Chris Jericho. Photo Courtesy of UPtv
Actor and wrestler Chris Jericho chatted about his latest “Country Hearts” movies on UPtv, and his new Fozzy music.
He also discussed being a part of the digital age, and he shared his thoughts on AI (artificial intelligence) on the industry.
‘Country Hearts’
This movie premiered on October 22 on UPtv. The synopsis is “Country Hearts” follows the daughter of country music and rock and roll royalty who find themselves at a crossroads, torn between following their dreams of performing or helping their father run their up-and-coming horse breeding business.
Between old flames, new love, best friends and family, they’ll all need the strength of each other to face the next steps.
“It was a blast to do something different for me,” Jericho said. “It’s not too far off from who I am. Obviously, Bones, my character is a former rock star, who leaves the business to do other things. In the meantime, he has young daughters that are trying to make their way into show business, so he is trying to deal with that. It’s similar to what I deal with, go through, and who I am as a person.
“There were a lot of good scenes in it,” he said. “The movie was a huge success, and we filmed a sequel to it. This was the first time that I had the chance to do a real dramatic role,” he said. “Once I got into the groove of it, it was an amazing script and character to play.”
“I kind of thought of John Dutton, Kevin Costner’s character in Yellowstone,’ while filming these movies and playing Bones. I incorporated that with some of the choices that I made,” he added.
‘Country Hearts Christmas’
This holiday film sequel will premiere on Sunday, November 19 on UPtv.
“The sequel was more of that same idea of portraying this family and the trials and tribulations that they go through,” he admitted. “The whole concept of both movies was that they were open to doing more. I feel we could a lot more with these characters in the ‘Country Hearts’ universe.”
“Both are really great dramatic movies, and they are a lot of fun,” he acknowledged. “In some ways, it is Chris Jericho in a different light, but in other ways, it is not, and it fits quite well. I was really happy with both of these movies and hopefully, we will get the chance to do more of them,” he elaborated.
New Fozzy music
Jericho shared that the new Fozzy music has been going great. “Our new single just hit the Top 30 in three weeks, which is the quickest it has climbed that high… It will probably be another Top 10 hit for us, and hopefully it will reach No. 1,” he said.
“We just finished our tour, and we are off until February, where we will go to the UK, and we always do good there. Right now, we are playing the radio game, which is very important to do; I never realized how important it was until they started playing us on rock radio,” he added.
The digital age
On being a part of the digital age, Jericho said, “Social media is very important as far as promotion goes, and there is so much content with streaming as well.”
“Also, these days if you miss a TV show, you can stream it online on the streaming services. It is much more convenient and easier to consume your programs and your TV shows these days, and that helps,” he elaborated.
AI on the future of the entertainment industry
Jericho offered his thoughts on AI on the future of the entertainment business.
“You can never really replace the human experience so it might seem as a good idea at the time but once all the dust settles, people will realize that maybe it’s not as amazing as they think it is. Nothing replaces the real human experience,” he explained.
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Jericho said, “Busy.”
“I like having a lot of plates spinning,” he admitted. “I like having new challenges, being creatively stimulated and challenged and I will continue to do that. I am coming up with new projects and building the brands that I’ve created. I will continue to have fun with everything that I do.”
Favorite mottos to live by
On his favorite motto to live by, Jericho said, “Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer.” “Personally, I never take ‘no’ for an answer,” he said. “Also, don’t tell me why something can’t be done; let’s figure out a way to make it happen. That’s the best way to live.”
Success
On his definition of the word success, Jericho said, “Enjoying what you are doing and being creatively satisfied.” “Know that you are doing cool things and making great things happen, and making sure that people are enjoying the work that you do,” he said.
To learn more about Chris Jericho, follow him on Instagram.