Figuring Out Life with Uncle Keith from One Tree Hill: Mental Health, Parenting, and More

[Music]

welcome back to another very exciting

episode of trying to figure it out for

the people who are new here on trying to

figure it out we do literally exactly

that we try to figure things out from

life to family Dynamics mental health

struggles relationships friendships

pretty much everything under the sun we

talk about on this podcast and this week

with me we have Craig Sheffer who to me

is known as Uncle Keith from One Tree

Hill but he's so much more than that

he's such an amazing person an amazing

actor he's super successful and I'm very

excited to start figuring some things

out with Craig so welcome Craig thank

you very much glad to be here for people

who did not watch One Tree Hill Craig

played a character named Keith Scott he

was Uncle Keith he was on the show as a

main character through season three One

Tree Hill is a show that I actually

watched for the first time in college I

did not grow up watching it I was more

of a Gossip Girl 90210 girl is it a very

different than 90210 which I've never

seen yeah I would say the difference is

90210 and Gossip Girl are the kinds of

shows that cover these big cities that

have a lot of people with privilege a

lot of you know bigger story lines of

you know people who are living in

Beverly Hills and going to these rich

schools and going to beach clubs on the

weekends and having their silly dramas

and their breakups and their girl fights

and all of those kinds of things whereas

One Tree Hill is

so many different things it focuses on

music it focuses on a small town and

just life and things that I feel like

reach a larger audience of relatability

I think when you watch One Tree Hill

you're really watching something that

people not just in Beverly Hills or New

York City go through we're talking like

all of America like where I grew up

right yeah really I grew up in Blue

Collar America which is pretty much 85

percent of 100 people in the country

really right exactly I think One Tree

Hill is just so Niche and just touches

on subjects that weren't touched on

especially in that time yeah One Tree

Hill averaged 3.5 million viewers in its

first season which is really crazy

especially at that time so what was it

like for you being part of such a

successful show I don't think I knew how

successful it was you know um I had

never done television before you know I

started in early 80s in New York City

you know doing theater and all that and

then did movie movie movies you know 80

movies whatever and this show came along

long and I really like the character and

the cast so you know I jumped on board

and

everybody was kind of saying you know I

you know don't expect much I'm like I'm

fine however it works out you know and

then you know we do two three shows they

were like this might only last the pilot

might only last two three and then you

know four or five shows into it suddenly

you know

I walk into a mall with my daughter and

I'm being chased by like 20 teenage

girls down the hall like Uncle Keith I

was like wow that happened fast you know

so I'd never been on TV show before and

my first one was like suddenly this uh

little hit of a show and it wasn't on a

network so it was

it wasn't like being on 90210 or friends

or something like that it was a a

smaller world of fans but they were

people who really really loved the show

and became obsessed with the characters

yeah I know you didn't really watch the

show but do you have a favorite episode

that you can remember well I mean I

watched the first show and I would see

bits and pieces of it my you know

daughter would watch it so you know we'd

watch little bit bits and pieces and of

course I did watch the show where I got

shot

um because that was so sort of insane

and so insane later on I got to see it

more actually after I left the show

um because my daughter was in watching

it she had the discs and all that stuff

and her friends would come over and want

to see it want me to you know be there

so I would uh I got to see a little more

and I think it really has a lot of heart

I mean it's a it's hard but it's also

just really uh it's an intense little

show and it's really interesting I think

a big part of the success is uh the way

they chose the music and Blended the

music in because it just it just takes

what's happening and just Blends it

seamlessly with yeah with the emotions

that they're trying to evoke and and

couldn't agree and make a ball and it's

it's really well done yeah that's one

thing the you know the guy who made the

show for sure did really well and he was

a musician too Mark Schwann yeah sure

you've heard a lot about him yeah

definitely heard about him I have a

playlist that I listen to in my car and

it's a lot of songs from One Tree Hill

and my boyfriend will be like this is

such a One Tree Hill song I know that's

where you found this song I'm like yeah

you're right

I like the music from that show it was

really good so well done I mean Gavin

grower was launched by that that show

made his career yeah it made his career

I mean what a nice guy too he came down

and actually played at our cast party

and uh we had some things in common my

father was a prison guard so it was his

he actually says that in the song really

so we had kind of blue collar similar

roots and uh and yeah and the other

people that came down really nice people

Tyler Hilton and I think Michelle Branch

do you have a cast member that you

enjoyed working with the most or that

you still have a close relationship with

now well I see everybody you know we do

these conventions we all went to Paris

in um for One Tree Hill last year at

this time we were in we were in Paris

doing a convention wow you guys go to

Paris for these conventions yeah they've

done them all over the world I think

they're putting another one together in

London there's another one in Charleston

and then we do like one a year in in

Wilmington yeah in the town they have

the locations so fans go see Karen's

coffee shop up in the high school and

trick matter of fact we've been the last

time we did it was in I think November

and we

stationed the whole thing at tricks this

time I thought it was the best because

before that they were doing a Convention

Center it was more more spread out right

this one everybody was more concentrated

and right got more interaction with the

fans as opposed to being taken to a

green room we're away from everybody and

then go out and do the pictures we were

kind of all I thought it was the most

sort of intimate setting they had done

yet I hope they do the next one like

that because so is Trick a real place I

think they made it a real place back

then for a little bit but now they're

literally turning it into a nightclubs I

don't know who bought it and is doing it

making it the actual tricks nightclub so

but when we did the convention they were

serving drinks to everybody and yeah the

brain Blaster yeah

going into season three the director

Mark Schwann who we talked about a

little bit gave you some mixed messages

about your role on the show going

forward and whether or not you'd be

continuing on the show can you give me a

little more context as to what was going

on at that time and what you were being

told and what you really knew going into

shooting season I didn't know much I

know that I was you know at paid for

every show so the last six shows of the

season they decided to have I think me

and Chad go away yeah you guys left out

of town for like that was when you had

the Fiat Jewels the fiance so Mark told

me uh and uh he said yes we're not gonna

be here for the last six shows you and

Chad were gonna send you guys off but

you know we're gonna do a special year

next year and I was like you know am I

coming back next year and he's like oh

yeah of course the next year suddenly I

was like

I never got a call until like I found

out Paul was like yeah we're going back

I was like I didn't hear anything they

didn't call my agents for men and then

he calls me like three days after Paul

told me and everybody's going back he

was like yeah so good news and bad news

uh got a great season for you but you're

gonna get killed off and you know they

have the right to do that I guess you

know we signed a seven year contract and

they can basically kill your character

off at any time so that's so when that

happens industry Works how does that

work if you sign a contract and then

they kill off your character the

contract just ends yeah

nothing like just done pretty much yeah

when you got that call did he Brief you

or prep you for how you were gonna be

killed off did you have any idea going

into the season what was coming ahead

because it feels to me like that's a

pretty you know you have to prepare

yourself emotionally for that kind of

content and that kind of way of being

killed I was very I was surprised um

yeah he told me the basic idea of how it

was going to go down and I was thinking

wow this

I don't know if you really want to mess

with

killings in schools you know this was

not that long after Columbine it was

only

first time less than 10 years ago that a

show really touched on this yeah

nationally for young viewers yeah so it

was really impactful I was curious to

ask you how the cast reacted and if they

had people on site to help you guys like

counselors and like how were you guys

prepped for that yeah I don't think uh

you know there was none of that no

especially back now they might do that

you know everything's changed a little

bit people were more aware of people's

mental health yeah and uh in handling

the situation I would worry more about I

was worried more about the audience

right like I didn't want a copycat

situation I had already been part of one

ten years before that that was people

died because of what I did in a movie

and uh that was a movie called The

Program it was a football movie oh wow

uh James Khan Halle Berry I was the main

guy the quarterback my character lays

down on the street and cars drive either

way at night right and I was like this

is very irresponsible I don't think this

is a good thing first of all it's not

cool like if you're gonna make the

character look cool and dangerous have

him like dive off a railroad bridge into

water or

anyway I didn't really want to do it and

they pretty much you know

forced me to do it and two kids from my

home state

opening weekend did that stunt and got

killed

so they pulled the film from the theater

it was the number at the box office the

first week or I don't know if it was the

first or second week

but it was number one the box house they

pulled it for three weeks and then put

it back out and but it was uh so I was

already part of that and that was my

thinking was like are you sure you want

to put this on a a sort of teen show

with all those impressionable people out

there and but it seemed to do the

opposite it seemed to be a there seemed

to be a healing element to it for the

viewership and um I think something that

allowed people to understand a little of

the thinking of somebody who is a mental

and social outcast you know mentally not

not totally there and then with bullying

and all the other stuff that goes on you

can see how you know that could

springboard into into a violent act it

was definitely hard to watch and still

to this day it's it's amazing that that

was put out when it was put out and

thank God it had the impact yeah it did

yeah and how now it's just now it's

every other week right it's it's it's

crazy yeah already in 2023 there's been

74 people killed or injured in school

shootings which just in schools wow just

in schools that's that number is

obviously way larger if we're not

talking schools but just the fact that

that's in schools a place of that you

would imagine to be safe is a crazy

number

what role do you think that this One

Tree Hill episode can have when we talk

about gun violence and school shootings

today

well I think there's

several elements and one is what your

show sort of talks about all the time

which is mental health yeah I mean you

got to be able to you know parents have

to be responsible enough to know where

their kids are mentally yeah they need

to be checking in with their kids and

guns are part of it I don't think

there's any reason that people unless

unless they have some serious mental

checks need to have AR-15s and automatic

weapons you know we didn't have those

for a long time and um so that's a big

problem because you can take out too

many people at once before anybody can

even get involved that's that's a

problem but more than that I think it's

just the parents at home you know

knowing where your kids are at and if

you do have guns you know keep them as

safe but also yeah the bullying I don't

get it there are so many things going on

where people are coming out and saying

they're being bullied in school but the

school doesn't do anything about it

nobody there's no discipline also

anymore we kind of let everything go so

so many of these cases the person's been

bullied interminably and yeah and they

sometimes turn a gun on their classmates

and sometimes they turn it on themselves

but it's happening a lot I don't I don't

know mental health and you know parents

got to be yeah more aware of where their

kids are at yeah we think we've made

progress but there's just so much more

progress to be made in terms of

recognizing mental health the resources

for mental health you know just having a

guidance counselor in school isn't

enough having one counselor you know

there's still a lot of like people who

don't believe in that so if you have the

guidance counselor to check a box that

doesn't mean people are going to utilize

that resource there has to be ways to

encourage people and feel safe to

utilize that Resource as well and

there's just I mean I could talk about

they also have to build a system of some

sort because these kids that are being

bullied heavily are going to their

counselors the principals are informed

right you know but there's nothing being

done how what do you do to the people

who are doing The Bullying it's almost

like there's a a lack of a um

a systemic way to to respond to the

bullying which it seems like almost

every single one of these kids that

picks up the gun is you know an outcast

and is a bully almost every single one

absolutely so or just openly struggling

and no one's doing anything to help them

it's very devastating honestly I want to

talk a little bit about Mark Schwann

because I have personally heard a lot

about him and read a lot about him and

you've said before that he had a really

like non-collaborative control over the

cast members and over the show and you

kind of touched on this but I'm curious

what he was like as a director and what

the dynamic was with you and him and him

and the other cast members as well he

was so about control to the point of

where like in the beginning I was

wearing I was kind of being me I was

wondering what I wear I was wearing my

Timberlands my pants tucked in yeah

bandana had a little bit of facial hair

and it was like one by one I kept like

taking things away and then it would be

like if you don't take off the bandana

for that scene they're gonna fire you it

was just about

just very very controlling and uh yeah

you know as a guy who'd been doing it

for 20 years already at that point was a

little demeaning 100 like you know it's

my first TV show you asked me to come do

it I'm doing it now you're going to

start micromanaging all my clothing and

whether I put tucked my pants and my

boots which plenty of people do in

Middle America and right now I gotta

have my bandana off now I've got to

shave down no no Scruff at all and why

yeah I just literally just felt like it

was about control that's what it seemed

like to me kind of raises the question

for me of like

if that was happening to you as a grown

man on the show like I can only imagine

what it was like for Sophia Bush and

Hillary and Bethany like all these

people who yeah were really young when

the show started and they're women and

like what what was he controlling them

with and how did they navigate that I

was hearing stuff about him sort of

having little attractions with the cast

and yeah making some inappropriate

comments about having kissed some people

and yeah that kind of stuff I started

hearing I guess by the third season I

started hearing a little more about you

know especially the control with the

kids and how it was just like he was

doing the same thing to them just kind

of like just do it about like no

question collaboration and you know

watching the show you would never think

that anyone was unhappy being on that

show when you watch it you just feel

like everyone is just a happy family and

like the cast members all love each

other so it's sad to hear and crazy to

hear I guess it's just something you

learn when you live in LA what you see

is so different than what's really going

on behind the scenes and I've had my

fair share of those experiences as well

so it's just interesting yeah and I

think a lot of it too is this

intimidation Factor by producers

directors the men in charge mostly power

dynamics um I've held it from some other

members of that production team just in

terms of the control and just kind of a

bullying aspect yeah

well thank you for talking about all my

One Tree Hill gossip and giving me all

this information that is really

interesting to hear as a person who

loves the show I now want to just talk

about you and your life now and your

family and just who are who is Craig

Sheffer not Uncle Keith not Keith Scott

none of that just who are you so you've

continued acting in films and television

shows since One Tree Hill what does life

look like for you now what's like a

what's a day in your life and what's a

year in your life yeah that's a good

question

my life's pretty simple I like to write

I'm developing scripts I write poetry I

write I'm working on a novel that I've

been working on for like 15 years that's

amazing

keep it simple I like to ride my

motorcycle

hang out with my daughter spend time

with you know her I was back for a long

time after One Tree Hill I was pretty

much checked out of the business my mom

had dementia and my brother he was

bedridden from

a bunch of heart attacks so I went back

and took care of them for like six years

I came back two weeks before the

pandemic so everything pretty much shut

down for a year and a half and uh and so

it's it's and they've been the business

has changed dramatically now with all

that oh yeah it's like all streaming and

that literally was in that small chunk

of time I was gone where everything

turned around so you know I'm developed

my own my own things and it's nice to

try to keep on growing you know yeah

there's so much room for that you know

my daughter helps me with that a lot

it's amazing she's very deep and

powerful and smart and that's like her

whole inner world is awesome and yeah

like we can talk about this stuff

forever and keep each other working on

things and yeah so you have one daughter

yeah and she's 29 you said 29 yeah okay

and does she live in Los Angeles as well

it does yeah can you tell me a little

bit more about your guys's relationship

and what it was like having to travel a

lot with a young daughter and what like

what is your family Dynamic like yeah

well I was with her mother for a long

time her mother was Gabrielle Anwar

who's an actress from a son of a woman

she Tangos with Pacino and Son of the

woman and and all that so we were

together on and off for a bunch of years

and uh

and then she had Willow and uh

and we were together for a couple years

and then broke up then she met another

guy and they ended up having two babies

and I was their kids Godfather and we

all did all holidays together and

traveled around and we'll go to Setzer

and I did like five or six movies

together when we weren't together

to keep the Blended kind of families

going and um yeah that was a interesting

way for my my daughter to grow up and

she's 10 years older than the other kids

yeah so like when I went to do One Tree

Hill she had she was in about fourth

grade at that time her mother just had

her first kid with the other guy so it

was like why don't I just take Willow

and bring a teacher along and try to

catch her up she was didn't like going

to school wasn't into it at all so

that's what I did for for the for the

One Tree Hill period yeah I always say

this like I'm grateful that my parents

made the choice that they made to

separate I don't think anyone would

rather choose the path of watching two

people unhappy together I don't think

that that's a enjoyable way to grow up

or to watch two people claim that that's

what love is I don't think that's a good

way to learn what love is or what

relationships are supposed to be like so

I'm sure it makes it hard either way

actually I mean because I look at my

parents they were together all their

lives you know um

and they fought

terribly like cats and dogs but the

interesting thing about them is there

was a unconditional love beneath all

that that I could always see in them I

don't know what's harder if it's harder

when they split up or it's harder when

they don't but I was

I I knew that I was also loved

unconditionally despite all the um

character issues and uh yeah I think

that's all that matters as long as you

can show your child that they are loved

and yeah because none of us are perfect

pretty much everybody does the best they

can with what they have at any

particular time so you can't condemn

people too much or hold too much

resentment because uh including me can't

hold too much against ourselves either

because we yeah

do the best we can at times and when my

family died and

and I left there I had two years of

grieving there's nothing I could do two

years of depression and grieving and

there's nothing I could do to get out of

I had to let how to let the grieving

process take place and let the time pass

and and just say this is where I'm at

man and I can't I can't Sledgehammer

myself in the head and and beat myself

out of it yeah

yeah coming out of a

best of

of going through a lot of trauma and

experiencing depression for the first

time in my life and the whole time I

really made a point to just accept where

I was in that time I always say this

when I'm asked what's my best advice to

someone who's struggling is just not to

be hard on yourself I literally I think

that's pretty never not say there's no

better advice I have to give I think

that we all try so hard to be like just

be happy or just feel better or just go

do this and you'll feel better we're

always looking for that one piece of

happiness and sometimes you just have to

let something run its course and I think

like if that's two years of depression

or five years like we don't pick what's

given to us and if we're not hard on

ourselves for allowing ourselves to go

through that like that's the only way

out in my opinion because the times

where I tried to pressure myself to snap

out of it I was 10 steps backwards I

always say I think every day gets a

little better but I think the days where

I'm like

you know I can't get out of bed today

and I don't want to and instead of being

hard on myself for that I'm just like

I'm gonna stay in bed and watch One Tree

Hill today and that's gonna be my day it

took me to like the late 50s you know

when I went through the grieving process

in my family because I had depression on

and off anxiety more than anything PTSD

yeah and um

just was always hard on myself because I

am the caretaker and things like that

and when those things take you down and

you're that guy and then you have

extended periods of time like I had in

my 50s yeah

it just I couldn't see myself as a

strong person anymore and it really just

yeah tore my heart out I didn't even

feel like I could be

the strong father and I always been I

could see that she saw my weakness and

my emotion and

it was very it's it's difficult so you

do got to let yourself uh have those

periods of time and keep reminding

yourself that you know you're okay yeah

as hard as it was for your daughter to

see you like that I'm sure she'll always

look back and be grateful that she was

able to see you as a human not as a

superhero who doesn't get affected by

real life because we all do and I think

the people who try to act like

everything's fine and then they shut

down behind closed doors are actually

portraying a way worse example than

someone who can show what they're really

feeling so yeah and and at least talk

about it with the people that are worthy

of that trust a hundred percent that's

very true so I gave my advice that I

would give to someone when they're in

their lowest point or their hardest

Point what would you say that yours

would be I think you pretty much just

said it which is you got to try to

accept where you're at but you but also

remind yourself that you you know

there's a strength within you to to be

able to move through it and try to trust

your roadmap your heart well thank you

so much for everything I've had the best

time talking to you I do something in

every episode as I told you I love music

and I love to incorporate music into my

podcast because it does hold such a

special place in my heart so I do a

segment called alpies three where I pick

three songs each episode that kind of

pertain to the theme of whatever we

talked about and I usually have my

guests contribute whatever songs come to

their mind so in the vein of One Tree

Hill being one of the most special music

shows to have ever existed I was

thinking together we could come up with

three songs that we think

our One Tree Hill songs or songs that

remind us of the show to put on the

playlist that I have from each episode I

obviously think we should do I don't

want to be

um

[Music]

I think that should obviously be on the

playlist because it's the iconic so they

have to have been on the show it can be

a song that like gives One Tree Hill

Vibes I think the underwater scene where

shade James it should have been breathed

you know the song yeah from that era

yeah I like that but I will say Boston

when they're driving in the like wedding

getaway car and they're leaving their

wedding Boston by I believe it's

Augustana

that song is just iconic do you have any

other ones you want to throw in

Hallelujah

yeah beautiful song so that was a very

special episode for me I had the best

time talking with you you are incredible

it's really cool for me to learn who you

are as a person separate from a show

that I feel like I know you from

watching and it's also cool to see how

true to that character you really are it

seems like that was just simple acting

for you because it was so in line with

who you are and your personality traits

so thank you for sharing so much with me

and talking about your family Dynamics

and telling me more about all my little

One Tree Hill fandom questions thank you

for coming on trying to figure it out

thank you for having me you're amazing I

hope we figured something out today I

think we we're on our way we know that

we don't know anything we know that we

can't get any better than that

well thank you I look forward to talking

to you guys next week thank you all for

listening and

see you guys thanks for having me

[Music]

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