Chillin’ With Garrett Hines

Garrett Hines was interested in acting as a child, but it took an essay he wrote in college to jump start his career.

Hines’ professor suggested that he adapt the story for the stage; Hines wrote and performed “Ghost”, a one-man show adapted from his narrative and six months later, he got his first acting gig. He is most visible in his role on the SyFy Channel original movie “Scream of the Banshee.” With plenty of high profile projects on the horizon, Hines is a man to watch. Recently, he took some time to tell Chilled what he was up to.

CHILLED: Tell us about some of the projects you are working on or have coming up.

GARRETT HINES: Well, “Trumbo”, which is a film about blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo is set for a November 6th release. It was fantastic to be directed by Jay Roach and especially amazing to get to work with Bryan Cranston, who plays Dalton Trumbo. The man is a powerhouse. I also have been fortunate enough to work on two upcoming films about American tragedies, “The Big Short” which is set to come out this December and is about the housing market collapse and the men who saw it coming. I play a representative for Deutsche Bank named Randall, and getting to do scenes with Christian Bale and Ryan Gosling was an experience to say the least. I also just finished “The Long Night”, directed by Peter Berg. It’s about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster, which is important to me, being from New Orleans. Peter also put plenty of local Louisiana actors on the film, which is valuable because we all brought our own histories to the film.

CHILLED: With your busy schedule, what do you like to do with your down time?

GH: I write poetry, which is good at keeping me relatively sane. I tend to think somewhat manically, so it helps quench that little pryo in my head temporarily. Riding my motorcycle helps too, ‘cause I’m focusing less on my daily bullshit and more on not dying. And I like to drink. It’s a Southern thing, I guess. But Los Angeles doesn’t have happy hour like New Orleans has happy hour, so that’s a hurdle I’m still getting used to.

Chilled: When you go out to eat, where do you like to dine?

GH: I recently went to a restaurant in Hollywood called “Animal” [in Los Angeles], which was probably the best meal I’ve had in a long time. They had a marrow-bone burger on toasted rye that will rock your socks. And Mexican. I love me some Mexican.
Chilled: What types of dishes do you usually order?

I like cuisine that blends cultures and times, but I think “fusion” is a silly word. I’m a bit of a minimalist when it comes to flavors; I’d rather fresh ingredients with distinct taste than, say, seasoning that blends together and might as well be soup.

CHILLED: Do you cook?

GH: I’ve started to more recently. I just got a food processor the other day and made this bitching avocado cream for chicken tacos. I’m experimenting more with marinades as well.

CHILLED: What types of drinks do you order when out?

GH: It depends on the bar. I’m not that dude that goes to a draught house for their Reisling selection. If a bar is known for a particular drink, no matter what the ingredients I usually order it off the bat.

CHILLED: Do you prepare drinks at home?

GH: I do, but I keep it simple. If a drink has more than a couple of ingredients on the recipe, I’d rather leave it to a professional.

CHILLED: Do you own a home bar?

GH: Nope. I just bought a wine cabinet though and have been trying to fill that up, but the bottles don’t last long.

CHILLED: What would your ideal home bar look like and be stocked with, if you had one?

GH: I recently stayed at this place that had an bar with a 70’s motif. All mirrored backing with glass shelves, wood paneling and gold accents. The bar stools were red velvet covered. I loved that. It was also big enough to maneuver around behind it. So many home bars are tiny, and what’s the point of having a bar where you can only serve one person at a time? I’d have it filled with a bit of everything; I’m a big advocate for food pairings with liquor, so I’d want enough diversity to handle whatever the hell I’d feel like eating. And some amaros and digestifs.

Right now I’ve been searching for new sour ales. I’ve found some good Flanders and Flemish Red Ale’s recently around Hollywood, like the Rodenbach Grand Cru. I’ve also been enjoying sipping whiskey neat lately, though I had a Jefferson’s Ocean series Bourbon which might be my new spirit animal.

CHILLED: Were you ever a bartender?

GH: Yup. I bartended at a draught house outside of New Orleans called The Barley Oak for 4 years. I started working there at the end of grad school while I worked on my thesis and kept working there while I was acting. We had 47 taps on rotation, all craft and micro brews, so my knowledge and appreciation for beer amplified. Barley was like my surrogate family and got me through some tough times. Bartending is funny in that you see the best and worst humanity has to offer, and nothing better exemplifies this than watching a Tinder date from behind a bar (it’s not a wall, people, and someone has to clean those couches).