Chat Transcript w Shemar Moore 4-23-12

SM: Wazzup CM fans! It's Shemar MF Moore in the buidling, and it's the end of the year and I just want to reach out and talk a lil mess with you.

laurenreynoldsisdead: Hey Shemar! Are you ever going to get twitter? 

SM: I never said never. When I first got in the game, there was no such thing as Twitter. I'm still a two finger typer, so outside Photoshop and my e-mail, I don't do the Twitterverse. But I've got some surprises in the form of a clothing line and a new movie that I'm about to shoot. So sooner than you think, you will see the real Shemar Moore on Twitter and Facebook. 

emilyy: Hey Shemar! :) How was the last day of filming?

SM: Today was a great way to put an exclamation on probably one of the best seasons we've had as a family of Criminal Minds. It starts at the top and I give a lot of credit to Erica MEsser. We just finished a pretty cool 2 hour finale for you guys. And here at home, we celebrated each other with a goofy fun hilarious talent show and Goobie awards. 

jenni93: what's been the hardest scene to film, emotionally? Huge fan of the show, love you guys :D

SM: The most embarrasing scene I've ever shot on Criminal Minds was coming out of Garcia's shower in her towel with the beads behind me, and being sprayed every five seconds with REALLY F'ING cold water. The most emotional scene that I had to do was my confrontation with Carl Bueford in season two in Profiler, Profiled. Because that was a huge secret that had to be devulged by Derek for justice to be served. I think the 100th episode was not largely emotional for me or Derek, but it was I think the most powerful tear jerker of a show in it's history. Most recently, the most challenging and emotional arch that I've gotten to portray was in The Company. I was really proud that Breen Frazier wrote such an emotional story, and Jim Clemente had a lot of influence on. 

Heidi: Where did you come up with the version of "Happy Birthday" that Morgan's family sings?

SM: It's a Stevie Wonder song. Even though I'm half black and half white, I had to add a lil flavor to the scene!

Jessi_V: When you were on Ellen the last time you mentioned that Royalty Soul would be out in the next six months or so. How is that coming and what can we look forward to seeing?

SM: Thanks for watching Ellen! And watching me be a goofball. I don't think I got any more dance moves left. But yes, I got to mention a clothing line that I've been working on for a couple of years, and I'm very excited because the plan is to premiere the clothing line this summer or no later than this fall, so maybe you'll get to have some Royalty Soul under your xmas tree!!

TeamDerekMorgan: Hey Shemar, big fan from the UK here! I love how you portray Morgan, I feel so emotionally connected to him. Do you feel there are any similarities between Morgan and yourself?

SM: I feel like there's always some similiarities between an actor and the character they play, obviously physically. Even though you may alter your appearnce to fit the character. As far as Derek's chracter, compared to Shemar's character. Derek is more well read, book smart than Shemar. But I think Shemar and Derek are very similiarly LIFE smart, life smart and STREET smart. Derek could kick Shemar's ass. But don't get it twisted, back Shemar into a corner, you'll have a fight on your hands. But Shemar doesn't like to fight. Derek, if pushed, is looking for a fight. The vulnerability that Garcia's able to bring out, and some that you saw in profiler Profiled, or any of the episodes where his family was threatened, is a part of me that I've been able to tap, thanks to the craft of acting. What I mean is, acting for me is very theraputic, because it forces me and allows me to dig down deep and expose myself. When it comes to being emotional, I'm not really good at faking it. So if you see a hint of tears or a quiver, THAT'S real. I can fake the tough guy stuff, and I can fake the charm stuff. But when it's real. If it touches your heartstrings, it's because it touches me too. Shemar definitely has a lot more FUN than Derek Morgan!

LornaD: If you were to play an unsub, what type would you play?

SM: Out of the UNSUB's that you guys have seen in the tyears on CM, one of the coolest and most dangerous UNSUB's was Ian Doyle. And I'm not going to lie, as cool as you guys might think we are because we are the heroes, I actually believe that the most challenging and interesting roles to play on our show are that of the UNSUB's and the victims. This show is ABOUT the Unsubs, it's not about US. You get to know us, but every week you tune in to meet and understand the UNSUB of the week. Believe it or not, being the good guy is cool, but getting to play the bad guy is a lot more fun for an actor because there's a lot more room to play. So here's a shameless plug....this summer I'm going to be shooting a movie with Megan Good where I get to play what looks like a charming very successful cocky football player who's got a swag like Kobe Bryant, LebRon or David Beckham, but he's got a dark side like Denzel in Training Day. So for me, this will be my first opportunity in my career to be the character people hate. The name of the movie is RELENTLESS, and it's a thriller, basically think of FATAL ATTRACTION meets OBSESSED with Beyonce.

FluffyJJ: Hey Shemar! If you did not get into acting which career path would you choose?

SM: My original dream from the age of 6.5 on up, was to be a professional baseball player. My uncle played semipro baseball in MA where my brother's from. And he put me on my first little league team. And for the first year, I sucked. I was the kid they put in right field and like the bad news bears, I would basically spin around in circles, trying to catch a fly ball, and it would either hit me on the head or drop right in front of me. But God or just me being hard headed, got me pretty good pretty quick. Eventually I ended up going to Santa Clara University in No Cal on a baseball scholarship. I was a communication major and a theatre arts minor, and that's where I got bit by the acting bug. Even though I got drafted out of HS by Boston in Baltimore, I simply didn't make the cut at the end of my college career, so I took my new found curiosity in acting and mixed that with modeling and commercials. After I graduated college, I lived in Ny for almost two years, and just husslin’ the streets trying to get gigs for modeling and commercials ultimately landed me an audition with Young and the Restless in 1994 and that show was my claim to fame. And without it, I wouldn't have the 18-year career I've been blessed to have.

TnTTwins: Are there any plans for Morgan to have a love interest in the next season?

SM: I really wish Morgan could get laid! Like I said, Shemar has a LOOOOOTTTT more fun than Derek Morgan.

FluffyJJ: Besides Derek Morgan, what has been your favorite role? 

SM: As far as movies, I had a lot of fun making the movie THE BROTHERS, lots of women and especially older ladies liked my character in DIARY OF A MAD BLACK woman, because I just said all the right things. And I too thought it was a very sweet movie. I joke around and call it the black version of THE NOTEBOOK. But as far as my favorite character I honestly have to say MALCOLM WINTERS from Young and the Restless will always hold a place in my heart because it's where I found myself as an actor, and as weird as it might sound, I grew and learned more about myself as an individual and as a man and what I was capable of. 

TerilynMooregan: Hey Shamboogie! Any fun behind the scenes stories you can share with us? :D

SM: I threw a really fun wrap party for the cast and crew, where I gave WAY too long of a speech and used a lot of four letter words, but I kept everybody laughing. There was a lot of DRINKIN, FLIRTIN, and SHENANIGANS going on. And today, I'm very proud to have made a COMPLETE ass out of myself, and after what felt like 16 tries, I wore some GOOFY ZEBRA print tights, and went back to my Circus of the Stars days of 1994, and when everybody least expected it, I finally made it 30 feet across a wire without falling on my butt! 

criminalmusings: What will you miss most about Paget?

SM: I won't miss her Tweeting as me and getting me in all kinds of trouble! Just kidding. I actually have a lot of fun listening to the crazy YO YO YO blurbs she comes up with. She's a phenomenal actress who has so much depth and so much range. You can't compare her to anybody as an actress, and especially not as a person. She's a little quirky, very smart, extremely sexy and she truly is a team player. I'll miss her energy a lot. And I'll just FLAT OUT miss her. 

Rachel: Hypothetical dance off between you, Ellen, and Matthew: who would win? 

SM: Well the last time Matthew tried to dance, he blew out his knee and was on crutches for an entire season. Ellen dances EVERY day on her show. I've got probably six phenomenal moves, but after that, I'm a two-step king. Sooo...basically, Ellen would KICK our ASSES!

ohmyhotch: AJ loves bacon, what is your favorite food?

SM: I have a WIDE range of GOT-TO-HAVE-IT food. I like #19 at Roscoe's, chicken and waffles. I love really good Chinese food. A GREAT steak and mashed potatoes. Maybe a little macaroni and cheese. I love Mexican burritos. But I got a SERIOUS sweet tooth. I like Ben and Jerry's ice cream, with some chips ahoy to dip into. And I'm a sucker for peanut M&Ms and RED VINES (NOT TWIZZLERS....YUCK!!) Red Vines are the business!

BethM1992: Anything you can give away about the finale?? :P

SM: People WILL die. Things will explode. I'll say BABY GIRL at least TWICE. I'll probably KICk down a door or two. I'll raise my eyebrows once or twice before the commercials. I might get in a fight and look like I'm gonna lose, but it's in my contract that I always get the upper hand! There will be an ending that we have NEVER had in all seven seasons. Other than that, stop being GREEDY, watch the show and pay attention to how PHENOMENAL I am, and I promise to be even better than that in season eight. 

corrigan08: Who makes you laugh most on set?

SM: I will say the actors are pretty funny, believe it or not, Thomas is the joke teller of the group. Matthew's just ODD, quirky, goofy and funny all the time. Even when he's not trying to be! Joe, says some of the craziest things that you wouldn't expect Joe to say, which keeps me laughin. Paget's just a goofball too, especially when she's Twittering Yo yo you and trying to be me. My baby girl is just my baby girl and we ALWAYS laugh togethert. And AJ will just come out of left field, out of the blue, and say something sarcastic and she seems to do it more frequently during the jet scenes and have us all laughin. But I will also say I hang out with the crew a lot and it's nothing but pranks and a gang of jokes.

LornaD: If you could assign 'family roles' to the team e.g. MGG is a little brother, who would be who?

SM: I would say Derek sees himself as the big brother who won't let anybody bully his family.

Daisy: What do you think of us fans? 

SM: I can chase my dreams all I want to. And I'm very proud of all that I've accomplished. A lot of people when I was growing up told me that I couldn't do this or that. I didn't have what it took. As selfish as chasing a dream can seem, we all have the right to chase dreams. And it's a very lonely feeling to chase a dream and not feel supported by friends or family. No matter what you do or how successful you become in any field, you can't please everybody, you will have fans, supporters, you will experience jealousy from others and what I call haters. Ironically enough, I've learned that the more haters that I have, the more confident I become because I interpret that as I'm doing something right. And it pushes me to work even harder and strive even further. What I'm getting at is all of that means NOTHING without you guys the fans, who appreciate and support and root for people like myself. The best thing for me about acting is not the trophies and the accolades, the parties and the girls and the money, etc. Don't get me wrong, those things are all cool. And fun perks of the business. But being told by a fan that something about what I do and the way that I do it inspires them, moves them is the best complement I could EVER get. So in short, there is no Shemar Moore the actor without you guys the fans. And I TRULY, humbly, appreciate the way you guys have gotten behind me and rooted for me. 

Hannah_CM: Would you ever like to see Morgan settle down? We've seen that he loves children, so would he not like to have his own one day?

SM: I would like to see Derek Morgan and Shemar Moore SETTLE down, cuz I'm gettin tired of my mother asking me for grand babies. I'm not going to lie, I've been single for a while. And I DO love the ladies. But at some point I sooner than later, I am excited about living a life as a husband and a daddy. I'm only an adult because I have to be, when I have to be. The rest of the time, I'm just a big ass kid. And my number 1 priority in life outside of looking out for my friends and family is just to have a WHOLE bunch of fun. But I learned a long time ago from my grandmother that I can't go forcing it. She always told me, to just live my life and as long as I desire it in my heart, when I'm ready, "she" will show up out of the blue and bite me on the tush. SO...I'm staying true to grandma, I've got some junk in my trunk, so whoever "she" is, has a nice big target to sink her teeth into!!! 

Hannah_CM: Nice photo of you at the talent show ;) what hidden talents do everyone else have?

SM: My baby girl got up and sang about her vagina being eight miles wide. I'll let you figure that one out for yourself. But it wasn't AS naughty as it sounds, it was incredibly FUNNY. And only Kirsten can get away with something like that, and have that whole room fallin gout of their chairs. The biggest surprise of the talent show, was Matthew Gray Gubler's standin, his name is Steve and I think in seven seasons I have heard him say maybe nine words. He seriously is the quietest dude on set. But he got up in front of everybody with no fear and proceeded to beat box in a way NOBODY saw coming. And I think it stole the show for the day.

swon: Shemar, if you could have any guest star on CM, who would it be?

SM: I thought I was going to have that chance to work with Jeffrey Wright this season and I was SO excited that I lost sleep over it. Because he truly is in my opinion one of the best actors out who really is a chameleon in any work that he does. Meaning that he disappears into any character that he portrays. Whether it's on this show or my future movie career that I'm hoping flourishes, I'd love to work with the likes of Denzel, Clive Owen, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman. Then let's talk about chicks. Charlize Theron, Paula Patton, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Aniston, Zoe Saldana. I'm not sure if I just want to act with them or if it's because I sorta kinda maybe have a crush on ALL of them.

pm3900: Hi Shemar! Who was your role model growing up and who are your favorite sport teams?

SM: My favorite sports teams are the Boston Red Sox for baseball, I'd have to say the San Fran 49ers for football, because I was Bill Walsh's paper boy when I was in high school. Basketball, I was just a huge Michael Jordan fan, I didn't care what team he played for, I would have just followed him around. And I love watching Usain Bolt run down the track. My role model, first and foremost was my mother, followed by my high school baseball coach who really taught me how to be my own man. I'm about to get a HUGE tattoo on my back with some of my life and historical leaders that I think have not only molded the way that I see life, but hopefully many of us and not just black folks, but all folks. This hiatus I'm getting a tattoo that says carpe diem which means seize the day and incorporated in the letters will be portraits of Malcolm X, Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr.

swon: What would you tweet if you tweeting as Paget? :P 

SM: So there’s no way for me to tweet as Paget, because she is just an odd and lovable and one of a kind individual. But the funniest tweet that she ever come up with that she just couldn't bring herself to share herself with you guys, as me, goes a little something like this "yo yo yo, Shemar here. After I take a dump, I look down between my legs and I say 'that's right, get OUT and STAY OUT!'" Alright guys, on that note, I'm going to go enjoy my hiatus and continuing to celebrate my birthday. Shoot a little movie called RELENTLESS that you guys'll get to check out next year. But I wanted to sit and rap with you guys because 1 I knew it was long overdue, but most importantly I want you guys to realize how much I appreciate your loyalty, your enthusiasm and your support. I'm just a guy who's chasin the dream, and just know whoever you are wherever you are, not all dreams come true, but you don't know unless you try. It's one thing to create a dream, it's a whole nother thing to get up everyday and chase it, and I promise you, if you stay positive about yourself, and keep walking into your fears, and taking risks, the result might not be what you thought it was supposed to be, but something great will happen for you. In the mean time, look at yourself in the mirror everyday and say "damn, today's gonna be a good day!" and then go outside and just make it happen. Nothin but love to you guys. Peace and chicken grease! I'm out!