Daniel E. Smith starred in the 2002 film John Q and spent much of his career on TV sets across the United States. Shows like the King of Queens, Friends, Everybody Hates Chris and more were some of Daniel's work as a young actor in the early 2000s.
In the second and final part of our conversation with Daniel E. Smith from May 2, 2018, we dive deeper into the John Q film, getting his thoughts on his heart-to-heart moments with Denzel Washington on set and what he is up to now in 2018 and beyond.
Zach Catanzareti: What do you remember from the baseball scene? To me, that was one of the critical scenes when you collapse while you’re playing. It seemed like a technical type of scene. It seemed like the most difficult to pull off, was it that way?
Daniel E. Smith: I remember that scene like it was yesterday. I decided to be a little badass that day and the director, Nick Cassavetes, he advised against it. I was like, 'I'll be fine. I want to do it.' I thought I was Jackie Chan or something and decided to do my own stunts even though they had a stunt double for me.
The scene in the movie where I fall down when my heart fails on me and I start to seize. I fall down, I’m supposed to fall down face-flat into the dirt. Of course, they’re not going to let anyone fall into hard rock and dirt, so they had this great idea to put a big cushion mat for me to fall on. That was fine, I was all game for that. I can just fall on a mat, no problem.
Where things got bumpy was it threw the dirt from the ground on top of the mat. Pebbles and rocks. I guess instead of hitting ground, you’re hitting soft dirt?
It was funny because the crew sat for a good 20 minutes picking out all the pebbles and rocks so it would be just smooth dirt. I give them credit, they got most of it out. But it's still a baseball diamond dirt.
The first take, I fell and my face just [slams] right onto the dirt. I scrap my forehead a little bit and they’re like, 'Great! Let’s do it again.' And I was like, 'Oh, this wasn’t a great idea.' But I already committed, and I said that I’m not going to stop. But I will work on my angle of landing.
We did it maybe three or four times. After that first one, I was definitely worried about my face. That first take was definitely all-or-nothing. The others were just ouch, I’m going to be more cautious.
From then on, most of your scenes... you’re in a bed. Hooked up with tubes, wires. Did you find it as a challenge? So much different than the baseball scene, doing your own stunts.
A lot of people would say, 'He laid in the bed, you had it made.' Actually, no [laughs]. I wish, I wish. You have to keep in mind, a 10-year-old kid at the time, sitting down for hours, laying down. Now, I’m all for it if I can get a role where I’m laying around all down.
But man, as a kid, I’m so ancy, it was tiring. I want to move, I want to get up. I was always hooked up to things, there was a lot I couldn’t really move with. For camera angles and shots, I couldn’t move stuff. Though things weren’t actually injected into my body, I couldn’t move so it would look that way.
For a 10-year-old kid, it's really hard to just stay still for so long and not be bothered. It was challenging in itself. There's a lot that goes into what people see in the final product. It was very tedious work, long days, long times where I wanted to get up and get out. But we got through it for the most part, we got what we needed.
The directors, producers, cast mates, they understood where I was coming from. Once you got a good support team behind you, nothing is impossible.
I've been in a hospital bed before and I know that the only thing you want to do is to get out of that bed.
That is all you want to do!
I would say the most tearful scene of the movie was when Denzel came in to give you that last father-to-son advice when he planned to give you his heart. When it came to Denzel, one of his best performances was that scene. Do you remember anything specific?
Yeah, the funny part is Denzel and I had a heart-to-heart before that scene. And it flowed right into it... Denzel is one of the greatest actors of all time because he puts a piece of himself into every project he does. He doesn’t pull any punches. The reason you feel that realness, it's because that's him. That's who he is, that character and Denzel merged together.
He had found that very rare quality many actors and performers don’t have but would like to have. Adding just the right amount of them along with that character. As I was saying earlier, coming across as something real and raw and you can’t help but feel it.
It's make-believe, it's a movie, not something that’s happening. But what you see that man doing is really what he's believing, which is why there’s that connection.
That's what made that scene so great. When you have someone as great as him doing it, you don’t want to be the one to mess that up. Like you feel it in the audience when you see it, I felt that right then and there with him because he makes people around him better, you want help but get caught up in that moment.
That's what that was, raw emotion. He made me feel it. We were just lost in that moment and it just so happened to be the camera was rolling. You understand? That's how powerful and magnificent he is as an actor. What everyone sees around the world when they watch John Q, what you saw was two people living in that moment because one great person brought that moment to life and allowed me to travel with him in that moment.
You said you two had a heart-to-heart moment before then?
We had been building chemistry throughout the entire project. He had basically become a father figure for me because I was up there for three-and-a-half months with just my mom. My step-dad at the time came up for about a week or so, it was great seeing him, I did miss him.
I love my mom, I do, but you always yearn for that love from your dad. With [Denzel], I think he picked that energy up from me. That’s why he always checked in on me and brought my spirits up for me. He would always talk to me and say, 'You’re something special, you got talent, I see it. It’s only going to get harder. You started young which is good, but you have to stay with it. I see it in you.'
It just became a relationship of more than just actors working or play-father and play-son, it was a genuine connection. It was a mutual feeling to where I loved him and respected him not just as a play-father but someone who I looked up to as a mentor.
I can’t remember one day on set where he was ever mean or had problems. He was always kind to me and he made acting fun.
The heart-to-heart moment we had before that scene was just him opening up and letting me know what we were about to do and where we're going to go. Giving me comfort, letting me know not to be afraid to feel. [He said] 'If you just be with me in that moment, if you feel it, pretend the camera isn’t there. It's just me and you.'
It was a natural back-and-forth and it flowed. He had about 15, 20 minutes with me and then next thing I know, they're like, 'Alright, you guys ready?' He's like, 'We're ready when you’re ready.'
When you watch that specific scene over, with the background you said, he was saying don’t smoke, treat women right, all this. Knowing him so well, what do you feel when you watch that scene over?Oh, that’s him. That’s him. That’s what he would tell his kids, his sons. That’s just him. It just so happened to be in the script, that’s just the type of man he is. He’s not going to change that, that's how he’s been. Anybody who knows him, that’s just him. He's one of those rare people in the world who are just good. He's got wisdom and he wants the best for everybody. That’s him all the way.
After the movie premiered, how much did you see him afterward?
I want to say, right after the premiere, within that year, probably five to ten times. As the years went on, of course, less and less. We do establish a good connection when we do see each other. It's not like when you’re working together because as you get older, I’m doing my other things and it's a little different than being a kid and being his son.
When I do see him it's nothing but love and good energy and good talks. Of course, it's not as much as it was but there isn’t any bad blood or anything, it's life, you go separate ways. When we do cross paths, it's good love and positive vibes.
After that film, you went back and did a lot of TV work. One of them was the King of Queens in 2002. An interesting set from the 1970s or so, how was it returning to TV?
Man, again, King of Queens is one of the biggest shows out there. I think there is something to be said about this: The big shows, at least the ones I’ve been on, you wouldn’t know they’re as big as they are. The people are good energy and the vibes from everyone around is just good. There's no big heads, no cockiness, they just come to work and love what they do.
The people on that show loved what they do, they love to be different and expressive, out of the box.
I met Kevin James, I met Jerry Stiller. I met the entire cast, you wouldn’t know they were as big as they were. They’re just regular people. They were more grateful of me being there than I was being there. That says a lot. They could’ve been, excuse my language, but assholes, [saying], 'OK, another kid. You know what you gotta do.'
But no, they were very sweet, kind. They wanted the best out of me. That’s what’s important. A good experience top to bottom along with Friends, John Q, nothing but good things to say about them.
And I’m a Kevin James fan. It was weird, I knew Kevin but I didn’t know Denzel as much. I was such a big fan I kind of geeked out when I met him but he's such a down-to-earth guy.
Did you happen to meet Tyler Hendrickson? He was also in that episode, he played Young Doug. I interviewed him for this blog last year.
You know what, that's a good question. There's a good chance I could have. I don’t want to say I didn’t and I don’t want to say I did because my memory is a little shallow in that area. Probably because I was geeking out over Kevin James. There's probably a good chance, if not, it was probably a scheduling thing and he came in a day before or after me.
It looks like you’re in a recent short film coming out, A Father's Love. Looks like it's in post-production. How do you feel it turned out?
Yeah, that's just a little short film I’m doing with a couple friends of mine. There just getting their production company up and running. Any time you get to do what you love, it's a blessing, fun, exciting.
Basically, they asked if I could come in and do a small role, something that showcases my faith. Without even hesitating I went in. The project my friends did is going to be something that’s really amazing. There’s nothing but talented actors attached to this project. I think this is going to get people's attention and really going to connect to a lot of people.
it's one of the more heartfelt, emotional projects I’ve done. I’m not just saying it because I’m in it, I really do think this is a great project and something that’s going to get a lot of attention and be something to talk about.
I’m excited about it and I’m really ready for it. I don’t know where it will go but I’m the utmost confident about it.
Is acting still the biggest drive for you?
Without a doubt. And it's a strange thing because, like I said, when I started my cousin dared me into doing that play. I had no idea I was already acting, doing certain things in front of my mom or family. That was acting, I just didn’t know it yet until I was like, 'Oh, you people make a career out of this. People actually do this and this is how they make a living. This is what I want. This is it.'
There is nothing wrong with a 9-to-5, nothing wrong with other jobs, we need people like that in the world. That's understandable. But if you have a calling, if this is what you love. Do you love to audition or love to work? A lot of people love to work but I love to audition because when I do, I get an opportunity to act and perform. Getting paid is just bonus.
When I get a chance to play another character and get my creative juices flowing, get out of my comfort zone, that’s what excites me. To this day, I still get excited the moment I get an audition. This is my career. It was fun as a child and I continue to do it as an adult because it's something I love.
Do you do anything outside acting? Are you married? You said you’re still in California?
I’m still in California, still doing acting. I am in a few more businesses, things like that, I’ve invested in as I’ve gotten older. A few other companies I’ve started and invested in with my friends. For the most part, it's just the acting thing I’m doing. I’m also starting to do the behind-the-scenes stuff, writing a few projects.
I’m currently working on a new media platform to basically showcase a few projects of some talented friends of mine. The one thing I will say about 2018 and the acting world, there’s so many other revenues other than going to the movie or on your TV to showcase other talents. That’s basically the other endeavor I’m working on. A new media platform to showcase talented people from all walks of life, overseas, comedy, drama.
I will say that 2018 is looking good and 2019 is looking better. The little kid from John Q, Mike Archibald, Daniel Smith is definitely still here, still in the business. It's not the last you’ve heard of me. Hopefully when I do pop back on the scene, you’ll see an adult, a grown man, somebody different, but hopefully you’ll still see that little kid in there in a good way.
