Untitled

AJ Buckley Show

AJ Buckley sits down with former two-division Bellator champion Ryan Bader to discuss his journey from a hardworking Idaho upbringing to becomin

Key takeaways

• Ryan Bader was cast as Mark Coleman in Benny Safdie's The Smashing Machine after a FaceTime audition where he was told to ditch the script and just be himself.
• Bader shares how his father's relentless work ethic and summer construction jobs instilled the discipline that defined his wrestling career at ASU alongside Cain Velasquez.

Main topics

• MMA career and championship fights
• Acting in The Smashing Machine

Notable quotes

"Don't put the pussy on a pedestal. It's just another man in that cage that night."

Conclusion

The episode offers a compelling look at how discipline, family values, and mental

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) Welcome back to the AJ Buckley show. So just to give you a heads up what you're about to hear are some archived episodes of The show formerly real fake seal which became the AJ Buckley show So when you hear the intro real fake seal sex appeal, that's where this all began So some of these episodes we did when we transferred over Were taken down And you, the fans, that said, hey, I wanted to hear the Gary Sinise episode or the Dallas Alexander or some of the other amazing guests that we had on the show. So, producer Sean said, your wish is his command. And here you go. So, this is still the A.J. Buckley Show, but it's the formerly Real Fake Seal Archive episodes. Enjoy the show, and I will see you next Tuesday. Brian, my man, welcome to the show. Speaker 3 (0:52) I appreciate it. How are you doing? Speaker 2 (0:54) I am doing good. I mean, the last time I saw you, we were in Vegas, and I, I, A.J. Buckley, claimed last place. Last place. I got a wooden stick that I still have that I look at every day in my office that I will come back and avenge myself. And I embarrassed fucking Tyler Gray on another level. I've never seen Tyler bite his lip and his leg was bouncing up. He was like, cause he's never lost like that. He was like, dude, I get stuck with fucking AJ. I hit everything but the target. If the goal was to not hit the target, I would have won. So in a sense, the way, the way I did it, it's like, I mean, first chance and you won, didn't you? Yeah, we won. Yeah. You're such a dick. Yeah. I Speaker 3 (1:41) mean, we're over there, right? We're like, what the fuck, man? They got a Delta dude, ex Delta dude over there. Yeah. You know? And then when they read out the second to last, last place, nobody was looking at him. Everybody just kind of looked back at Speaker 2 (1:59) you. Yeah, I was like, I was. It was, well, to my defense, I'd never shot with a red dot before, and it freaked me out. Yeah. It messed me up. And I never claimed to be a great shooter. I've since then gotten a lot better and I've gotten used to their red dots. So I will avenge myself. As long as the good news is. Speaker 2 (2:22) even if I get second to last, I'm moving up. You can only go up. I can only go up. I mean, if I, if I, maybe, I might be just, I might be, I might be just the fat cat and be like, I don't care, dude. You have Speaker 3 (2:34) that red dot, man. You put it up and you realize how much you're moving and shaking and all that. And it gets in your head. Speaker 2 (2:40) Yeah. Cause I was like, I would like to be again. I had no clue that we were going to be, like, doing obstacles and doing stuff. I was like, pew, pew, pew. You know, like, seal team America. And then I show up, and I'm like, oh, shit. This is the – and, like, everyone was locked in. People fucking took this serious. And I was like, okay. So, like, halfway through the day, I'm like, I need to probably hit some targets. Like, this is, like, you know, like – Tyler would finish the course, and I'm sitting there, like, tink. Thank Hey it's Speaker 3 (3:14) for time agent You know that's right Yeah The Speaker 2 (3:16) bus is leaving But No cause The thing that really Messed with my head was One I'd never shot Was Red Dot It was always the Iron Sights And Tyler The same thing He does not like Fucking Yeah The The Red Dot So And Tyler was Pretty much Speaker 2 (3:36) I just lost him in my cans. I'm back now. Yeah. Can you hear me? Did you lose it? Yeah. I lost, we lost, we're back now that we're good. Okay. But Tyler, so he, he's pretty much taught me since on the show and let's play form and stuff like that. So. The hardest part, though, was I'd go up to present, and I'm like this, and my chest is breathing. I never, and the fucking red dot's going like spinning like this, and then I'm like, then I'm doing this weird thing, too. I'm like, Speaker 3 (4:03) what the fuck is this? Where'd it go? Speaker 2 (4:05) Yeah, and then I'm like trying to find, dude, I was a hot mess. But I totally, there was like, the one that I liked that was really cool, it was like we were in like the OK Corral, you know, where we ran down and we tried. That was my fun. That one we actually did good. Speaker 3 (4:19) Yeah, you did good on that one. Speaker 2 (4:20) Yeah, but the rest of them just shit the bed. Yeah, I mean, Speaker 3 (4:23) with those red dots, if you haven't used them, and they're better if they're like co-witness, right? The red dot is you can see Speaker 2 (4:30) your Speaker 3 (4:31) sights or iron sights on your pistol, so you can kind of like put those together, then you'll see the red light. But sometimes you put it out, it's not there, you got to dip it down. Speaker 2 (4:40) And I kept going to look. Well, first I was trying to just find the iron sights. Then I was trying to put the red dot on the iron sights. And it was just fucking, it Speaker 3 (4:51) was a mess. And by Speaker 2 (4:51) this time, the fucking train had already left the building. You Speaker 3 (4:54) know, I think they changed their name now, but Special Forces Trust used to be Charitable Trust. That's one thing. You know, I got invited by Dan Henderson, an old UFC legend. And he was telling me, he's like, hey, this is not like Mickey Mouse shit. Like, you're going to have fun. Right? We went out there. And we went to Fort Bragg, Fort Liberty now. Speaker 2 (5:15) And, Speaker 3 (5:15) you know, we trained all day, unlimited ammo. And then we're running, you know, pistol, carbine, the whole deal. And then we're like, man, they really go, you know. And then we got invited to go out and do the Mint 400. Yeah. Speaker 2 (5:33) A Speaker 3 (5:33) race in the desert. Speaker 2 (5:34) Oh, wow. Speaker 3 (5:35) And like I've driven buggies and stuff, but this was like we didn't drive the car at all. It showed up that day. We got in a huge jump and we went 90 miles. That's one lap. We have four laps. And we were getting like run over by trophy trucks and like they're going up our tires. And we're like, how are they letting us do this? Right. Speaker 1 (5:54) We Speaker 3 (5:54) started on fire and we had to walk like 11 miles back to the, to the pit. Speaker 2 (6:00) But that's yeah. Speaker 3 (6:03) So that's the kind of stuff that the Special Forces Trust, right? That anytime they invite me, I try to make it because it's going to be a good time. Yeah, Speaker 2 (6:10) and it is a great, and I'll put in the show notes, I'll put the link to the foundation. It is a great foundation. It's run so well. I am so sick and tired of paying monthly subscriptions for things that don't work. The GhostBed Climate Pro. Cooling and heating in a bed, no app fee, no monthly service. You buy it once and it's yours. The Ghostbed Climate Pro drops in November. Go to ghostbed.com forward slash Buckley and sign up now. I got to tell you this, man. I went and saw your movie and I specifically went because you were in it. And I think I texted you and said, like, if I can. Like... This is your first role you've ever done? Speaker 2 (6:57) Yeah. Bro. Ever. You fucking crushed it, man. Thank you. Like actor to actor. Like you had some great fucking real moments that, and I think, and I think. Speaker 2 (7:09) It has put a lot of thought into last night when I was just going through your stuff and I was like. I think you not knowing anything about the craft and you were just, you'd lived, you've been in this world. You just played in so good. Like they, I'm so glad they cast you in that role. No, thank Speaker 3 (7:28) you. And you Speaker 2 (7:29) know, it was kind Speaker 3 (7:30) of different, right? I'm playing a real person. Right. And not only am I playing a real, real person, I'm playing that person in a particular documentary. Right. Cause Mark Coleman. And he's, he was a little different in that documentary than he is in real life. Speaker 2 (7:47) And Speaker 3 (7:48) that documentary, he was kind of, yeah, he was like good guy. He was kind of shy a little bit, you know what, you know, all that stuff. But, you know, then you see other videos of him where he's a crazy person, you know? So that was a little difficult, but going back to your point, basically, basically like long story short, how I got the role, I got a text from him. Yeah. Walk me through the whole and Speaker 2 (8:07) take your time. You don't have to. So I Speaker 3 (8:10) had a fight, and I was like, okay, it was like one of the last on my PFL contracts, and I'm like, okay, you know, I'm getting up there. I'm like, is it my last fight? You know, I want to do one more, but I don't know. Kind of in a weird, like, weird time in your life, you know? Speaker 3 (8:33) I got a text from, it just said, Hey, my name is Benny. I have a question about this MMA film. And that could mean anything to me. I don't know who just a Benny is. Right. Yeah. I blew him off for like three weeks. And then he texted me. It was like, really need to talk to you. Sorry. I was hitting type ads. I'm like, no, I got my voice. Did you get some Speaker 2 (8:55) water or something like that? We can edit all this stuff out. Speaker 3 (8:59) And Speaker 2 (9:00) so I'm in Saudi and Speaker 3 (9:03) Riyadh and I get a text like, hey, it's Benny Safdie. I really need to talk to you. And I still don't know the Safdie name. I know what like hindsight, what he did and all that uncut gems. And I go, I promise I'll call you when I get out of Saudi on Monday. I call him back, drop my kids off at school. I call him back and he goes, I still, mind you, I don't know who it is. He goes, can we FaceTime? And FaceTime comes through. And I'm like, what the hell? I pull over in the parking lot, I answer, and then I finally know. He's like, I'm Benny Safdie. I'm a director, producer, writer. I'm doing this project called The Smashing Machine. Don't know if you're familiar. And I was like, yeah, that's my lineage into this sport. I mean, those guys are who I came up watching. And 40 minutes or so, you know, talking to him on FaceTime, and he's like. there's a missing piece right here. And he's like, are you interested? I said, yeah, 100%, perhaps, you know, make sure that he is who he says he is and all that. And then I go, what's next, right? And he goes, well. There's a scene in a movie. It's very emotional and it makes the whole movie and I'll send you that script and we'll do a zoom audition in a week. Speaker 2 (10:17) And Speaker 3 (10:18) I was like my worst nightmare, right? I'm thinking I'm in a room full of people and I'm like, all right, zoom. I can do that. I just hammer that script, just kind of know it front to back. Was that the scene that they shot? The hospital, yeah. Great scene. I've never done this, right? So I put a tripod up. I videoed myself, my wife reading the other ones, just reading it myself. I hate watching myself, so I'd go back and suffer through that. And then when it came time to do it. I was like, all right, I'm going to talk to him for like 10 minutes on Zoom about bullshit, anything, you know, to get comfortable. And then hopefully we'll start it from there. I do that. We're bullshitting, having a good time. And then he goes, all right, you have the script. I go, yes, sir. He goes, throw it away. I go, all right, I know it, right? He goes, I want you to use your own words. And you know the scene, you know the emotions, right? I'm like, yes. And so we just riffed on that for like half an hour. And then he asked me if I had time later. I said, yes. We hung up. He texted me. He goes, hey, you fucking killed. But then I didn't hear anything for like three weeks. Speaker 2 (11:36) So I'm like, okay. Speaker 3 (11:38) I'm like, whatever. You know, he's being nice. And, you know, I didn't get it. And then I get a text. He's like, I'll see you in Vancouver in three weeks. And so just from there, it was like whirlwind. You know, I went and got there two weeks early, did the stunt training to learn how to fight on camera, right? Speaker 2 (11:57) You looking to amp up your ride? Total Off-Road and more has got you covered. Whether you're shopping for custom wheels, lighting, or you just need something installed like a spray-on bed liner, they're your one-stop shop for all off-road performance and automotive needs. Find a location near you at TotalOffRoad.com. Total Off-Road, where every ride... becomes an adventure. Speaker 2 (12:25) I saw his post that he did about like passion, you know, like what he's been wanting to do, make, make a movie like this. And it's such a departure for anything that he ever did. And he was fucking phenomenal in it. Like, but physically fucking like, like, so when you first see the rock, like what, at what stage is he in the transformation? Speaker 3 (12:47) Yeah. So we, uh, you know, did stunt training and then we had our, like your camera test day. Right. And we're doing. I have to get tattooed, covered up, about Speaker 2 (12:57) almost Speaker 3 (12:57) two hours every day, then taken off another hour. He's got to do like five. Speaker 2 (13:01) He Speaker 3 (13:02) had prosthetics and everything. So we're actually, first time I met him, we're sitting in a little row of director's chairs. We were doing a couple things. I get a tap on the shoulder, and I look back, and I'm like, my brain was trying to process what I was looking at, right? I'm like, it looks like The Rock, Dwayne Johnson. Speaker 3 (13:22) Looks like Kerr also. I know Kerr a little bit. So it took me like, I'm like, oh shit. I'm like, what's going on? You know, that's the first time I met him and he looked amazing. And he's, I mean, his body transformation for this role too was, was crazy because a wrestler has some different muscles in his back, you know, and he, he got those, you know? And so I met him and then Emily Blunt was awesome. She was amazing. She Speaker 2 (13:47) seems amazing. She seems like. Speaker 3 (13:50) She's awesome. Speaker 2 (13:51) Yeah. Speaker 3 (13:51) You know, I was like worried about, okay, you know, she's one of the best actresses in the world, you know? She Speaker 2 (13:57) is. She's, she is. Sweet ass. Yeah. Yeah. She's just, I mean. The Quiet Place. Yeah. That movie she did with Tom Cruise. The action where it repeats the fucking, you know that one? Oh, yeah, yeah. Speaker 3 (14:12) Forget about that. Yeah, but she's... Speaker 2 (14:14) Sicario, all that. I mean, she's just, like, she's a beautiful woman and she can be so womanly and then she's this bad motherfucker. You know, well, Speaker 3 (14:23) it just blew my mind, you know, in some scenes when like there's a scene where she runs in. I come to the hospital and she's bawling. Right. And we're hugging. I'm consoling her or whatever. And then we did one scene. He's like, all right, cut. He's like, that's perfect. We'll just do one more. Just have it. She stops crying. We're just talking. She's all happy. Go back in. Balling again on demand. Speaker 2 (14:47) Yeah. You Speaker 3 (14:47) know, and then they were they're trying to get me. shed some tears in the hospital scene. And I was like, I'm like, you guys got any bear spray or anything? And my makeup girls were like, we actually have something for you, right? We have little menthol crystals we'll put in your eyes. You'd squeeze down on them. I was like, all right. But then Benny was like looking around. He's like, if Emily's crying, Dwayne Johnson's crying. Speaker 2 (15:15) He's like, you be the strong one. I was like, all right, I'll manage that. Yeah. but they Speaker 3 (15:19) were great to work with you know sometimes like my first scene with both of them you know I'm like all right I went from I was like, how did I get here? You know, I have zero acting experience and then, you know, get thrown in with two of the biggest, you know, stars in the world. Speaker 2 (15:34) A hundred percent. Speaker 3 (15:35) But going back to your point about not knowing, right? Never doing this before. When I was on the Zoom with Benny, at the very beginning, I was overacting, right? I was trying to act. Speaker 2 (15:49) And Speaker 3 (15:50) he stopped me and he's like, just be you. He's like, you've been here before, right? You've had a buddy that had hard times. I'm like, yeah, yes, sir. I'm like, all right. And then we went from there and it was great. And Safdie's all about realism in film, Speaker 2 (16:05) right? Speaker 3 (16:05) And not only that, we're trying to bring a documentary that's obviously real Speaker 2 (16:10) into Speaker 3 (16:12) film form and make it look like a documentary, you know? And so that's his whole deal was like, I want it to be real. I want to feel the... relationship between you and Kerr is the biggest thing. And those were his like Speaker 2 (16:27) top two deals, right? Wow. Now with the, I saw this documentary or the, the making of, and the director, he said, when he first saw the rock, he's like, you're not big enough. And then like, he told me like, how do you tell the rock to get bigger? Yeah. So Benny, Benny's Speaker 3 (16:47) funny. I love, like I lucked Speaker 2 (16:49) out Speaker 3 (16:49) having him as a, you know, first time doing this, having him as a director, he made you, everybody feels so comfortable. And for me, I'm like, I'm like, Benny, you asked for me. You wanted me. Like, I can do no wrong. This is your fault. This is your fault. Yeah. So he, it was funny because, yeah, he told DJ, like, you need to get bigger, you know? And he had to tell Usyk, the heavyweight champion of the world, how to throw punches on the ground. Wow. So he was like, ah, do I do it? Do I do it? He's like, all right, Usyk, come here. You know, he boxed a little bit, but he's like, you're throwing these. really good straight punches. He's like on the ground. These guys are, especially back in 99. They're throwing big looping. Yeah. Speaker 2 (17:31) And Speaker 3 (17:31) we're all, we're all sitting around laughing. I'm like, Benny just told you sick. Right now. Speaker 2 (17:36) What was your interaction with, with Coleman? And for, as far as like. Because it's one thing when you're playing a character that is fictional, but when a guy like Coleman, who is alleged, he's one of the pioneers. I remember going to Blockbuster and renting those videos and watching that and his wrestling shoes and his, he had these very specific shorts that he would, like he was, you know, he was such a tank. Just Speaker 1 (18:09) a Speaker 2 (18:09) tank. And this is at a time, you know, where you could, you know, you wore the wrestling shoes you wore, you know, it was just everything. It's so iconic on it, but dude, you embodied this guy. Did you have a moment with him where he, you and him got to share the experience together? Yeah. Speaker 3 (18:30) We've been around each other actually. Like, I mean, the last month, you know, we were going out to all the premieres and stuff and we got to hang out a lot, but. before, you know, when I knew I got the role, you know, and for me, the biggest thing was like to have him be at the end of the day, have him be proud, Speaker 2 (18:47) you know, Speaker 3 (18:48) of, of the movie and my performance. Right. Like I'm playing a real guy, you know, I don't want him to be like, Oh man, you know, that could have made me look out better. Um, and then starting at the end here, you know, Benny Safdie sent me a picture in the video, uh, first time Coleman saw it in a theater, you know, Then he was behind him. And at the end of the movie, Coleman was yelling his hands up, you know? So I was like, oh, okay, finally, you know? But going back, you know, I talked to him. I was texting him. We talked and just trying to get in his like mindset, you know, a little bit. Because he's had two, Speaker 2 (19:23) yeah, not to Speaker 3 (19:24) cut you off, but he, Speaker 2 (19:25) he's been very open about his struggles with his addictions and his journey and his, you know, and over the last. year or two yeah and sober and then almost dying in that uh yeah i Speaker 3 (19:40) mean Speaker 2 (19:40) the guy has been through hell and back so just i'm sure all that's playing through your mind of like this guy's finally on the track and now you've got to kind of show this other side Speaker 3 (19:53) and that when he was uh when the documentary was made which the movie is about right he he was people were saying oh he's he's done right he's he's old He doesn't have any more. He's more filler. Yeah. Speaker 2 (20:07) Like Speaker 3 (20:07) they put him, they put him in that tournament as filler. Yeah. You know, and Kerr was a guy coming up, you know, and that's a weird dynamic too. You know, you have two guys that are friends and you're watching one guy come up while you're coming down a little bit, you know? And so, you know, we talked and, and, you know, and got into his mind a little bit and even stuff that I was like, I had no idea. He was talking about how, you know, he was very, I guess, insecure at the time. Speaker 2 (20:35) You Speaker 3 (20:35) know, couldn't really look people in the eyes and all that kind of stuff, even though he put off Speaker 2 (20:40) a different vibe. And Speaker 3 (20:42) you can kind of see it in the documentary when the camera's around. You know, he's Speaker 2 (20:45) a Speaker 3 (20:45) little shy. Speaker 2 (20:46) Yeah. Speaker 3 (20:47) You know, but it was a cool story because he was the guy that was, you know, down and out the filler guy and then, you know, spoiler, but he goes on and wins a whole tournament. Yeah. You know, and we got to bring him out. uh on set also and he's been uh was that a cool moment having him on set yeah yeah we uh so kurt was out there obviously um and i talked to benny i'm like hey let's get you know coleman out here i'm sure you love it and all that and you know he's like oh great idea let's get him out he came out and then he was hanging out you know we're about to do a scene and producer comes up he's like you don't want him here for your scene right i was like absolutely not Speaker 3 (21:32) You can watch the other scenes in the fight scene, but, you know, there'd be a lot of pressure, right? So, but at the end of the day, that's what I cared about. Yeah. For something that, for him to be proud about, you know, and not feel like he got, you know, screwed over or anything like that. Well, Speaker 2 (21:47) I will tell you this. I'm incredibly proud of you, man. Thank you. In Speaker 3 (21:51) the Speaker 2 (21:51) short time that we've known each other and I talked to you, I remember watching the trailer when it first came out with you and we talked about acting and stuff like that, but like. one hell of a performance bro like you you thank you you dialed it in and i was thoroughly impressed by how vulnerable you were the betrayal the the honesty um it you know it's it's it's it's a hell of a movie