Actor and Kentucky native Josh Hopkins appears in a new movie, the Western Rust, that was in the headlines after a real life death on the set.

I sat down recently with Josh to talk to him about that tragedy, plus his successful career and memories of his late congressman father, Josh Hopkins.

It's a pleasure to sit down with you for a few.

Thank you.

Renee.

I'm really excited to be here.

Yeah.

Congratulations on all your success.

Thank you so much.

So I want to go back to memory lane a little bit, because I saw a clip when you were on The Ellen DeGeneres show.

I think it was around 2013 ish.

Maybe.

I have no idea.

It was a few years ago, and you were talking about being a part of a breakdancing crew called the Fun Bunch.

So I was thinking, okay, from the Fun Bunch to Ally McBeal, Quantico, all of these great movies, G.I.

Jane, which I remember some of us here at work going to see you in.

Oh, that's now rust.

I mean, just talk about how you go from the Fun Bunch breakdancing crew to Rust Belt all performing.

Right.

It's all performing.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I've been very lucky.

And, you know, I still call this home.

This is this is, when I say I live now, I move from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas, and I still say, well, I'm going home.

And people are like, what?

Unlike Kentucky, is still your home?

Yes.

Yeah.

Yes.

So, you know, from the The Fun Bunch breakdancing crew, can you still do that?

I mean, I'll give you, you know, I come back.

My best.

We're not responsible.

I mean, it's not a disclaimer.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'm going to show up next time.

Well, let's let's talk about.

Do you prefer to do movies or do you prefer, like, these TV series like Cougar Town and those types of things that you have tremendous success at?

You know, it's a it's a completely different process.

And, it really depends on the script and whatnot.

You know, if you're doing good material anywhere, it's that's the most fulfilling part.

If you've got, you know, great writers, then and whatever you're doing is, is feels more fun.

Yeah.

You know, Cougar Town was great because I got to shoot it in Los Angeles, where I was living.

I got to go, you know, so many times, especially for films, I have to travel and, shoot on location, which is cool too, but it's nice to be in your own bed.

Yeah.

You know, but that one was great because I really, really liked everyone.

And, you know, for six years we shot.

So that's important.

You like everyone?

Yeah, I'm at work.

But I also like the process of really delving deep into one character for just, you know, of six weeks or a couple months or something to really go into that because you can't really do that in television because say it, the television show runs six years.

Right.

I mean, for you to be as in-depth into this other character rather than yourself, it's it's almost impossible.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, let's talk about rust.

Okay.

And, and we've had some great acclaim of your role, and you and you play, the U.S. marshal would helm.

And I know, having talked to Shay Hopkins, who, out of full disclosure, is the CEO of CT. And your sister, who said that your father, the late Larry Hopkins, really always wanted to see you in a Western and American Western.

Always said, of all the things you done.

That that was something that he really wanted to see you in.

So what does it mean to you to be able to do this?

It's really special, you know, it's bittersweet in that, you know, I when I was on set shooting it, I, you know, I miss him every day.

And he would always he will he just would always say you should do Western.

And there weren't a lot of westerns being made.

And I was like, well, dad, I you know, it's not up to me.

You know?

And he'd be like, well, you should.

I wish you do a Western.

And that was his type of movie.

You know, I did a lot of comedies and different things, and he really, really loved Westerns.

I grew up watching them with him.

So it's the really most Americana of genres of cinema.

And he just he just loved them.

And so when I was shooting this and he was he had passed, there would be long, long days.

And I remember thinking, I hope this day never ends.

You know, you know what I walk into a saloon, backlit with a cowboy hat and gun strapped to me for, you know, I could feel him with me.

So, it's bittersweet, you know?

But, he would have loved to see this film.

Yeah, really would have.

Yeah, well, he's proud of, you know.

And glory.

Yes, absolutely.

I can feel it.

Yeah.

And there's so much to rust, right?

It has his own storied past, and we all know that, right?

So processing the death of the lead cinematographer Orellana, you know, and coming back to to reshoot the film or finish shooting the film.

I mean, how did you process all of that?

You were on set that tragic day.

I mean, how did you process all that and then decide to come back?

And how are you even convinced to come back?

Yeah, you know, it's one of the most difficult, particularly professional situations I've ever dealt with and completely unique and surreal.

You know, just the shock.

Helena was such a beautiful person, an incredible artist and so passionate and really in so many ways was driving the production just with her passion.

She had to say it's the last card of the movie where she said, how can we make this better?

Whatever we were doing, we get ready.

How can we make this better?

And, it was a surreal time to be when the accident happened and to be not even sure of what was going on, myself, being on set and then being in my trailer and looking on my phone, and there's helicopters.

I can see my trailer from being broadcast on my phone, and I'm like, it's very hard to process.

And then to feel the loss of this incredible person.

And then that's all that's on television, you know, 24 over seven for the next few weeks.

And it keeps coming back because, oh, this lawsuit is happening and this is starting.

And so it just seemed like it would never go away.

And I never in a million years thought we'd come back and finish it.

Didn't really have a desire to.

But after, they settled the lawsuit, the family, the became the producer really her husband Matt.

And when they called me and actually said, you know, we want to come back and finish it, the family wants it done.

They really want a husband.

Matt had called you and.

Yeah, that's right.

Well, that's what I said.

I said, I totally believe you.

It's not like you're going to lie to me and say, but I'm not going anywhere until I hear from his mouth.

So they put me on a zoom with Matt, and he asked me to come back and finish it.

And, I'm really glad we did, because the film is so stunning and every review has said that she was an incredible artist, and it's the tableaux every scene is incredible.

And for for a cinematographer that is like, everyone wants to do a Western, right?

Because what you can do with that genre, you know, is with lighting and just the vistas you get to work with.

Right?

And, it's visually stunning.

Yeah.

So, she'd be proud.

Her family's incredibly proud.

And it is, it's the people who see it.

It's a shame we don't get to see this artist's work because she was incredibly talented.

Josh Hopkins in the movie rust is in theaters now and is also available on video on demand streaming.