, Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Men of a Certain Age, Malcolm in the Middle, jokes he palyed on Joe Manganiello during filming of True Blood, how he felt being killed off the show, how awesome Robert Patrick is, working with Billy Bob Thornton, Sons of Anarchy, Justified and Filthy Sexy Teens and more!!! Please list

Steve Agee is probably most recognizable from the Sarah Silverman Show that was on Comedy Central for three seasons. I know Steve from his improv comedy background. In this episode we talk about how his dad murdered his pet guinnea pig with a shovel as a child, getting so drunk and rowdy in high school he got kicked out of several until he was sent to military school where he started smoking meth, how vertigo and anxiety really screws up his life, meeting Sarah Silverman and having a crush on her, how her friendship with Sarah lead to a job on the Jimmy Kimmel show, how doing a small bit on the movie Super got him a new best friend in Ellen Page, we talk about Jeff Garlin, Gina Gershon, Community, New Girl, Kevin Bacon, how he foolishly promised to read every one of his twitter followers names when he first joined if he got to 5,000 followers and how that number jumped to closer to 8,000, he spent 8 hours on video reading twitter follower names, a surprise appearance by my girlfriend Deboirah Ann Woll and so

Alison Haislip may be a dream girl for any nerd. She hosted on G4s Attack of the Show, she loves going to Comic -Con, she's a Dr Who enthusiast, shes a gamer, she was on the Price is Right with Bob Barker (old School), did stuff for Nerdist, hangs out with Chris Hardwick and shes easy on the eyes. We talk about all that and how a cheating boyfriend played a part in her career, her first date when she was 14, going to Boston College, living in London, how Carson Daly helped ease her into being a part of The Voice Season 1, and how Adam Levine is so awesome he gave her tequilla, how Zachary Levi is also awesome and so much more!! Had a great talk with Alison. She hurt her arm earlier in the day so she came over bandaged up. She a nerdy girl who kicks a lot of ass. Enjoy and please share. Thanks!!   Follow me on Twitter... @ejscott @EJPodcast Instagram... @ejscott1106 Website... www.ejscott.com Choroideremia Research Foundation website... www.curechm.org

Chris Bauer has an acting resume as long as my arm. Hes worked with some of the greatest actors and directors that there is. But all that aside, Chris Bauer is a very interesting, thoughtful, deep and complex guy. We talk about his strict Catholic upbringing. How he started acting in commercials at the age of 3. His 3 month long planned proposal to his now wife and how he tried talking her out of it immedialtely after. How True Blood has become an experiment in sociology. How he cursed at Woody Allen during the filming of Deconstructing Harry on camera. His take on improv and getting shirtless for an audience. Getting naked on True Blood. His struggle with his weight. What Howard Stern thinks of him. Working with Bill Murray. His first meeting with Alan Ball and how that lead to his role as Sheriff Andy Bellefleur on HBO's TRUE BLOOD. And so much more!! We laughed a lot. Had some deep moments. I hope you listen, like and share. Thanks!! Go to my website... www.ejscott.com Follow on Twitter... @ejscott @EJPodc

Jason Kaplan has worked on the Howard Stern Show for over a decade. Jason talks to me about getting the job on the Stern Show, the consequences of being "honest" on the air, Dr. Who, his family, weight, therapy, medication, meditation, marriage and a ton more!! It was a really fantastic talk and hope you'll give a listen and a share.    Follow me on Twitter @ejscott @EJPodcast Follow Jason  @SiriusJay My website www.ejscott.com Instagram @ejscott1106 The Choroideremia Research Foundation www.curechm.org

Eddie Kaye Thomas is probably mostly well known from the Harold and Kumar movies and the American Pie movies. He has a long resume and has been acting since he was young. I was able to hang out in Brooklyn with him at his place and talk to him for a while. We talk about Howard Stern, narcissism, kissing and falling in love with Natalie Portman, acting, theater, Jay Mohr and a ton of other stuff!! It was a real fun hour talking with him. Hope you like it and will share with others. THANKS!!   Follow on twitter @ejscott @ejpodcast my website www.ejscott.com Instagram @ejscott1106 Choroideremia Research Foundation www.curechm.org

Ruth Thomas-Suh Directed a documentary called REJECT. I saw it last year at a film festival and was instantly drawn to it and the idea of "Rejection" and how that affects kids and even adults. I kept in contact with Ruth and asked her on my podcast to further talk about making the movie and its challenges, what made her want to make it, her inspiration from her father who was a psycologist in a prison, how are kids are being affected, "bullicide" (bullying that leads to suicide) and a lot more. And I include a podcast with my childhood best friend, Steven, who was teased and bullied quite a bit for most of his childhood, how he dealt with it and where he is now. Its a pretty powerful and sometimes intense discussion, sprinled with lighter moments. Please leisten to my other podcasts and please help spread the word about Scratch the Surface. Thanks!   Follow me on twitter... @ejscott @EJPodcast Instagram @ejscott1106 my website... www.ejscott.com The Choroideremia Research Foundation www.curechm.org

Dr Jean Bennett is one of the few people in the United Staes and the few people in the world working tirelessly to try to find a treatment or a cure for CHOROIDEREMIA. Choroideremia is an eye disease that is passed down through genetics and degenerative until total blindness. I have it, my brother has it, my 2 nephews have it. I have been raising awareness and money for the cause for over a decade when I got diagnosed. We talk about potential for treatment, what that would take, time, money, the risks involved, where the hell this came from in the first place, how she got started in medicine at an early age and a lot more. I hope this podcast will inspire you to help out. We are looking at a big dollar amount we need to raise for a cure. But that amount many charities raise in less than a year. Please spread the word ahbout the cause and the podcast. Thans!!   Twitter @ejscott @ejpodcast Instagram @ejscott1106 www.ejscott.com www.curechm.org

Joe Manganiello is best known for his role as the werewolf, Alcide, on HBO's TRUE BLOOD. Joe talks with me about growing up in Pittsburgh, his fear of his intimidating and tough as nails father, the divorce of his parents and how that affected him and his relationship with his parents, growing up awkward looking, with bottle thick glasses, ears that stuck out, and a bunch of fake front teetth due to getting hit in the face by a baseball bat. We talk about his new production company "Banner 359" and where that came from, his book EVOLUTION about working out and getting healthy, his upcoming documentary that he produced and directed La BARE, his troubles with alcoholism and his triumph of staying sober for over a decade, and of course TRUE BLOOD and how he got the role of Alcide. It was a gteat talk that I look forward to continuing in the near future.  Please share this with your friends and family on the social networks. And follow me!! TWITTER... @ejscott @EJPodcast INSTAGRAM @ejscott1106 Website www.ejscott

Chris Farley was a HUGE comedic impact on a lot of people, including myself. Watching him be funny was like watching Dali paint. I think about Chris once in a while if only becasue his movies are on Netflix Streaming or becasue I watch SNL every week and he may pop in my head, so I wanted to learn more about this comedy legend. I was lucky enough to get one of his brothers, Kevin, who was very close with Chris to come and tell some stories about the good times and the bad. And also on the show is Betty Cahill who was on SNL with Chris for a season. And she has some stories too. Ofcourse Chris is the main focus of the podcast but we also talked about the process of getting on SNL, what its like to work there (at least in the ealy 90's), the late Del Close and the recently deceased Jay Leggett. Any SNL fan will find these stories interesting and any Farley fan will likely learn something knew about this comedy hero. Please share it with your friends and family on the social networks. Thanks!  Follow me on Twitt

You may not know Jay Leggett's name but you have likely seen his face or know of his work... WITHOUT A PADDLE, THE FACTORY, EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH, IN LIVING COLOR, ER, ALLY MCBEAL, NYPD BLUE, the DREW CAREY SHOW, just to name a few. He was a writer, director, actor, producer, improvisor, friend and from what I've heard, an all around great guy. Jay died suddenly of a heart attack on Nov 23, 2013 at age 50. But he lived quite a full life in that small amount of time. I asked some of his closest friends to come and tell us more about the man. Kevin Dorf, Mitch Rouse and Brian Blondell wetekind enough to come over and share with us. ENJOY! And please give a SHARE to this podcast on Facebook and/or Twitter. Follow me on Twitter... @ejscott @EJPodcast Instagram @ejscott1106 Go to my website www.ejscott.com Help the Choroideremia Research Foundation raise $1,000,000 in 2014 go to www.curechm.org.   

This is my first roundtable discussion and the topic is The HOWARD STERN SHOW!! Join me and 3 other Stern lovers. Keith was an intern for the E! Show in the 90's and has become friendly with Stuttering John, Liz writes a Stern blog and Dario discovered Stern when he moved to the USA from Bosnia and had some awkward encounters with KC Armstrong. Topics discussed include where is Howard TV, why is Robin not in the studio again, wack packers, our love and worry for Artie Lange, the Benjy vortex and why he does what he does, is Richard an alcoholic and so much more! It was a really fun time and we hope you will also enjoy it. BABABOOEY to y'all!!! www.ejscott.com Twitter... @ejscott @EJPodcast Instagram... @ejscott1106

Arye Gross and I talk about the controversy behind the movie SOUL MAN, his getting fired from the tv show ELLEN with ELLEN DEGENERES, working with JOHN TRAVOLTA on the EXPERTS, working with WALTER MATHAU and even tells a Mathau Joke, but maybe the most interesting thing we talk about is how his parents and him went "underground" for a year running from hired guns hired to kill his father. Yup. Its pretty crazy. We touch on his near retirement early on in his career, his fathers possible involvement with the real MANHATTAN PROJECT, not wanting to play a mime on Growing Pains and for the first time Arye talks about the tragic loss of his brother to suicide. It was a pleasure talking with Arye. I hope you will enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed conducting it. Please share with your friends on social media or any other way. Listen to my other podcasts because those are pretty amazing also.  My website is www.ejscott.com Twiiter... @ejscott @EJPodcast Instagram @ejscott1106

You may know Michael McMillian best from HBO's TRUE BLOOD. He plays Rev. Steve Newlin. Michael talks about growing up in Kansas, going off to boarding school at 16 years old, depression, being bullied, Spider-Man, his friendship with Alexander Skarsgaard, working with Hilary Duff, what he thinks is going on with Amanda Bynes (whom he also worked with), writing comics and books and of course getting on TRUE BLOOD and what that means to him!!!!  www.ejscott.com twitter... @ejscott @ejpodcast

Matt Jones, from my favorite show of all time "BREAKING BAD" stops by to talk about how he got BADGER, his dad role on MOM, being raised by divorced, remarried parents, his extremely religious background that has now made him an atheist, back packing across Europe on his own and how that experience changed his life thanks to BOOM CHICAGO in Amsterdam, improv, comedy, his luck in getting his first tv gig on Gilmore Girls thanks to a little lie, doing bits with Bryan Cranston, improvising with STEVE MARTIN and so much more!!! Give a listen and share it with friends. THANKS, YO!

"Danger" Dave Ball lasted 31 days on Season 19 of SURVIVOR: Samoa. Dave talks in great detail about the audition process, his first encounter meeting Rob Burnett, hanging out wth the cast of Survivor for a week in silence, his like and dislike of contestants, what he really thinks of Jeff Probst, plus his life living in a van for over 5 years, being addicted to pot, going to AA and so much more!!! This was also the introduction season to Russell Hanz. And we talk about Russell as well. Its a long one, Dave has a ton to say. At one point he asks me to edit out a name, it is still in there because afterwards he changed his mind.    I bought the whole Season 19 on Amazon for $9.99. If you watch that season first you may get a little more out of the interview. Either way theres a lot of emotion and energy that Dave gives to this interview.    (Plus cameo appearance by Deborah Ann Woll from True Blood.)

Rob Kazinsky most well known for playing Warlow in HBO's TRUE BLOOD, also was in UK's EASTENDERS, and recently Guirremo Del Toro's PACIFIC RIM. He talks about all that and SOOO much more. Talks about getting punched in the face on the street by strangers in th UK, the scandal that made him leave EastEnders, breaking a teachers arm that got him expelled from "high school", his thoughts on acting, how World of Warcraft saved his life, getting naked with Anna Paquin and so much more!!! Enjoy!! I hope he comes back for a part two.