Interview with Joseph Motiki

Joseph Motiki has worked as a host and actor for over 30 years, perhaps most notably as a host of TVO Kids. Proudly based in East York, and a graduate of the RTA program at Ryerson, we talk about all aspects of his career.

Watch: https://youtu.be/akLQcQfYO3k

Unedited Transcript.

Jim Allan: My guest today is Joe Motiki. Welcome, Joe.

Joseph Motiki: How you doing, bro?

All right, it's been a while.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, 100%, that's right.

We used to play like touch football together. Do you remember that?

Joseph Motiki: Yes, I remember getting let into that in a circle where it's like, all right, we need a speedster.

The last three times we played, it's like a Sunday morning thing in Withrow Park in Riverdale. And then the last three times, it was me, you, and another guy showed up. The other guys never showed up and then it died, so that's what's up.

Joseph Motiki: That's right.

Jim Allan: How would you describe yourself professionally these days? Working actor, how would you?

Joseph Motiki: I've been very, very, look, knock on everything. I've been very, very fortunate that I've never really stopped working over the last almost 30 years, which is great. So look, I'd always say I'm a host first and foremost. So I've done a lot of the voice acting and everything, which is great, but still like a working pro. I would always say just still working, which is fantastic.

Jim Allan: Do you ever Google yourself?

Joseph Motiki: Yes.

Jim Allan: Yes?

Joseph Motiki: Because you got to check. You got to check sometimes to see like.

Jim Allan: So I Googled you, I Googled you. And it goes to Wikipedia and it can find out everything you want about Joe. But I always like the people also ask, like then there's other stuff, like, okay, you're searching for Joe Motiki. People also ask, who is the voice of Metabee?

Joseph Motiki: Right.

Jim Allan: Who is the guy on Ice Cold Cash, which sounds a little cold.

Joseph Motiki: Right.

Jim Allan: Who played Mr. Lightning in Odd Squad? Who is the mayor on Miss Persona?

Joseph Motiki: Okay.

Jim Allan: And of course, who is Joe from TVO Kids?

Joseph Motiki: All right, yeah.

Jim Allan: That's it. So we're done.

Joseph Motiki: That's right, that's the big five.

Jim Allan: So deep question for you. Who is Joe from TVO Kids?

Joseph Motiki: Joe from TVO Kids is a fun-loving host from the only, Canada's only borough, East York, Ontario. And always wanted to rep East York, always wanted to rep the borough and always wanted to be representative of his community and got that opportunity on TVO Kids. Joe from TVO Kids is a guy who got another show from the late night show he was doing there and then had an opportunity to keep on keeping on at TVO, which was great. But Joe, I think first and foremost, is an East York guy who got to represent and he got to do it every day after school for like four years.

Jim Allan: We're gonna talk about East York later.

Joseph Motiki: Nice.

Jim Allan: We're gonna talk about TVO later too. So I do have a viewer mail segment. So people write in, this may be real, maybe not real. But, so just warm up questions for you. Favorite TV show over the last 10 years?

Joseph Motiki: Ooh, over the last 10 years.

Jim Allan: Or ever, ever.

Joseph Motiki: Okay, because last 10 years, I have to go like probably Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Law and Order SVU. I'm still a cable guy. I don't have Netflix or all the really fancy ones and stuff so.

Jim Allan: You never watch Breaking Bad or Mad Men or?

Joseph Motiki: No, no, all of that classic stuff so.

Jim Allan: It's gonna be a short interview.

Joseph Motiki: No, man, because I still got a lot of good stuff in everything. Homicide Life on the Street was fantastic. Barry Levinson created it. Tom Fontana, that was Andre Brar, Kyle Sekor, Ned Beatty, fantastic television.

Jim Allan: Song of the Summer. What's the Song of the Summer, 2023?

Joseph Motiki: Song of the Summer, 2023?

Joseph Motiki: You know what's funny? For me, I was just on the road and I was pumping a Best of Lover Boy. So my Song of the Summer of 2023 is Turn Me Loose by Lover Boy because now that has been like in the backdrop of everything I've been doing. 40 years, 80s, bro, that's right.

Jim Allan: It's around 1980, 82, I think, right? Favorite Taylor Swift song.

Jim Allan: What's that mean?

Joseph Motiki: It means.

Jim Allan: What's the big no? You don't like Taylor Swift.

Joseph Motiki: I'm not a Taylor Swift guy. I'm not pumping Taylor Swift tunes. No, I just go into my crates.

Jim Allan: Everyone likes Taylor Swift. So Joe, this is the headline that comes out of this. Right. Joe. There is one. I found them.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, there's nothing against her. I just don't.

Jim Allan: Just not cool.

Joseph Motiki: I'm just not attuned to her needs and wants.

Jim Allan: So again, I didn't write these questions. These are viewer mail, maybe real, maybe not. Were you and your co-host, Patty, secretly married?

Joseph Motiki: 100%, absolutely not.

Jim Allan: I mean, the chemistry was undeniable.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, the chemistry was great, but nothing to translate into anything off screen.

Jim Allan: When's the last time you talked to Patty?

Joseph Motiki: Last time I talked to Patty would have been two years ago.

Jim Allan: Okay, you owe her a phone call.

Joseph Motiki: Yep.

Jim Allan: So today, my goal is to prove how, we are basically the same person.

Joseph Motiki: Oh, all right, fantastic.

Jim Allan: We both grew up in East York.

Joseph Motiki: Yes.

Jim Allan: We both went to RTA at Ryerson, Radio and Television Arts at Ryerson.

Joseph Motiki: Correct.

Jim Allan: I mean, it's uncanny.

Joseph Motiki: I am the photo negative of Jim Allan.

Jim Allan: Well, not even photo negative. I'm not sure what you're getting at there. But I've done some research and I've noticed some differences between the two of us. First, East York. You went to East York Collegiate. You were a jock. I wasn't.

Joseph Motiki: Okay.

Jim Allan: You were in student government. I wasn't.

Jim Allan: You were in the band. I wasn't. I was in theater arts. You weren't.

Joseph Motiki: I wasn't.

Jim Allan: And I think about about 10 years older than you. So here's a quote. I've done some research, Joe. Here's a quote from you.

Joseph Motiki: Okay.

Jim Allan: When somebody was trying to get you in to get into drama and theater arts, you said, I didn't want to get into drama and theater arts. I wanted to go outside and do stuff. So I feel attacked. I feel attacked.

Joseph Motiki: Right?

Jim Allan: But you were popular. Everyone knew you. I mean, no one knew me. But okay, this is why.

Joseph Motiki: People knew you, Jim. Somebody had to. Come on.

Jim Allan: This is why I went into, okay, so in grade 13, like they used to do musicals every other year. Yes. And I wasn't into musicals at the time. Still not really a musical.

Joseph Motiki: Right.

Jim Allan: But I needed to do something strategically to get into radio and television arts. So I acted in and directed the school play. Oh. So that's how I got in. Now I kind of know why you probably got in because they love student government and that kind of stuff. But how the heck did you get into Ryerson?

Joseph Motiki: Okay.

Jim Allan: What did you do? Not a normal thing for people from, I was told by my guidance counselor, no one's ever, actually the truth is one person before me had gone to RTA from East York. He's telling me not to, and I just ignore him. A guy a year after me got in. Right. 10 years later. How did you, did you do anything special to get into RTA? Because it is hard.

Joseph Motiki: I would say, yeah, yeah. I would say just maybe outside of, whatever it is that I bring to the table. My buddy Brent Taylor and I, we loved, when we're talking about TV shows that we loved, in the 80s, Miami Vice. And in grade 12 for our English independent study, you'd remember that we had to do a big project. So we did a parody of Miami Vice. We called it Collegiate Vice. I was, Darren L. Tibbs.

Jim Allan: I think I've seen, you've posted that.

Joseph Motiki: I've put a little clip up so people can see, right? So I was Darren L. Tibbs, a vice cop from Mark Arnoux. He played Chadwick Elliot Diamond, a vice cop from Leeside High School. And these were of course, enemy schools, East York Collegiate. They end up having to solve a crime at Easter Collegiate, hence Collegiate Vice. So we wrote them, directed them. Back then, you remember that nobody had video cameras. It was a big deal to get your hands on a camera. These days, it's a snap. But 40 years ago, it was hard to just be able to get something.

Jim Allan: And editing would have been even harder.

Joseph Motiki: Yes. We had to do it right there. We had an editing. Oh, in the camera? No, at school. Mr. McGurren, he ran the AV room. So you had something there. Yeah, so there was a little something where, but I mean, very rudimentary.

Jim Allan: This early 90s then, right?

Joseph Motiki: Yeah.

Jim Allan: So it was starting to come, but it would have been expensive.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, just starting. So that was a major hit. Everybody loved it. Collegiate Vice, we were in grade 12 at the time. So then in grade 13, we were in separate classes, but our teachers liked us and knew that we were buddies and everything. So we did a sequel, Collegiate Vice 2, and that was like, the first one was 45 minutes. This one was an hour, which was like a big deal. That was like a lot of, yeah. And then edit and then put together. And then the logistics, because everybody else is working on their English independent study. But we're like, hey man, we need you to make an appearance and we need you to act. And these are your lines and we got to do it here. And we were shooting all over the city. Like, you know, we'd pick parts of East York that people recognized, the Trillium, you know, that white building there at Woodbine and O'Connor. So, you know, we made, that had to be in it. You know, we went to all the different schools, Leaside, Garno, we shot stuff at East York Collegiate. We shot stuff down at the Dome. The Sky Dome was an integral part of one of the crimes. So we had to, you know, go down there. We were just kids in high school, right? So somebody had a car, then we put everybody in the car. Somebody else had a car. Fine, meet us over there. We all go down there.

Jim Allan: So do you think they watched it all? So you submitted this.

Joseph Motiki: Oh yeah. Yeah, that was definitely. I'm sure they, I mean, look, I'm sure they had a lot of stuff to go through, but I mean, I think that was, those things were pretty entertaining. So I think they watched it.

Jim Allan: At RTA, at Ryerson, were you a star there? Were you, there's a, everyone's outgoing, everyone. In my years, there was like a Miss Teen Canada and a Miss, you know what I, or runners up to Miss whatever. Yeah, yeah. All sorts of Miss Canada. A lot of forward, I mean, I was always more of a behind the scenes guy.

Joseph Motiki: Right.

Jim Allan: Were you always in front of the camera? Were you always grabbing the mic?

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, the great thing about the program was that, especially first year is that you do all the jobs, right? So you learn the importance of camera and audio and lighting and, which of course makes you a better performer because you understand what everybody else has to do in order to make you look good. But I found, and I was surprised by this. I thought everybody, I thought it was gonna be a hundred people trying to get on camera. And it ended up, Jim, that there was like the same 12, 14, 15 people that you just, through the years everyone would lean on, right? A lot of people wanted to direct or be behind the scenes or, and I was surprised how many people just didn't.

Jim Allan: Well, I acted in high school, but that was it. Like I knew I wasn't gonna be an actor. So I was never on, like, willingly on camera.

Joseph Motiki: Well, you did it, you were saying you did that to get, to have something to present, right?

Jim Allan: Yes, exactly. Right. Yeah, even though they wouldn't have seen it. So I didn't submit, but it's more the act of doing it, right?

Joseph Motiki: I'm just curious, like, what did you, what did you act, what did you do?

Jim Allan: Oh, you would never have heard of it. We found a play, it was a play called An Overpraised Season. So I found it, there's a theater store, just found a script. And then, so like, I think it was maybe five of us. So it's just some lighting cues and,

Joseph Motiki: Right.

Jim Allan: You know, it wasn't a big deal. No, no, I mean, it wasn't a musical. So again, I said every other year, they did a big musical. And all the teachers would be involved. This is something we kind of did on our own. But we did enter it into like this Sears drama festival and all that kind of stuff.

Joseph Motiki: Okay, cool. Right. All right.

Jim Allan: And, you know, I don't know, you just do what you gotta do, right?

Joseph Motiki: 100%, that's right.

R Jim Allan: And I like, you know, I like directing. So I've continued directing, and I liked, well, I didn't write it, but I like writing and stuff like that.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it set you on the right path then.

Jim Allan: But I was never comfortable in front of the camera. This is new to me. Yeah, like four, as you say, 30, 40 years later. Yep. I've always done interviews, but always been behind the camera. So it's actually, I'm getting used to it now, but it's kind of weird being on, seeing yourself on camera.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah.

Jim Allan: Getting used to it now. It's like you're very used to yourself. Yeah, yeah. But, so when I conceived of this show, I centered it around, you know, big decisions. Right. Big decisions people make. If nothing else, it's a good way of starting a story. Yeah. Right, so, you know, you make a decision, and then you. So, and I just read this yesterday on LinkedIn. A decision is the intersection of knowledge and courage. Okay, so let that sink in for a second. I want to talk to you about a couple of the decisions you've made, Joe, in your life. And then people may relate, be able to get something out of this conversation.

Joseph Motiki: Oh, for sure.

Jim Allan: First, why have you never left East York? I got, I got, Joe,  I got out. I love East York. I grew up there. But you've never left. The Greek food. Right. Sivlaki. It's a, no. Opa, you like the opa?

Joseph Motiki: No.

Jim Allan: All that opa stuff?

Joseph Motiki: I've never really been a Danforth guy. So I didn't spend a lot of time.

Jim Allan: I'm okay, I'm really lost now.

Joseph Motiki: Okay. Right, yeah.

Jim Allan: No, you don't like Greek food.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, I mean, Greek food's all right.

Jim Allan: Second headline coming out of it.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, I mean, it's okay. I feel like, the same way I feel with Taylor Swift. Like, it's there.

Jim Allan: This is where you tell me you're a vegetarian, right? No, no, no, no, no. I like the meat. So I do get into all of that, which is great. The-

You like the meat?

Joseph Motiki: I like the meat, I like it. I like it a lot. I've always enjoyed meat. So that's never been a problem. East York. So my family, my mother and father were always in East York. I was always in East York. My friends were always in East York. East York, the location to me was always perfect as far as having to get downtown. I was 20 minutes, when I was working at TV Ontario, 20 minutes to uptown, no problem. After I retired from there and I was freelancing and I was working downtown, 20 minutes to get downtown, 25 minutes to CBC. It was perfect because you were close to everything, but it was such a great, and still is such a great neighborhood and such a great community. It's as close to like a small town feel as you can get, being in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world. But I've always enjoyed it, right? And I've never had a need to leave. If I was gonna leave, I wasn't gonna go to Durham region.

Jim Allan: Never tried, never tried something else? Never tried.

Joseph Motiki: No, to leave, no. The only thing that, I mean, look, I think for any performer, there's always that, or should be that thought of, are you gonna go to the States, right? The States is the great-

Jim Allan: That's one of my questions later.

Joseph Motiki: Oh, okay, all right. The great unknown of going down to the States, right? And to see. But I've always been fortunate that I was always, I was always busy. I was, and I don't say this lightly, because here in Canada, there's no star system. There's no, you're either working or you're not. You've got a job or you're not. And with performers, that's a big deal. Nobody sits there and judges what you're doing. You're working, you got a job, awesome. Nobody cares what it is, what the content is, it doesn't matter. You're working, that's amazing, because it's hard to work in this country. And I was always fortunate that I was working. The five years that I had at TVO was fantastic because it gave me some actual notoriety, some recognizability that not a whole lot of people will get to enjoy. And to me, and this is what's funny too, because I think I've always had an American way of thinking where I thought, okay, I've got to take this for a spin. So can I take this recognizability and use it and get other projects and be able to work and to be able to make a living and maybe make a good living, right? And to keep on going. And I was always fortunate that I was. And when you talk about, say, big decisions, there were a couple of the decisions early where I had to decide, okay, am I going to?

Jim Allan: We'll get to that.

Joseph Motiki: We'll get to that?

Jim Allan: I don't want to interrupt you.

Joseph Motiki: No, no, no, 100%.

Jim Allan: So East York, it just gave you some security, maybe? Like your family's there, some security you didn't...

Joseph Motiki: It was home. It was home. And I didn't want for anything else. There was nothing outside of, say, some gigantic move, like where, you know...

Jim Allan: So you had everything you needed.

Joseph Motiki: Everything was right there. Friends, entertainment, fun.

Jim Allan: Are you still hanging out with guys you hung out with in high school?

Joseph Motiki: I still have friends from public school. My buddy, Jeff Seguera, who I've known since kindergarten, so we are now going on.

Jim Allan: And they've never left East York either?

Joseph Motiki: He's in Scarborough, which is, you know, east of East York, but around, you know, we can still drive and see each other. We're close to 50 years of friendship. I just saw yesterday, my good friend Brent, who we starred in Collegiate Vice together in high school, he came to Parkside Public School in grade two, so I've known him since we were seven and still hanging out. You know, you're fortunate when you can get a couple of real ones, right? So Jeff and Brent, they're my real ones. And, you know, it's funny when you're old enough that you can say, okay, that's a combined, like, 100 years of friendship there, but that's where we are.

Jim Allan: That's sweet.

Joseph Motiki: And they're midtown, Brent is midtown.

Jim Allan: It is nice when you know someone for a long time. It's hard to keep it up. I mean, certainly I've moved around a bit, so it is hard to keep in touch.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah.

But I have deep roots in East York, so I don't wanna short, you know, I was born at that hospital. I worked at that hospital.

Joseph Motiki: East General.

Jim Allan: East General, whatever they call it now.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, now it's Michael Garron.

Joe Motiki Hospital, I think they should call it.

Joseph Motiki: It should be Eunice Motiki. My mom was a nurse, and she was a nurse there at the hospital for over 40 years.

Joseph Motiki: Wow. And worked in labor and delivery for the last 20. So I have a lot of friends.

Jim Allan: So from what year to one year?

Joseph Motiki: What? Mom would have started there at 71. She would have started there at 71.

Jim Allan: For 40 years at the hospital, 20 years in...

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, so I mean, when she first started there, you would go to nursing office, and they would say, okay, you're working, and then you work in a different part of the hospital. Okay. So one day you work psych, another day you might be...

Jim Allan: So she worked in the birth and delivery.

Because I was born there. I think I'm probably not, but I worked there. Right. My two kids were born there as well.

Joseph Motiki: Okay, okay.

Jim Allan: So maybe there's some overlap. I probably walked by her in the hall all the time.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, yeah, she might have carried them to you.

Jim Allan: My first job in television. Well, my mom in the 60s used to rent the televisions to the people, the patients.

Joseph Motiki: In a room, yes.

Jim Allan: And back then you had to put in, physically put in the television. My dad took that over for her, and then he, so he had like two or three jobs, and he gave jobs to like neighborhood kids and stuff. And so when I was in high school, I worked at like renting televisions at the hospital, like in physically moving them in. Probably, I was probably grade nine, 10, 11 kind of thing. Yeah. Something like that, so.

Joseph Motiki: And that's a short walk to school. That's roots in the community, Jim.

Jim Allan: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, man, like that's a, yeah, it's a short walk. I mean, that's, you know, just right along Coxwell from school to hospital, hospital back to school, so.

Jim Allan: And it's weird going, like I haven't been back in a while, but it's weird going in there, because it's, a lot of it's exactly the same. The same, yes. My, like in the 60s, my mom would have put me on the couch in the lobby. Right. And gone, worked for two hours, and the people at the front desk would keep an eye on me. Ah, man. So like I'm four or five years old, it's like people don't do that anymore. Right? Just leaving your kids at a different time, but.

Joseph Motiki: It's a different time, but it's also a different sense of community.

Jim Allan: Yes, well, that's what it was. It was like a takes a village kind of thing.

Joseph Motiki: So good, you might not wanna leave there.

Jim Allan: Okay.

Joseph Motiki: That's what I'm saying.

Jim Allan: Okay, now I know. Right? So I wanna dig down on the really big decision you made in your career. I mean, if you recognize Joe, it's probably because he was on TVO Kids every year, for years and years, but at some point you didn't wanna do it anymore. And I knew you around this time.

Joseph Motiki: Right.

Jim Allan: You were doing some corporate gigs, HMV, Universal Music, or our client, shout out Matthew Ives.

Joseph Motiki: There you go, that's right.

Jim Allan: You let us all know you were leaving probably and we're all going, what? What were you thinking at that time? And then I'll ask you some more questions.

Joseph Motiki: At the time.

Jim Allan: Because it's fascinating to me. Even now, 20 years later?

Joseph Motiki: 29 years.

Jim Allan: 29 years later? It was 20, I mean, it was, yep, I retired in 99. Sorry. 29 years careers on 24. Five years, 24, 25 years later. Yeah, it'll be, yeah, it'll be, yep. 25 years next year.

Big decision.

Joseph Motiki: A gigantic one. And, you know, so when I, at that time, my thought was, do you wanna get better? How do you improve your, I'm hosting TVO Kids and love it. And I absolutely love doing the show. But if I wanna get better, if I wanna become a better host, if I wanna become a better performer, if I wanna become a better, you know, on air entity, right? Do you need to do other things? Do you need to try other things with other people? And generally, in this industry, yeah. You know, you can be doing one thing and you can be as good as you can possibly be at that. But, you know, can you host another show? You know, can I get another gig?

Jim Allan: A different kind of show.

Joseph Motiki: Right. And one of the things, and I've always said this, I love children's television. I would do another children's television show again and have. Nothing against the genre. A lot of times people, they're like, they treat children's television like it's a stepping stone, right? Like, I'll do this for a while until I get a real television show. And I've never believed that, Jim. And it's always bothering me when people have thought that about children's television. It's a real signal. It's a real, it's a real program. There's real writers and directors and people that are working on it to produce it for an audience.

Jim Allan: Well, you had fame, fortune. You had benefits. It was a full-time job.

Joseph Motiki: Yes, yep. Full-time, full-time. I was there. I was entrenched. And I was fortunate. People liked me and I liked the people there. It was, it was fantastic.

Jim Allan: You arguably were the face of the network at a certain point. Or you could have been the face. I think maybe on your way out, they might've told you that, right? Like, Joe, stay. Like we could. Or maybe. And I know you've been back. Yeah, yeah. So you didn't burn any bridges, so.

Joseph Motiki: No, no, no, no. I mean, everything was great. And they understood that, you know, I wanted to try different things. And, you know, at the time they were just, in order to try those different things, you couldn't be live every day on a television station. You know, it was live after school, 3.30 to seven o'clock. So a week was a 50-hour week, right? There just wasn't any room to do other things. And TVO, it wasn't a place also where you could.

Jim Allan: Did you save some money?

Joseph Motiki: Yes. Always budgeted. Budgeting job one, two, and three. So I always tucked money away. Always had an FU fund. I remember somebody telling me, make sure you have an FU fund. If something bad happens where you can say FU and you can go off and you don't have to worry about rent or mortgage, you'll be okay.

Jim Allan: So is the answer you're giving me today, is it the same as the answer you were giving yourself back then? Or has this answer evolved over 24 years?

Joseph Motiki: Over the years, the answer is always the same. Try new things, get better, see if I would be better, right? I am head, shoulders, and torso a better host and performer than I was in 1999. And I know that's because I left the show. I'm proud of the show. And I remember telling people, look, I can go off and become better, but never be more famous than I was doing that show. There was a certain amount of people outside of us that would be on air every day at the same time. Those were anchor people on news broadcasts and the on air hosts on much music. We were the only ones used on TV every day. So that lent its own fame just for the fact that you were on so much, right?

Jim Allan: So you've never regretted it? Leaving, no. That decision, you've never thought back, I made a mistake.

Joseph Motiki: Never looked back and went, ugh. Now, take me with a grain of salt. I'm not one, I don't play the regret game. I'm not one to look back and go, ugh.

Jim Allan: You seem like a very positive person.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, but I'm also a realistic one. So I mean, if it was like, that might not have been the best. And were there times that maybe a little tight? Sure, but I'm good at budgeting. It doesn't mean that budgeting is fun. It doesn't mean that you always wanna be like, oh man, I better keep this here just in case I don't work for a little while here or it might be a little bit of time until this gig or whatever it might be. But for the time and for what I wanted to do and also because I know what I've accomplished since then, no regrets, Jim, about leaving the show. The only thing that makes me sad is viewers because of course, it's family viewing. So I kept all the goodbye mail that I got when I retired from the show. And I always use the vernacular retired because it was the same year Gretzky retired, Michael Jordan retired, John Elway retired. So I figured at least kids would understand. It was time to go.

Jim Allan: Now I understand.

Joseph Motiki: What it means, right?

Jim Allan: All the greats.

Joseph Motiki: I just figured, all right.

Jim Allan: All the goats.

Joseph Motiki: It was cute because I got a lot of letters saying, why is Joe tired? Why is Joe too tired?

Jim Allan: How did you say goodbye to the viewers? Or did you?

Joseph Motiki: We did a final show. We announced it at the top of May. We did four weeks where people could send in goodbye mail. We did a shtick that there was a goodbye party that I didn't know about on the final day that I was gonna be there, which was May 30th, 1999.

Jim Allan: So they're worried about the viewers probably, right?

Joseph Motiki: Yeah.

Jim Allan: Young viewers.

Joseph Motiki: About letting them know about, because this is still, the internet's not the internet yet. So it's not like people can just send me a message or go to my website. It wasn't as rich then.

Jim Allan: What was that show with the blue dog? Maybe it not a TVO cartoon.

Joseph Motiki: Blue's Clues?

Jim Allan: Blue's Clues. Right. There was a host, Steve or something. Yes. And he just vanished one day. He went to university. I don't know if that was a TVO. That was in my wheelhouse. Right. My kid's wheelhouse. Right, yeah. And as any parent knows, if your kid's watching the show, you're watching the show. Yes. But he left suddenly. And I go, where's Steve? Where's Steve? And it was kind of a thing. He just vanished. I think in real life, he went back to school. And then he showed up 20 years later and did a little video. You can look it up in character.

Joseph Motiki: Online, yes.

Jim Allan: In character. And he goes, just want to reconnect with all. And it was so sweet. Did you remember that? He reconnected, it's been 20 years. So all his viewers are now 30. Yes. You've experienced the same thing. And it was kind of, I thought I'd just let you know what I did. I needed some time. I got educated. I'm doing okay.

Joseph Motiki: He explained it.

Jim Allan: We're all doing okay, right? It was so sweet. And the kids were old enough to understand. Well, because they're 30. I hope so. Right, yeah. Literally 25 or 30 years old.

Joseph Motiki: For sure.

Jim Allan: It just came to mind now.

Joseph Motiki: No, no. For me, I had done something where, because I kept all that mail, my goal was always to reach out and thank all the kids who had sent me mail for their letters. And then work gets in the way, life gets in the way, you start doing stuff. I had actually started the secret group on Facebook. And what I did was, was that I was able to track viewers down through their mail. If your name was John Smith, there's so many John Smiths I can't find you. But-

Jim Allan: You're talking about years later.

Joseph Motiki: This is years later. This was 2010 when I started this. This was a decade later.

Jim Allan: So you're talking about doing birthday wishes and stuff?

Joseph Motiki: I started sort of doing-

Jim Allan: You did the same kind of birthday wishes you used to do on the show.

Joseph Motiki: Yes.

Jim Allan: You've got Photoshop at home or something.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, it grew into that. It started with me scanning their letters. And I'd say, hey, you sent me this letter when I left TVO Kids. I just wanted to let you know I was doing okay. And, oh my gosh, I can't believe it, Joe.

Jim Allan: Literally 10 years later.

Joseph Motiki: Literally 10 years. This was the summer of 2010.

Jim Allan: Eight or 11, and now they're 22 or whatever.

Joseph Motiki: So they're all just leaving high schools, just starting university. That would be so strange. Some of them were just like, you know, in-

Jim Allan: So you sleuth them on the internet and found them somehow.

Joseph Motiki: Tracked them down, and this group, it ended up being like a few hundred people. I always call them kids. It bothers them when I call them kids. It's like, Joe, we're not kids anymore. We're like, I'm 22.

Jim Allan: If you're a Taylor Swift fan, they're called Swifties.

Joseph Motiki: Swifties, all right.

Jim Allan: But you're not a Taylor Swift fan.

Joseph Motiki: I am not. So I just call them the TVO Kids kids. I just call them the TVO Kids alumni. So I was able to track them down and find them and kind of have those moments as well. Not as showy as Steve, but in a lot of really personal ways.

Jim Allan: It was 20 years of silence. So that's the thing. That was what made it kind of poignant. Yes. It was really. So I follow you on social media. So, I mean, there was a period. I mean, you reminded me of Paul McCartney in the 70s and 80s, right? Like people, he didn't want to talk about the past. So there was a period where you didn't talk, in my opinion, you didn't talk about the past. So like for 25 years, he didn't talk about the Beatles. Then suddenly, all he wants to talk about is the Beatles. So that's my observation is like, maybe it's 10 years, but 20 or 25 years later, you start embracing it. So you're going to events, you're interacting with your now grown fans. So why the change do you think?

Joseph Motiki: It was a good time to, well, I mean, one, once you've left, say, once I've left the crawl space, and if I'm trying to do new things, and if I'm trying to, part of it is not seeming like you're resting on your laurels, right? Right. You know, going into audition, hey, I'm Joe from TVO Kids. Like, you know, no one's going to care anyway. But you also want to seem like, okay, you're bringing something new to the dance, something new to the show.

Jim Allan: So I'm not that guy anymore? Were you trying to cast against type or something? Are you trying to?

Joseph Motiki: No, I was always me, for better or for worse. Okay. Just, you know, I mean, people see me now and be like, yeah, he seems the same. Yes. It's, you know, like-

Jim Allan: Are you coloring your hair? Where's the gray?

Joseph Motiki: Right? It's in here, bro. That's why you got to always make sure you shave, because it comes out of there. But you, you know, to always show that, you know, not so much that you're reinventing yourself, but that you're able to do something new. You know, I started hosting Reach for the Top after that, started making appearances on Off the Record, which for me was an amazing thing.

Jim Allan: Michael Landsberg.

Joseph Motiki: Michael Landsberg, super cool guy, excellent host. That show was fantastic.

Jim Allan: He's a Ryerson guy. I remember him. I was on CKLN, I was terrible, but he would have been a year or two older than me.

Joseph Motiki: Right.

Jim Allan: But he was like a big guy. Yeah, man. And I remember being at CKLN, and he got his, he did CFRB sports. I used to listen to sports, I'm a big sports fan. So he suddenly did a sports cast on it, cause Sunday night, late. Yeah. And everyone's going, he made it, he's made it. And then when TSN started, he whipped himself into shape, literally got into shape. And he was on, and he was for years, just buff guy. Yep. So you got to know him on.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, he, look, sports desk in 84, he was one of those first fellow with TSN, just getting started, right?

Jim Allan: And he was one of the young guys.

Joseph Motiki: And then they create that show for him off the record, and he develops it, and it becomes like this really great talk show where it's like, oh, we're actually going to talk sports, right? So for me.

Jim Allan: Were you on with any wrestlers or anything?

Joseph Motiki: I was on, I was on when Chris Jericho hosted. They did an episode where they let Jericho host, and Michael Landsberg was on the panel, and I was on. I was really lucky because they really trusted me. They liked me.

Jim Allan: The gift for Gab. Did you have a specialty that they want you on for a certain reason?

Joseph Motiki: Because I knew how to keep the show moving.

Jim Allan: Right, so it's not like you were a football fan or whatever.

Joseph Motiki: No, no. In fact, they bring me in for anything.

Jim Allan: So you're a generalist kind of thing. Yeah. Just, okay. Good with everything.

With the quips.

Joseph Motiki: Was good with sports, yes. Right. But could also, if you know.

Jim Allan: Bring in the funny.

Joseph Motiki: They knew, bring a little comedy, bring a little, but always, because that show was about keeping things moving. And they knew that I could keep things moving. And if somebody maybe stumbled or somebody, I would just keep it moving. So they always trusted me with, when they would have maybe, you know, big time guests on who maybe didn't know about sports. So when they had like Harold and Kumar, they had Escape Guantanamo Bay. When they were on the show to, to Cal Penn and John Cho. John Cho knew sports, Cal Penn not so much. Bring Joe on. So at least, you know, okay, you know, cause you know, there's execs here who want this to be a good appearance, but we need to keep the show moving. So they bring me on. So I was always honored about the fact that they would, they trusted me to come on. So I was on that show a lot. I mean, 70 appearances.

Jim Allan: Did you get paid for that? Like this?

Joseph Motiki: No, no. There was no. So it's just a. It was just.

You could push your stuff. You're getting paid today. I mean that, but you weren't getting paid to go.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah. You would just promote your stuff. Which for me, because doing a sports show at the time. Of course.

Jim Allan: So, okay. So you made, you made this big decision.

Joseph Motiki: Right.

Jim Allan: Big decision. We'll, we'll move on from this, but any advice to people confronted with making a similar decision in their life? Not, it doesn't mean they're on TV right now or. Yeah. But just someone in that's 30 ish, may be confronted with making a big decision sometime in their life. What can you tell that kind of.

Joseph Motiki: Identify what it is you need. I mean, you have to know yourself, right? I think a lot of times people fool themselves or they trick themselves thinking they want one thing or another thing. They don't stop and just say, okay, what do you need, right? What do you want? So identify what it is that you need. And then make sure that you've got the skills to get it or to pursue it or to, to try it, right? It's go. It's okay to dream. It's okay to try anything, but make sure you've got the skills to do it. I think a lot of times people, they're like, I wanna do whatever it is. And I say, well, especially in entertainment because entertainment is this wonderful industry that just, you know, has a dream quality to it. But I mean, nobody who wants to be an accountant is crappy at math. You have to have skills in order to be an accountant. Same with this industry. So if there's moves that you wanna make, regardless of what it might be, but certainly in this one, make sure you've given yourself a base. Ryerson gave us a base to do a whole lot of different things, but make sure you've done the things necessary to be able to take those steps so that you succeed, that you don't make a fool of yourself and that you don't waste your time or somebody else's. So if you're gonna make a big decision, if there's something that you really want, identify what it is that you want, and then make sure you've given yourself the skills necessary to get it. And if you don't have those skills, go get those skills. We live in a time now where it's easy to go back to school. It's easy to go take a course online. It's easy to fortify yourself. So you don't have to say no to what it is you wanna do. Go fortify yourself. Take some time, see if somebody can help you out. If you're lucky enough to be in a relationship, hey babe, I need six, eight, 10 months. I'm gonna go back to school to do this. Can we carry it? Can we figure this out? Is it good for us? Fine. And give yourself a base and then go do it. So, because a lot of times people, they go make a big decision. Preparations, everything.

Jim Allan: Have the preparation.

Joseph Motiki: Preparation and skills. You gotta be ready, but you gotta be good.

Jim Allan: When you were like, so you had an agent, like you were talking about preparation, you just didn't quit one day. You were thinking about it for a while. Did you have an agent? Did you get advice from anyone?

Joseph Motiki: Got an agent. I figured, look if I was, yeah, 99. I mean, I never had one during the five years I was at TVO. I decided, well, look, if I'm gonna go out and look for work, I need an agent. Agents have their ear to the ground. So, I was great. I had Jennifer and Donna over at the characters. And they, you know, have been with them ever since 2000 when I first went out and got an agent. Actually, 99. And I just, you know, I went to a bunch of different agencies and just talked to them and tried to figure out who would be the best fit for me and stuff, right? And I remember Matt, our mutual friend, he knew a fellow. He was actually the one who had kind of got me in touch with all the, right. Yeah, we used to play them in, the characters were in our baseball league.

Jim Allan: Right, yeah. So, I think I probably would have met Jennifer when she was young. Yes, for sure. She's still young, but.

Joseph Motiki: Yes, yeah, yeah, 100%.

Jim Allan: I think I know who that is.

Joseph Motiki: Yeah, really, really great. Matt loved her. Matt was like, oh, she's fantastic. So, yes, it's a, so decided, okay, get an agent and here we go. Take the plunge. Here in Canada, you just, you go and do everything. So, they just pour you in with all the other performers. So, whether it's commercials, acting, hosting, radio, voice, they just, here you go. So.

Jim Allan: So, now, I mean, you're a working actor now. That's how I would, you're a host slash actor. Yeah. I mean, you do a lot of voiceover work. Yep. I mean, for obvious reasons.

That's a joke, too.

Joseph Motiki: Well, thanks.

Jim Allan: That's a joke, too, I mean. I just saw a post you made where you referenced an old Eddie Murphy turn of phrase and you were talking about it, how to kind of snuck into a character you were playing. You're quick-witted, you're funny. Have you ever thought about doing standup comedy?

Joseph Motiki: I've never thought about it. A lot of people have thought about it for me. And so, a lot of people said, why haven't you done standup?

Jim Allan: You could do an hour of writing a day, right? You could wake up in the morning, write for an hour, times 365. Don't you think you could come up with? 30 jokes?

Joseph Motiki: Yes. In 365 sessions? Yes, I think I could. Look, I can't add anything. Yes, I could. I think if I had set my mind to, and even now, if I decided I'm gonna set my mind to creating a show and doing it, yes. I've never, it's never been a...

Jim Allan: Burning desire. It needs to be something you really, really want.

Joseph Motiki: Never had a passion.

Jim Allan: There's a lot of failure involved. A lot of effort required to make it.

Joseph Motiki: Yes, but I've never had a passion like, oh man. Exactly, you need to be... You have a passion for it. You need to want it. Yeah, I've thought about one-man shows. I've thought about a one-man show where I'm telling stories or imparting wisdom.

Jim Allan: You ever seen Mike Birbiglia? Birbiglia? Birbiglia. You ever, look him up. He's a stand-up, but that's what he does. He's a one-man show, so he's on that This American Life a lot. You know that it's audio-only thing. Mike, I've seen him twice, but that's what he does. He basically, people go to think he's a comedy show, but he actually tells stories. So there's this over... It's a story about whatever's going on in his life with all these tangents and funny one-liners and stuff. But he's brilliant. Look him up. Birbiglia. Mike Birbiglia. Everyone look him up. He's great. He comes to Toronto every once in a while. So if you want, it's more that one... So he's been, then he's pretty big now. So he's been to Broadway and stuff and just... Excellent. So it's like, because it's a one-man show, but he might book a month, let's say. But generally, he might come to Toronto every few years.

Joseph Motiki: Okay, right.

Jim Allan: Anyway, so you ever think of... We talked about this briefly. I said, wait, just for what you're doing now, ever think of going to the U.S. Why or why not have you not... Why have you not gone? East York's too big of a...

Joseph Motiki: The hooks, the East York hooks. Fortunate enough to always be performing. There was never a time when I was like, where there wasn't a stoke in the fire, where I was like, oh man, you know what? This would be a time. My thought was always to, if you're gonna go down to the States, if you're gonna just go down there cold, I had no interest in going down and waiting tables and rushing to auditions, however they glamorize that or how it's usually sort of presented, right? My thought was always, look, if you're going down there as a professional, so have a big chunk of money so that when you go down there, you can concentrate on auditions and you can concentrate on your craft and you can go get work. It's, you know, I know that there's a necessity to, okay, you gotta pay some bills at the hotel that you're staying at so that you can go. But I always thought that it's so competitive that you wanna give yourself the absolute best opportunity to actually book things and to get work and scrambling from your waiting tables job to go to an audition and then to come back. You're not concentrating on becoming a character or trying to nail a part. And to me, that was always necessary. So I always thought, okay, if I was gonna do it.

Jim Allan: You gotta be willing to starve for a couple of years probably.

Joseph Motiki: Go down there, have enough where you don't necessarily have to starve, where you can actually eat and have your brain going and stuff and then go book things. But then I was always, because I was always working, I was always, there was never like a, I guess there had to be a lull where I said, okay, I got nothing going for a year. I'm gonna go down there and audition. But I was working so hard to never have a lull because I wanna be working that it just, so it was never a step. It was, I never.

Jim Allan: So you've never needed to.

Joseph Motiki: Never needed to. But also just never, it was never anything where I thought, okay, you know what, man, I'm going. It just didn't. I had teachers, I know Mr. Vandenberg who loved me and always believed in me. He was one of my instructors at Ryerson and he created a polka dot door and today's by legend over at TVO. Great guy. I know he, yeah. And I know he wanted me to go. I know he's always, because I'd be like, yeah, sir, I can make a living right here and here in Canada, I can do my thing. And I think he loved my vigor, but part of him I know was nudging me like, you might wanna try Mr. Joe. Maybe you should go. I think he believed that I really could have.

Jim Allan: Yeah, well, you still could probably.

Joseph Motiki: Still could.

Jim Allan: Again, you gotta want it. You gotta wanna do it.

Joseph Motiki: It's gotta be something that's in you where it's like, ugh. And I mean, I guess I've just never, it hasn't been something where I'm like, okay, that's it, I'm gonna go. Not talking to you, Jim, maybe I will.

Jim Allan: Well, I guess one of the things that would push you in that direction is just everything ended. Anything that you're working on ended. And there's a gap and I gotta do something. So maybe the circumstances. You're too successful. You're just successful enough not to leave East York. And I don't wanna sound like I'm some high roller that I've just been, that I'm murdering in 24 seven. I've seen your shoes.

Joseph Motiki: Look, I ironed for you, Jim, because you're a good man.

Jim Allan: I saw the car you rolled. All right. So thanks for the driving.

Joseph Motiki: That's right. I've always just thought that, you know what, I've always been. The Corolla you rolled up. Yeah, that's right, that's right. Finally got myself something sweet, just a nice clean interior. It's like, all right. I've always just been, I guess, fortunate enough that it was always ingrained, be busy, and that you're working. I've just always been working, so I've just always been good.

Jim Allan: You've never been unemployed long enough to be forced into making decisions, right?

Yeah. So you're a lucky man. You're a lucky man.

Joseph Motiki: Super fortunate, Jim.

Jim Allan: Or it's hard work, right? It's talent, hard work. I don't wanna imply that you're lucky, lucky.

Joseph Motiki: No, no, no. I get what you're saying.

Jim Allan: I just listened to an interview with Justine Bateman. You may remember, she's a writer, director. You may remember her from, she's a Mallory, Family Ties. She went on to get a computer science degree. She was talking about artificial intelligence. Because she's got this computer, she's got opinions, because she's a writer, was an actor, she's not an actor anymore. She thinks artificial intelligence is gonna take over the entire entertainment industry. And I thought I'd ask you about it because you make a lot of your living as a voice actor. So a lot of animated stuff. It would be easy. I'm sure you've heard this stuff online.

Joseph Motiki: Yes.

Jim Allan: To take your voice and spit it out in any way I want, right? Even today, I've got enough of your voice.

Joseph Motiki: That's right.

Jim Allan: Does artificial intelligence worry you at all?

Joseph Motiki: Yes.

Jim Allan: Why?

Joseph Motiki: Because it's, for that very reason, that if you just want to take a performance and now you can make, and you can make a performance using that person's voice or picture. I mean, a lot of the stuff, I mean, you've seen the clips online. I've seen the clips online of some of this AI.

Jim Allan: Deep fake stuff.

Joseph Motiki: It's seamless, right? I mean, I'll be honest. My worries are more about global security. Maybe I watch too many movies as a kid or even as an adult, but I mean, a lot of that stuff looks so real. I worry about somebody trying to really start a war. Like, start like actual.

Jim Allan: Yeah, you could have Putin come on and suddenly is speaking perfect English.

Joseph Motiki: Right? And it's like, what? Like, what's happening right now? World to world stuff. So bigger fish. But as far as professionally, look, this is what they're striking currently in the United States. They're worried about AI and about the way it's used and about replacing performers. And look, the one thing that never goes away is how the rich stay rich and how the rich just continue to get even richer than before. There's no thought about being rich enough, right? Your job is to get all the money. Get all of the money. You're not supposed to, well, we've got 80% of it, so get 20% of it. Your job is to get all of it, right?

Jim Allan: This is your Ryerson sociology coming through.

Joseph Motiki: Feldhammer, Louis Feldhammer. He was a legend. He was fantastic. Yeah, he was great. He was, a lot of it's true. It is right.

Jim Allan: I was just, one of my daughters, we met his boyfriend's parents and they're American. And so, and I was telling him, it's like, oh yeah, you know, we actually had members of the communist, he was a card-carrying, Feldhammer, card-carrying member of the communist party. It was like, it's no big deal. It was kind of, not entertaining, but informative. You learn a lot by being open to different-

Joseph Motiki: Different viewpoints.

Jim Allan: Different viewpoints and you can take what you, figure it out for whatever your worldview is for yourself.

Joseph Motiki: And you should.

Jim Allan: But I'm glad I knew that stuff. Cause you know what I, what's going on here, Joe? I own the means of production, right? It was always a goal of mine and I had that term in my head because-

Joseph Motiki: Of Louis.

Jim Allan: Of, or that education, that kind of education, right?

Joseph Motiki: Yes.

Jim Allan: Own the gear, like own camera, own the edit suite and then I can do whatever I want. And it's recession proof, sort of.

Joseph Motiki: Yes, no, it is.

Jim Allan: So, more about AI from Joe. No, so it's, you know, so I mean, if you can-

Sorry to interrupt.

Joseph Motiki: No, no, no, no, no, no, it's your gear. So, there you go. It's, it is a, it stands to reason that if you think that you can, you can cut out one other thing that you, that you use, that you have to pay for, then why wouldn't you? Right? I mean, I read my contacts-

Jim Allan: Why pay actors if you don't need to?

Joseph Motiki: If you don't need to, right?

Jim Allan: Well, plus it's the ownership of, one of my recent interviews actually was a fellow that is president and CEO of a software company, like a computer animation. So he knows all about this. So he's looking at it from a different point of view. And this is before the strike really hit too. So how exciting it is, he goes, you know, you could, you get Keanu Reeves in a studio, shoot them from all bunch of angles. And that goes into the main frame. You know, you've got his essence forever. Right. Now, presumably, you know, during that conversation, presumably you're paying Keanu Reeves for that. But the implication is you could make Matrix's, the Matrix movie, five, 10, 20 years in the future and have Keanu Reeves look the age he is now. In fact, you could de-age him, right? That's the thing is like once they've got you, but hopefully the idea right now, I guess what they're stumbling on is how do you get paid, right? How do we make sure Joe gets paid? Right. The technology exists where we don't really need to, you know, your voice anymore, we've got it. Hopefully they still need you, right? But the technology exists, you know.

Joseph Motiki: Which. It's scary. Is, look, essence, Jim. The essence. Is important. When they were first, you know, when they were recreating stuff with CGI, right? And people would talk about how hard it is to get the eyes. I remember that was always a difficult thing, right? You can get everything else. Because there's, what is it? I'd say soul. There's soul in a person's eyes, right? And it's, you're trying to recreate soul and that's why the eyes look a little dead. Everything else is real, but the eyes are a little wonky. Soul, you can't get soul. Essence. There is something that we enjoy why a communal thing of theater, of movies, of what, you're watching people, right? You know, even the original Star Wars movies as much as everybody, this, that, seeing people actually in actual danger, right? Real stunt people. You know, you know that people are falling. You know that people are getting hit with things. It makes the stunts more, everything more visceral, right? That's why everyone is crazy for 60 year old Tom Cruise jumping things and stuff because you know it's him, right? As opposed to if it was all CGI, all you're doing now is you're watching the CGI and judging how good the CGI is. Computer game. So it's, you like seeing performers because they're soul and because you are getting some of their essence and they're sharing some of their essence with you. If, you know, if they take Keanu Reeves and they are able to reproduce him and make matrixes till the end of time, all right, well, that's fine. But, you know, you're not, but it's still not him. You know, it's a fantastic facsimile of him, but not him. And I wonder if that's something that audiences, okay, that's fine for a video game, but are you gonna pay hard-earned money to watch something that lacks soul?

Jim Allan: Well, it's like, it's a computer or it's a machine. You're watching a machine or, you know, can the computer make you laugh or cry? Maybe they can, but maybe not as well as Joe can.

Joseph Motiki: There's no instincts. The real Joe. Yeah, there's no instincts to read a room, right? There's no instincts to, maybe, you know, people could, ha ha ha ha ha. Maybe, and this is me, spitball. Maybe the computer, oh, I hear laughter, but you know, no, that's tepid laughter. Maybe I should move it along.

Jim Allan: And you get heckled from someone. Do you ignore the heckle or engage with the heckler?

Joseph Motiki: Right, right. But I mean, look, and as far as, say, just, remuneration, just as far as paying people, I mean, the worry, and this is the thing, it's not gonna hurt Keanu Reeves. No. You know, there's a top, top tier of performers who, you know, who are out there fighting, but they know, yeah, it's not about us. It's about all these other 98% of performers that are just making their way, right? Just getting by, they're just, you know, that don't live spectacular lives, and it's for them that this is about, right? It's, you know, Jennifer Lawrence is all right. Meryl Streep is all right. Tom Cruise is all right. But there's this gigantic, and it's been interesting even hearing performers who have just been sharing their stories, right? You know, even guys, I'm just like, oh wow, really? You know, dudes that are in a couple of Netflix shows that, you know, I would have assumed are, you know.

Jim Allan: Yeah, no, they're worried, yeah, they're worried about residuals too, right?

Joseph Motiki: Right, and how do you, yes.

Jim Allan: The streaming and residuals, right.

Joseph Motiki: Right, so it's a, so you know, if there's ever an ability for, because again, if there's an ability for a studio to be able to reproduce a performance, you know, my guess is is that, you know, a lot of producers, you know, probably look at actors and just go, look, anybody, you're a monkey. We can, you know, we can train somebody to, we grind the organ, we'll train a monkey to dance, right? And we don't necessarily need you, that's a tale as old as time. People getting replaced from TV shows, so on and so forth. Dick Wolf had a great quote there, because you know, he's replaced so many performers over the years on Law and Order, and they had asked him, how would you have handled Friends, you know, when they had all sat out and they were demanding that they get a piece of the pie and so on and so forth? Which, you know, I mean, look, makes sense, I mean that, you know, if it's producing a billion dollars in syndication, I mean, you can pay them gigantic amounts of money, and it doesn't hurt anybody, but it's a producer's job to get all the money. And he has said, I would have picked a friend, I would have fired a friend. I would have just picked one and said, all right, that one's gone, the other five can decide without you coming back to work.

Jim Allan: Right.

Joseph Motiki: And you know, to viewers, like they're all indispensable, they're all, how would you pick a friend? I'm not a friends guy, but there are people that are just like, oh my God, who would you pick? Well, they famously stuck together, yeah. And they stuck together. Yeah. But there's a producer saying, no, no, I would have found a way to, it's not important. You know, whatever it is that they bring, it's not as important as you think. I would have fired one and we'll see how the other five would have done. To me, this is what this is about, right? When you talk about CGI, or when you're talking about AI, right? It's, you know, you could have fired a friend and replaced a friend. You just had Matt LeBlanc and just, you know, and recreated him and done a whole thing. It's like, you know, and then you don't have to pay him at all. And the next step is let's pay less friends. Yes. Let's pay no friends. Let's keep that money. There was a story about Robert Evans. I think I've got this right. When he was at 20th Century Fox and when they originally made the deal with George Lucas for Star Wars, and George Lucas was able to keep the licensing for all of his characters and for the, and Robert Evans, who was a big wig at 20th Century Fox, you know, back when they were making motion pictures, he got fired from 20th Century Fox because he allowed George Lucas to have that cut and to still own the product.

Jim Allan: The IP.

Joseph Motiki: The IP. And Robert Evans was like, we made scads of money. 20th Century, we made gigantic money off of that Star Wars deal. I can't believe that they were upset, but they're upset because- They didn't get it all. Didn't get it all. And look, that's the thing, right? You know, it's like the people up here just want it all. It's like-

Jim Allan: It's a business. It's beyond a business.

Joseph Motiki: And I get it. And I'm not saying don't make your money, but you've gotta be able to let people make a living. This isn't, you know, not scads. This isn't Tom Cruise. This isn't Johnny Depp. This is just dudes. This is just actresses. These are just people that are just also making a living. These are crews that are out there that are just making a living, right? Like, you know, not everybody's up here. Most of the industry is down here. So, you know, you gotta let people get theirs too. And so anything that is trying to replace, that, you know, or that doesn't allow somebody to make a living or to be able to get theirs, you know, I'm sure it can accentuate things. You can improve things, but, you know, you don't want it to replace people. And man, some of that AI, again, it's seamless. I go over all my scripts, Jim, or all my contracts, just making sure. I'm looking to see if there's some mention of, you know, because you give a lot away in perpetuity, but is there anything where they can recreate your performance? So I look for AI, recreate anything where they're saying, now we can take what you've done as this character and just, you know, you know, say if they're just, you know, oh, it's just kids, just kids. They don't know if it's Joseph Motiki or they don't know if it's not him doing the voice of the iguana. You know, we can recreate his voice now and, you know, we paid him. We paid him in perpetuity for his voice. And it's like, no, we're not doing that. So I look forward, I'm sure everybody else is too. We're in a new world.

Jim Allan: Here's a quote from you. Like, I think someone was just asking for advice on being successful or something like that. So this is what you said. Be great at what you do if you wanna be successful. Be great at what you do, take two. Doesn't matter what connections you have or who you know, if you stink. Kind of brought a tear to my eye, Joe, with that. So that's where we're leaving it. Like what's your, what's the secret to your success, do you think? Because your success, you know what? You're a working, you're doing it, right? You're a working actor, it's 40 years, 30 years later? Yep, 30 years that you've been at it. What's the secret to your success?

Joseph Motiki: It's the preparation. It's making sure that I had the skills to so that when opportunities came that I was able to get a job, keep a job, and be somebody that people thought could get another job, right? It's important to be somebody that people wanna be around. This is an industry where you're gonna see a crew and you're gonna see your family.

Jim Allan: So be good to work with.

Joseph Motiki: Be good to work with. Be great to work with. Don't be a dick. Be friendly. Be friendly. Be good, be a good person. Whatever your job is, kill it. I say this all the time. A lot of times people, whatever it is they decided to do or whatever they're working on and stuff, they don't go 100%, right? They don't go full-tilt boogie. They just, they're doing it enough to, you know, get by and you should kill it. If you get in the habit of killing something, if you get in the habit of working really hard and really applying yourself, you will do that with everything. And maybe that's why I've got friends for 50 years, because I really put the effort into friendship and I really put the effort into a work relationship and I really put the effort. Everybody appreciates effort. People appreciate it when they put effort into you. You come into the office and somebody comes in, hey Jim, let's go get that. You'll be like, yeah, man, let's get it. You know what I mean? I'm glad I'm here doing it with you. Let's go. Don't half-ass it. These are subtle, they're subtle things that aren't subtle. Everybody knows the difference. People that aren't in your life anymore, you know why they're not in your life anymore. Because you didn't feel it from them. You didn't feel passion from them. You didn't feel that there was a need for you to be there together, right? That's why people fall by the wayside and that's fine. But in everything is a relationship and everything has to have work put into it. Whether it's friends, whether it's professional, whether it's an office, whether it's love, whether it's romance, whatever it might be. Just kill it.

Jim Allan: Do the work.

Joseph Motiki: Do the work. It's easy, because it's easier to do the work. I had a job at the cemetery and I remember there was a term, F the dog, right? Like, you know, let's just take 10 minutes. And I was like, it's harder to-

Jim Allan: I wonder if that's an East York expression, I don't know.

Joseph Motiki: I don't know, right? But it's harder to F the dog for 10 minutes than it is to just like, let's just mow the grass, man. Let's just do our jobs and then time flies and it's like, oh man, it's lunch. Amazing. Let's just kill it. It's just easier. Your day goes by quicker, you feel better, and people, you know, they respond to you more.

And you feel like you've accomplished something, but then people look at you and go, wow, that was, that grass looks great. I work in an industry where my grass is, it's on, it's there for you to be consumed. So, you know, if I'm hosting that show or I've been lucky with social media to get really good responses from people about, you know, Ice Cool Cash is almost a decade old, but it's found a new audience in the States. I get regular notes about it and stuff. I'm glad I killed it, because you know what? And maybe because I worked hard on it, it's a show that, you know, can pop up places. And people are like, okay, we'll add that to the schedule and we can, you know, and new people can be exposed to me. And who knows, maybe one of them are gonna be like, I'm working on something and would you come and do this? And which happens too in this industry. So just, you know, if you're not passionate about it, then just don't do it. There's a million things in the world to do. Find something that you like and go kill it. And I think that's served me well for 29 years. And hopefully it serves me well for 29 more.

Jim Allan: So I want to thank you for driving out here.

Joseph Motiki: Pleasure's mine, Jim, pleasure's mine.

Jim Allan: I know it's not an easy, So I know, so I do appreciate it. Thank you for coming.

Joseph Motiki: Thanks for having me, man.

Jim Allan: It's a great talk. I do appreciate it. So much fun.

Joseph Motiki: Thanks so much, bro.

Jim Allan: Best of luck. You don't need it, but best of luck.

Joseph Motiki: Appreciate it, bro.