In this interview, host Toby Potter welcomes actor Randy Goodwin, a veteran of over 30 years in Hollywood, to discuss his steadfast commitment to personal integrity and moral values. Goodwin recounts his Midwestern, Christian upbringing, his early career struggles, and his refusal to compromise his principles for money, even when faced with lucrative offers or industry pressure during the MeToo era. He shares anecdotes about being approached by producers, his habit of saying "no" to degrading work, and how this stance has resonated with fellow actors and audiences who previously believed success required total compliance. Goodwin critiques the shift in cultural values across generations, noting how younger people often prioritize fame and profit over ethics, and emphasizes the importance of live, in‑person storytelling as a counter‑balance to social‑media noise. The conversation culminates in Goodwin’s core message: empowering others to recognize that they, too, can say no and maintain their integrity, a theme that will be central to his upcoming live tour event.
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And then whenever I try to make it better, oh, it looks, it looks so good though, even in the, even in the clips. I'm gonna admit him and, um, y'all can talk for a second so I can look at this.
3. Hey everybody, Toby Potter here, the Unshakeable Investor. Here today with my good friend Randy Goodwin from Hollywood. Buddy, I am so excited that you are jumping on a plane, coming to Allen, Texas to spend a couple of days with us, to be on stage at our, our inaugural launch of the tour, the BTBY tour. Man, I'm excited. I have, since I've met you, I have looked at every movie you've been in. I know, I know a lot of them and didn't even know it was you. Watch those movies, saw you act, and now go back and go, I know that guy.
I know that guy.
And so now I'm bragging to all my buddies, hey, I know that guy. He'll be here, he'll be here. So, uh, but we are excited, man. We, we are so excited. And I think, Randy, what, what I want to talk about today is I want to talk about your story. And we were just kind of talking briefly about it, but you know, you've been in Hollywood over 30 years. You've done 40-some movies, and you had a platform, a foundation, a moral and a value that no money in the world was going to move you off of that. And that is so profound. So if you don't mind sharing a little bit about that— I don't want you giving away everything because I want people to come see you in person— but what can they expect when they come see us uh, at this live event next week.
Well, um, Toby, you built me up. There's some expectations now. Sometimes I wish you would have just said, hey, I found this bum on the street, and then I can wow people with, hey, I saw that guy on— but no, what's funny is, is what you were just saying, when you, when you watch stuff, and this happens all the time, even, even with guys like, you know, the other celebrities or, you know, basketball players. I played ball with Magic Johnson and those guys back in L.A. and they'll be like, man, I saw you on this show. I've watched that show 20 times. Exactly.
Exactly.
Why didn't you tell us?
That's right.
I just don't. I mean, it's— I feel like it's not for me to tell. It's a different generation. With the social media generation and you can put everything out there. I feel like my work should speak for itself because I come from the old school. That's how my father was. That's how my uncles were. And when I got into the business, Sidney Poitier, uh, Lou Gossett Jr., Kelsey Grammer, um, Wesley Snipes, Michael Jai White, all of these guys, they, they were about the work. Yeah, you know, it was— they weren't about, hey, look at me, right? If I walk up and I go, hey, Toby, what's going on, man? Hey, you know, I'm on a new show tomorrow night. Hey, right, one new show.
Yeah.
So I just— I, I don't open my mouth. Um, a buddy of mine here in Omaha, he's a big real estate, uh, uh, investor, uh, uh, Gerald, Gerald, Gerald Williams is hilarious. He goes, I've known this guy for 2 years, he never told me he was an actor. I was like, what? It's not my job to tell you. He goes, my wife goes, you know Randy's an actor. And I go, no, he isn't. He never told me that.
He goes, shoot.
He goes, I've seen you my whole life.
That's right.
And I love when people say that because it lets me know my work is out there. Because it's not about Randy. It's about Randy's work and how Randy can touch people and help them along their journey to get to where they want to be. I'm not going to say get to where I am because your journey is not my journey, right? You know, right. But there will, there will be similarities. There will be pain. There will be heartache. There will be failures. Well, I don't like to use the word failures. There will be learning moments, learning curves, you know. So everyone goes through stuff and there are similarities to every one of our journeys. But, you know, to each his own. You will have your own.
So let's talk about a little bit, um, I alluded to it, um, in Hollywood there's a lot of challenges. Um, we, we as the public don't want to recognize the, the trials and the tribulations that actors, actresses go through. Uh, every now and then a scandal will break out, but for somebody like you who was knee-deep into it every day. It wasn't a scandal, it was a way of life.
Yes. Yeah, I, um, I got a phone call, you know, when the whole MeToo thing started, right?
Yes.
Um, I got a call from, uh, one of the producers from CBS I've done a couple of shows with, and he goes, dude, do you see what's going on? I go, yeah, everybody, man. He goes, well, at least we know one person that's, that's not gonna get a phone call. I said, "Who? Everybody's dirty." And he goes, "You, you idiot." And I went, "Oh, oh, oh." And that's— so I'll give you one story to sum up. Well, I won't sum up why I am the way I am because I'm a Nebraska boy. I am an Omaha, Nebraska native. I am from the Midwest, Midwest upbringing, you know, just deep in the mud roots, Christian faith my whole life growing up in this thing. So for me, going to Hollywood, it was not a problem to draw a line in the sand before I got there. I didn't get there, do stuff, do some dirt. They think I'm on their team. I get to break the $200 million glass ceiling. And then I realize, you know what? I've done a lot of dirt. Let me get back to my Christian roots. No, I didn't do that. I came in as the guy that said no from the beginning. I said no when I was sleeping in my car. I said no when I was sleeping on the park bench. I said no when I had negative money in the bank. Well, I take that back. I didn't even have a bank account. I lost it. So I've said no my whole life, um, my whole acting life. Uh, no, even that, even before that, it was just, I just, I, I couldn't degrade myself for the money. And they put checks in front of me and asked me to, and a couple of times I had to you know, get a little— I had to drop my voice a little bit, take my glasses off, and say, if you ever, if you ever say something like that to me again, or you ever offer me something like that again, so we're gonna have a problem. We're done. Understand me? Do you understand? I need you to say you understand me before we leave this room. I had to do that a couple times, Toby. I don't like, I don't like, I don't like going there unless it's on camera.
And, and, you know, that is the, the— you know, but what's so powerful about Randy is it's deep in Hollywood, but it's everywhere in society that people have to compromise just to have success, just to rise up. And the expectation, it's become the norm. And I love— this is why it's, it's, um when I met you and I told Brenda, I said, Brenda, I want to, I want to run side by side with Randy. I want to share his message so loud because it's not just Hollywood, it's now nation and worldwide that we— there are no such things as morals and values. There are no such things as integrity. It's all about what will I need to do to climb the ladder of success.
Yeah, yeah, it is everywhere you look at. What, what hurts my heart is I, I have a daughter who's 24, and then I have a son who's 21, going to be 22 pretty quick here. And then I also have an 18-year-old who's going to be 19 coming up. Um, and I see what the young people are doing to make money. Oh goodness, my kids are like that. I'm not doing that. I'm like, yeah, thank God. But that's where we, we come from a different, uh, cut of cloth. And, you know, like the Bible says, with each generation we will get further and further away from God. And that's something that I've been able to see being in my 50s now. Um, you know, you know, we, we saw, uh, like going all the way back to to Dr. J and those guys playing basketball, and we've seen the eras change all the way up here to LeBron James. Well, that's the same thing in cinema. That's the same thing in businesses. It was, it was wholesome and it was, uh, family-oriented back then. Now it is completely farcical. Now it, it's, it blows my mind to watch some of the things that these kids do and say. And I just— I, I— what, what, what can you do except be an example?
I mean, you can do—
yeah, you can say what you need to say to certain people because you're in proximity, but if you're not, I mean, what do you do? Hit a like?
Yeah.
Make a comment?
I just— I, I, I can't. It's, it's the one reason, and I believe you fully understand it, it's the one reason why this tour is so important because it's the only voice we have left is our voice. You were outran by social media. You're out bankrolled through social media, but you can't be silenced when you're on a stage sharing your story, sharing your message, and sharing your values. And so this is what really sets this apart from everything else. There needs to be more of these tours, more of the Randy Goodwins, Toby Potters, Brenda Ringwoods, and so on and so forth, because we are still the old school that's going to continue to drive those morals, values, and ethics to the generation that's willing to listen.
Yes. Yeah. And there are people out there who are willing to listen.
They are.
There are some people who want to hear these messages, but they're just in, in, in places where they, they don't. They're surrounded by people who are who are pushing this, this— I don't, I don't even know what to call it. It's not a, it's not a culture. It's a— what's evil? It's evil.
Let me ask you this. What is the one thing, Randy, that you want the audience to take away from after listening to you on stage? What is the one message you're going to get across to the audience?
That's easy. I didn't realize when I started doing Zooms with 500 actors here, 1,000 actors there, producers, directors, I started getting— Toby, I started getting, uh, DMs and emails. And you know what the number one thing people would say is? Randy, thank you for sharing that with us. Because we didn't— this is gonna blow your mind, Toby— we didn't know we could say no.
That's right. I believe that.
I, I, I literally went, wait a minute, what? So I had to reach out to one of them. I said, what do you mean you didn't know you could say no? We thought in order to be successful, you basically have to do whatever they say and take whatever they give you. And I go, no, no.
Yeah, no, no, that Wow.
And then more and more people I'd see, thank you. Yeah, I didn't know I could say no. Thank you for telling us we could say no. Thank you for— I was like, wow. I, I— and I guess that's just where my father and my mother and my uncles and my grandparents, my brothers and their kids, we were told no all the time.
I used to think that was my name for the longest.
Exactly. Exactly. And he was like, no, no, no. I'm like, wait a minute. I thought, I thought he was no.
That's right. Well, how am I no now? Yeah. So yeah, so that's awesome. And, and again, Randy, uh, we're excited to have you. We're excited to hang out with you, but we're more excited about the message, the platform that you're standing on and where you've stood for the last 35 years in your, uh, beliefs. Uh, it's, it's a message that needs to be heard, but it's a message that must be told.
Awesome. Thank you.
So I will see you in less than a week, and we will have you wine and dine. If you don't mind making a couple phone calls for me, and then let me know how that turns out so we can prepare accordingly.
I will make this call in less than 3 minutes.
All right, my man, I will see you in less than 5 days.
All right, bro. All right, good to see you. Thank you, everybody.
