Inside 'Tulsa King': Tatiana Zappardino on Tina Manfredi's Journey & Collaborating with Stallone

[00:00:10] Tatiana, thank you for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged.

[00:00:14] Yes, thank you for having me.

[00:00:15] Exciting time season two of Tulsa King's just premiere and I actually watched it Sunday night as well.

[00:00:20] I was waiting for the screener as I had to get him at time.

[00:00:22] I just got the email today.

[00:00:24] I can watch the rest of them.

[00:00:25] I'm very happy about the series so far.

[00:00:28] Oh great!

[00:00:29] I'm so glad to hear that.

[00:00:30] Like I could have waited for season two to return.

[00:00:33] What's been your thoughts about this season coming up?

[00:00:39] Well, it's funny because it does feel like so long since season one, you know,

[00:00:43] because the actors had a strike and it really delayed filming which worked out perfectly

[00:00:49] because during that time I became a mom.

[00:00:51] So I was like, honestly, that's fine.

[00:00:53] I'll take the time off, need it.

[00:00:56] But season two, you know, it's such a TV such a quick turnaround.

[00:01:01] We just finished filming like a month and a half ago and it's already up, right?

[00:01:06] But it's exciting to see it because sometimes you forget the first episode you did

[00:01:11] because you were like, you know, you've been so fast.

[00:01:13] Like what happened in episode one again?

[00:01:16] So was it exciting to see it like finally on the screen?

[00:01:20] I just watched it last night.

[00:01:21] I didn't see it on Sunday night because I planned a little like,

[00:01:25] walked party with my friends and so much and I was like the best day for everyone.

[00:01:30] So I was really excited to have everyone see it, you know?

[00:01:34] Especially with the whole filming also like you bought, do you put this series?

[00:01:38] Do you film episode by episode?

[00:01:39] You filmed different scenes from different episodes?

[00:01:43] So they do block filming so it's like two episodes at a time.

[00:01:46] So it's not going to mean work.

[00:01:47] Sometimes you're doing a scene from episode two in the morning and at the scene from episode one and night.

[00:01:54] But for the most part it's still like consistently in the same, you know, time period.

[00:02:00] It's not necessarily like filming episode one the last week of film.

[00:02:06] Can you tell us really quick?

[00:02:08] How did you get a approach for this role for Estina?

[00:02:12] What was the process like?

[00:02:14] Yeah, so I'm I mean the process is pretty normal.

[00:02:17] You know you get sent the auditions, get sent sides and then you just tape it and send it in.

[00:02:23] So when I got sent this, I got extra notes before I even filmed it.

[00:02:28] It was just kind of interesting. I was like oh, I think they just really wanted

[00:02:31] They wanted to find the Tina, you know? I think like they might have been more in for a while.

[00:02:37] So when I did the audition it just felt so natural.

[00:02:40] Like I memorized the line and probably like the fastest I've ever memorized.

[00:02:44] It was like four pages. I think I memorized it in like five minutes because they're just like

[00:02:48] Float, you know? And that goes that goes to show like just the good writing of the show.

[00:02:54] But it just felt like it was my character. I didn't have to put anything on it.

[00:02:58] I didn't have to like you know try to bring it out. It was there.

[00:03:02] You know? And I was like oh, it just feels right. And then I got the call the next day that I booked it.

[00:03:06] I was like that is fast. I mean, that you know, that's amazing. So I was really excited.

[00:03:12] When you audition was a stalo part of the auditioning process,

[00:03:16] just see what if he who he wanted to play his daughter?

[00:03:20] Yes, so he you know being executive producer, writer, editor, creator as well.

[00:03:25] You know like he's he obviously has his hand in the cookie jar, you know?

[00:03:30] So he does have a lot of final say, especially probably for somebody who is going to be

[00:03:35] his intimate family member. But when I did book it, I was message saying like,

[00:03:41] so I would like to speak with you and like so he faced time me for the first time and that was like,

[00:03:45] oh, all those. And he just wanted to like let me know how excited he was to work with me and

[00:03:50] all this stuff. And it felt like wow, like this guy took time out of his day just to talk to me and

[00:03:56] nobody, you know? So like he didn't have to do that. I mean, I would have done the job anyway. He did

[00:04:00] right. I know like I wasn't like, oh, now I'll take it. You know? So it was like it just really showed his

[00:04:08] character right at front of like who he is. He's really likes to be involved with his cast members

[00:04:13] and with the show and every level. So it was really cool to see that. Now as you for you, how

[00:04:18] excited were you that you're going to be part of the show when you're going to be placed a loons

[00:04:22] daughter? Like what was going through your mind with all this? Oh, I mean, first of all, I mean,

[00:04:28] as an actor, you know, almost 10 years in the business, you're auditioning, auditioning, you're

[00:04:33] waiting, you're waiting. You do the pilot, you cancel, you know? Like, so a part of you is like,

[00:04:40] don't get too hopeful until I'm there, you know? Like just what does it change in mind? What has

[00:04:46] like a big, you know, big actress wants it and said, you know, I don't know, like, you never know

[00:04:51] what happens. So you almost don't want to put too much hope in it. Yeah. But then I was also

[00:04:57] very excited. And then it's the first day on set, as soon as I met him, it wasn't scary. It was like,

[00:05:04] oh, he literally just feels like my dad. Like you're very similar in tone and just kind of,

[00:05:11] you know, very, you know, just he, my dad was a big bear but like a soft softness to him. And

[00:05:18] so everything just kind of fell into place and I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be for such a

[00:05:25] part. Right. So the season two also like, well, first of all, Tina's relationship with her father

[00:05:32] Dwight is a central element of the series. Like how would you say in season two, how does this

[00:05:38] relationship evolve between them? Yeah. So I mean, Tina's might become an Oklahoma soon. You know,

[00:05:46] so she still has to find her footing of like find out who she is, you know, where she stands,

[00:05:52] where she's where she kind of falls into Dwight's life because he has this whole new life with

[00:05:57] a bunch of different businesses and stuff like that. So I think the season she's just kind of

[00:06:03] trying to find her place, and I don't even know if she succeeds yet. You know, she's maybe

[00:06:08] feels a little bit lost. But as for them, I think there's a lot less animosity. The first season

[00:06:14] was definitely like, you left me blah blah blah blah. And this season's like, all right, Dad,

[00:06:20] let's like, what's next? Let's like, let's sing out here to grandkids. It's like, it's I think

[00:06:25] something are playful and a lot more like we're on a familiar family path now. But now I think

[00:06:33] it might be, might be just like kind of, it's hard, it's hard to explain because I obviously don't

[00:06:42] want to give anything away. But even though I think she's let go of the past, I think there's

[00:06:49] stuff that she's just burying at this time. And I don't think she even wants to deal with it

[00:06:54] just yet and you'll kind of see it maybe come out towards the end. Yeah, like you mentioned,

[00:07:00] there's a lot of like tension in the first season between them too. Yeah. For as for Tina,

[00:07:05] like any challenges, like dealing with some of those scenes with the tension between

[00:07:10] Tina and Dwight. In season one or two? Both both. I mean, season one it was, he's a very easy

[00:07:19] partner to work with, you know, he's he's here. Yeah. He's not focused on like looking perfect

[00:07:25] on camera, giving me the best slide. He's like, I want to connect with my scene partner. So those

[00:07:30] those tension scenes, you know, it was just like very we brought it down and we were able to just

[00:07:35] connect and it built the tension on the zone with the right. We didn't have to like do anything

[00:07:40] with it. We didn't have to like create some idea of like, I mean, it was just like telling the truth,

[00:07:47] you left, you left, you screwed me over. Like I mean, that's tension enough. I didn't need anything.

[00:07:53] And I think that our natural chemistry on camera, like I was obsessed with it. I was like, wow,

[00:07:59] this is, I mean, this is stuff. I'm like really proud of you know, I think it's I haven't been

[00:08:04] working in the industry as long as a lot of other people. I didn't book this many things. There's

[00:08:08] a lot of other people, but at the same time, I felt like, okay, this is something that I could definitely

[00:08:13] bring home to the table and say, I did it. I did that and I'm very proud of that work. So yeah.

[00:08:19] I know you said you can't give out, you know, we can't talk about spoilers. I don't want to talk

[00:08:23] about spoilers. But like how would you describe like Tina's journey from season one now heading into

[00:08:28] season two? Like how much do you think has she changed? She changes, she changes quite a bit. I

[00:08:38] think she's in like denial right now, like going through the motions. You know, she has she

[00:08:47] because Dwight left her as a kid and because she lost her mom and all this stuff,

[00:08:52] she knows what it's like to have an absent parent. You know, so I think like she,

[00:08:59] she knows she has put on this brave face for her children. Yeah. So you'll see a lot of happy

[00:09:05] go lucky, Betty Crocker just, you know, hiding behind a smile almost and I think that the shoe

[00:09:13] might drop just because it's, I don't think she's handling any of your emotions. I think that she just

[00:09:21] pushed him down and yeah, she's hiding behind it. I think she's hiding behind just focusing on

[00:09:28] the boys. Everything's focused on the boys. Like if I focus on them, I don't focus on my life.

[00:09:32] That's falling apart, right? Like that's, yeah. You know, Tulsa King, you know, there's a lot of

[00:09:39] like shifting with loyal teas and portrayals also. So like we don't know how these characters are

[00:09:42] going to move around throughout this season. Yeah. Oh yeah. Can't trust anyone. I'll say it.

[00:09:48] Yeah. What's been your favorite think about Tina? I think the the witty banter that she

[00:09:58] gets to experience with her father. I think it's just like such a realistic portrayal of, you know,

[00:10:05] father and daughter relationships. Like, you know, because he is he's a gangster. So bad he's a bad guy

[00:10:10] with other people afraid of him. He's going to punch them out whatever. She talks back to him. He's like,

[00:10:16] like, you can't get in here right back. She's almost as like weakness as Kryptonite. And I think that's

[00:10:22] was really exciting about Tina. Like she is the one person you could say, like, you're messing up.

[00:10:29] And I'm going to call you on of it and he's not going to like yell at her right. He thinks me like you're

[00:10:33] right. But he wouldn't do that to anyone else in the show. Absolutely not. I'm going to get out my

[00:10:38] faith or who are you? Go get out of here. Like, so I think I love that the power of Tina.

[00:10:44] Which is like you said, like, what he did in the first episode of the season because we

[00:10:46] talk about this will where he punches the guy in the jail cell just to show who the boss is. It's just

[00:10:52] yeah. So I also did notice, uh, you had a couple post on Instagram. You had a lot of scenes cut

[00:10:59] off from the first episode. I did. I did and it breaks in hard. We never know what's going to happen.

[00:11:06] Maybe they'll put him in future episodes or maybe it would just wasn't good lighting at tone or

[00:11:12] I don't know. I don't know the reason. There's always a million reasons behind the scenes of what

[00:11:16] why didn't work and, um, of course, you know, it hurts egoized but whatever's best for the show is

[00:11:23] was best for the show. I'm not going to like, you know, I'm not going to like sit in my bed and cry over it.

[00:11:28] I'm like, okay, you know, I get it. It's not my show. It's not. It's not the Tina show. It's the

[00:11:35] white show. So whatever serves that that storyline the best and, you know, maybe one day

[00:11:42] Tina's storyline will be able to push through a little bit more but right now let's say it's just not the

[00:11:46] focus and that's okay. Is there like a specific episode coming up that we're going to see a little

[00:11:51] more about Tina or maybe a little bit more about her background? You get those of all? I'm going to

[00:11:56] be honest through after watching the episode the first episode. I don't know how any of the scenes

[00:12:02] can unfold. They could have taken storylines out completely. I don't know how it ended up.

[00:12:09] You know, so I don't want to give false hope. I did enjoy filming episode like five and six.

[00:12:15] So I'm really hoping those turned out the way we filmed them but you know, they sometimes sometimes

[00:12:21] like the storyline in the editing rooms like, oh, actually this will work better here. This will

[00:12:25] work better here. So then like the stuff we filmed in six ends up in three and you just,

[00:12:31] you kind of, it's like almost a fun surprise when you're watching. You're like, oh okay cool. Like

[00:12:37] nothing ever ends up exactly the way we filmed it or the way they were in or whatever. So

[00:12:44] I'm watching it for the first time too obviously, you know. So yeah, what's your, what goes through

[00:12:49] your head when you're watching like yourself on the screen and watching like episodes that you've

[00:12:54] filmed throughout the season? I mean, I don't like watching myself personally. It took me a long time to

[00:13:02] watch season one. Just because it's hard for me to watch myself. I feel like a lot of actors feel that way.

[00:13:09] I think I might be a little too critical of like, oh, that wasn't the take I liked. I thought I

[00:13:14] did a better one or how I, you know, my lighting, my makeup, I felt weird. I don't know, just I can

[00:13:20] be a little too critical because I know me right now. It's hard to watch yourself. It really is.

[00:13:27] My, the reason I love acting is like if I gave it all that day and I felt like I left it

[00:13:34] on the studio floor, I felt like that was a great day. And whatever happens happens, you know? So

[00:13:40] I think that episode one, I was actually very surprised that they chose takes. I was like, oh,

[00:13:46] I look really good. Yeah, it's funny. So I was happy. I was like, all right, I don't look terrible.

[00:13:54] So I'm like, great. I feel good. How many episodes are we expecting this season? It was a 10 last year,

[00:14:02] last season. It is 10. It is 10. It was 9. It was a 9. I was a 9. I was trying to remember it's

[00:14:09] like I said, it's been so long before we didn't even know it. It told us the kid was even going to

[00:14:12] come back this soon even with the strike. They were talking about me another half a year. You know what?

[00:14:18] I could not tell you. Everything was very, the strike really threw a wrench into a lot of

[00:14:26] product and plans. I think that they really pushed to do it sooner just because we wanted to get

[00:14:32] in under the wire for this year. Which we did. It was successful. We got everything done. It was a

[00:14:38] very, very long work schedule for a lot of people, especially for slide because, you know, he's

[00:14:43] almost in every singing and he's also editing, producing, you know, he's doing everything.

[00:14:49] Like that man doesn't sleep. It's crazy. I look up to him. I was like, man, I wish I could have

[00:14:55] that kind of energy. And, you know, like, I don't even have it now. And I mean, it's like, I'm just

[00:15:00] he's, yeah, he's super hero. So last question on T-note is there anything you would change about

[00:15:06] or yeah. Oh my god, there's so many things. But I don't know if I can even say that.

[00:15:20] I think that the way I imagine T-note to eventually evolve into maybe like less

[00:15:29] motherly matron house in the prairie and turning into more of the taking over the mob

[00:15:36] ready to shoot someone in the face. That's what I want to be. I want to be the eventual gangster.

[00:15:41] I don't know if I've ever let that happen because I'm the soft side of the show. But that's

[00:15:47] what I'm really hoping for. So hey, you never know. That could be a twist. I actually had that

[00:15:52] question or down a different way. Like would you want to be part of the family like that?

[00:15:56] Yeah, I want to be in the gang. It's like there's this big boys club and I'm not invited.

[00:16:01] And it's like I was in the Marine Corps. And I spent enough years dealing with not being in the

[00:16:04] boys club. I'm not doing it again. Like let me in. Give me a gun. I can show you guys what T-nec

[00:16:11] can do. Is there a favorite character from his gang that you like? That sticks out.

[00:16:18] I'm so from a white gang. Well, you know what? I'm trying to think because they're also

[00:16:29] different in different ways. I love Body. I love his like just dry snark and it's like he

[00:16:36] goes along with whatever he says, but you can see the like rebellion in it. Everyone else is kind of

[00:16:43] a little more sick of Fant, follow his hand. Like yeah, let's do what everybody's doing. I love the

[00:16:50] rebellion in in in in in Marin Star's lines. I think he's I think he's just such a phenomenal actor and

[00:16:56] I enjoy watching him a lot. So we have a season two out now. Drops every Sunday. What's next for

[00:17:04] you? Now, any other projects to tell us about that you got coming up or working on? You know what?

[00:17:11] Nothing at this time. I think I think it's just everything so slow. I don't know, but I'm hoping

[00:17:17] I'm hoping to I've been writing my own stuff. So I'm hoping when the times right, I can just start

[00:17:25] producing my own things. Because I really believe that we shouldn't just wait for the opportunities

[00:17:31] to come, we should make our own. And that's probably my next step, my next goal and my next dream.

[00:17:38] Hey, slide it with Rocky so can you? Exactly. I'm going to follow in his footsteps.

[00:17:44] Tatiana, how can the listeners in the viewers find you on social media? I keep up with you.

[00:17:48] I just said you may posting everything on toseking. I've been following you for a while now. What

[00:17:52] I can be fine you? I mean, I'm not a big social media person. This funny that you say that

[00:17:59] I appreciate the fall. I post like very rarely and I don't know my stories are always nonsense,

[00:18:07] but I'm Tatiana's Averina T. Zepar. That's my Instagram handle. And you can see my life.

[00:18:15] I don't post that much about tolls of King constantly just because I keep it as like my show in

[00:18:22] my life. I'm on that side, but I do obviously post as much as I can when I can. But having a

[00:18:30] one year old, it's not like easy to just post every day. Oh, I get it. Yeah. That's great.

[00:18:37] Tatiana, I want to thank you for giving me a few minutes today. Hopefully your story continues

[00:18:40] on tolls of King. Maybe you'll join the Bible. You mentioned and now good luck with everything.

[00:18:44] Great. Thank you so much.