Can you give me a quick elevator pitch about what it’s about?
It’s about the adventure that she takes in the course of her duties as a traveling judge.
It’s going to be fun.
Everybody’s going to really like it.
Reba does an amazing job on it.
She does look like she’s having a lot of fun in that role.
I had a blast watching her.
Were you at all familiar with the real Kim Wanker before taking this project on?
I like to dig in.
She did the research on it.
We got to Zoom.
It was really great.
The whole idea of a traveling judge intrigued me.
I didn’t know that they still did that.
This woman is a hoot.
She is so great to talk to.
We had a lot of fun talking to her.
Did she have any stories that might have inspired the performances?
Her schedule changed, and Reba’s schedule changed, and we couldn’t do it.
She got her gavel and then knocked him out, basically.
We didn’t get time to share a lot of stories.
We were excited just to be talking to her.
It did, yeah.
Working with girlfriend Reba McEntire
What can you tell me about your experience working with Reba?
I guess this would be the first major acting that you’ve done together?
Reba always says we worked together.
I said, “Great.”
I went in there and worked one day.
I had two lines.
I did meet Reba that day.
We shook hands on “The Gambler.”
Then, they were telling me, “Hey, dude.
That’s how we worked.
I’m a rehearse freak.
Reba is amazing because she can look at dialogue for 10 minutes, and she’s ready to rock.
I have to study for hours.
I’m not kidding.
I have to [constantly repeat].
She’s not that way.
She had a lot of dialogue in this movie.
Back home, I go, “Come on.
We got to get back in the script, start rehearsing again.”
She was like, “No.
I’m tired.”
It was a great pleasure.
To watch her work …
Honestly, and I’m not kissing butt here, but she’s fun to watch.
She’s fun to watch on the stage singing.
She’s fun to watch in front of the camera.
It’s a lot of fun.
You’re absolutely right.
She is definitely one of those people that sparkles on camera, no question.
She really does, and she’s contagious.
Everybody wants to sparkle, whether it’s in front of the camera or behind the camera.
She brings a lot of light and energy and good vibe to wherever she goes.
It’s pretty amazing.
How did that affect the mood on the set?
It must have been a very familial atmosphere.
Here’s the great thing about that.
Reba … Again, I’m not kissing anybody here.
It’s honest truth.
Reba diffuses a lot of stuff.
That stuff gets thrown out the window.
It makes for a great environment.
I can speak for [Melissa], her probably.
I don’t think any of us looked at Reba like the executive producer.
None of that existed during filming.
Reba never threw that around at all.
We had great producers on the show.
We let them do their job, and they did a great job.
We were trying to take care of ourselves in front of the camera.
It was fun because Bart Crawford, the character that I play, has got an ulterior motive.
He has a genuine love interest, in the judge.
There’s a fine line right there.
So I kind of played it that way.
It was fun to play that character.
“The Hammer” was the same way.
She got the script and loved it.
Because every actor asks that, don’t you know.
Some actors will go, “I never ask that.”
That’s bulls***.
I said, “Is there anything in there for me?”
She said, “Well, yeah.
Here,” and she handed me the script.
Bart was what I wanted to play, and it worked out.
Funny you should bring that up.
When I found out … That’s how Reba and I got back together.
We never worked together.
We were friends for 28 years.
We’ve been inseparable ever since.
Here’s what I planted at “Young Sheldon.”
So far, it hasn’t happened.
Ironically, they’ve pushed more of my character and Melissa.
There may be something happening there.
I don’t know.
I keep [asking,] “What about June now?
Can Tom see June?”
I think that’s not going to happen.
That’s pretty much it after that.
That show has been so much fun.
It’s been good to both of us.
I’ve been on five seasons now.
Jon Favreau, at the time, was directing all of us.
I didn’t think I’d come back on the show.
They didn’t tell me I would be, but 27 or 28 episodes later, here we are.
It’s been a lot of fun.
You’ve been a key player in that throughout the series.
Now that it’s concluded its run, what are your thoughts on that?
I’m having a “Better Call Saul” reunion [with] about half the crew.
[Regarding] “Better Call Saul,” I’ll make this short.
I loved, as millions of people did, “Breaking Bad.”
I auditioned for Uncle Jack in “Breaking Bad.”
I didn’t get it.
They hired a guy named Mike Bowen …
He was amazing as Uncle Jack.
I would’ve hired him, too.
I got the opportunity to play Kevin Wachtell.
Vince Gilligan, all I can hear is how great he was, how great Peter Gould was.
Then I started getting [several episodes in] Season 2, and then Season 3.
Boy, did it ever in “Better Call Saul.”
I am so happy, so proud to be a part of it.
Rhea Seehorn’s performance …
It’s one of the biggest travesties in our business that she’s not been nominated until now.
In that last episode, as you know, she was really unbelievable.
I say, “I know, man.”
Then they had me back for the season premiere of Season 6.
I was so happy to come back.
It’s been a lot of fun.
I said this at a cast dinner one time when we were all in Santa Monica.
I never read a script of “Better Call Saul,” because I loved the show so much.
He’d call up and I’d go, “Well, don’t tell me anything.”
He’d say, “Would you stop saying that?
I’m not going to tell you anything.”
I would tell Rhea, “I don’t want to know what’s going on.”
I do know one thing.
He’s not in the final episode of “Better Call Saul” …
I knew it was … …
I was really glad they had me back.
A wildly diverse fanbase
Looking at your IMDb credits, you’ve been in everything.
You’ve got such an impressive roster.
What do people tend to recognize you from most?
It’s interesting you say that.
It used to be always “Cliffhanger.”
[That] was my first movie ever.
It was a great movie for what it was.
It changed my life.
It’s interesting, because a lot of people recognized me from “CSI: Miami.”
I did that series for 10 years.
A lot of people recognize me from “Better Call Saul.”
The ones that watch “Better Call Saul” always do.
Now, I’m starting to get recognized from “Young Sheldon,” which is weird.
I would have to say “CSI: Miami,” but I get surprised all the time.
I don’t mean that narcissistically.
He goes, “‘Rush Hour’ is my favorite movie.”
I go, “Thank you.”
Can you tell me what was J.T.
What was Kurt Russell like?”
You mentioned “Big Sky” coming up.
Is that how that’s going to work out?
Then, January is the release of “The Hammer.”
We’ll be in “Big Sky” before “The Hammer.”
What’s that experience been like, doing “Big Sky”?
It’s been great.
This is one of the best crews I’ve ever worked with.
It’s like I’ve had a reunion.
We got “CSI: Miami” crew members from here.
We got “Better Call Saul” crew members.
I did a limited series called “Waco.”
There’s some people from “Waco” here.
I did a throwback horror comedy called “Zombeavers.”
I always smile about that, man.
There’s some people on the crew that worked on “Zombeavers.”
It’s been a great reunion in a lot of ways.
Rex Linn stars with Reba McEntire inThe Hammer, airing on Lifetime January 2023.
