Chad Michael Murray – “I only get called that when being grounded by my dad,” explained the actor – has been astonishingly busy since the world shut down. The James Van Der Beek of millennials, Murray has already wrapped three projects since Covid-19 changed society – and film sets – irrevocably.
“My first one was in late July, in Los Angeles,” he said over Zoom. “And in LA, we had 4,800 cases a day. I mean, I was paranoid. I didn’t know what to expect.” There were “snafus”, he says – one of the team knew somebody who tested positive, which meant everyone was getting tested every day in a row – “It costs a lot of money”. The project was changed and simplified and Murray was constantly unsure if tempers were going to flare.
But the others, he says, have been easier. When we talk, he is sat on the floor of an Airbnb’s impressive home gym. He’s in Canada, in North Bay, where he’s working on another project. “They haven’t had a case here – knock on wood, thank you, God – for over 60 days.” There’s still protocols, he says, but the fear is nothing like it was in LA.
As Chad prepares for his next role, we asked him to take us through how 2020 has changed self-care for him. From ropes and chains to Bible study, here’s how Murray keeps sane in the most insane of times.
Structure
“I wanted to make sure that five to six days a week I was taking care of myself mentally, physically, spiritually every day. We happen to be in a really good location where we live, where we can get hikes in. And we have a pool and the weather was beautiful.
“My wife and I, and the kids, we did as much as we could together. We started doing movie nights in the backyard. I picked up this blow-up projector screen. I put it out in the yard and we watched Toy Story 4 when it came out.”
Exercise
“Necessity is the mother of invention. You find ways to do everything that you were doing previously, and now I find I don’t need these devices that I would at a gym. I’m more of an old-school, Rocky Balboa, ropes and chains kind of guy anyway when I’m working out.
“I’m one of those guys who thought it was coming for a long time, so I did a lot more preparation than most. I ran out and snagged a home fitness centre. I think they installed it the day before we locked down California. I already had a bench and free weights and [was] making new playlists to keep me focused.
“When we got here in Canada, we were in quarantine for two weeks. I’m talking to you from the house gym that they have. It’s got everything in it. So having this at my fingertips was nice. I was able to spend a good 12 days in a row here in this place. I don’t want to gain the quarantine 15 – I don’t want to do it.”
Nutrition
“I’m not a foodie, so that helps. I eat out of necessity, not out of desire. I bring my own food to work – have done for the last ten to 15 years. I live on the same thing every single day: nuts, coffee, Kind bars. I bring tuna to work every day for lunch with some wheat thins – American wheat thins. I’m going to hard-preface that: American wheat things, they’re far better than the Canadian wheat thins. One’s more salty sweet and one’s just really really salty and thinner, so it’s not as easy to make a sandwich out of.”
Guilty pleasures
“I’ve had the same indulgence since I was a kid. It didn’t change at all. I eat pretty clean the entire day. I’m very rule-based on these things and I’m really stubborn about it. I have no sugar the entire day, then right at bedtime I eat Airheads. If I don’t have them, I can’t sleep. I purchase cases online and they’re delivered right to the door.”
Sleep
“I’ve always been a pretty avid sleeper. I get eight to ten hours every night and then a nap during the day. I believe in sleep hygiene. I think it’s vital, otherwise I think you’ll run yourself down and you won’t function at your highest quality. In this industry you’re working 12-17-hour days and you have to be at a high level. You can’t just take a scene off, it doesn’t work like that. So we really strive to instil good sleep practices in the homestead.”
Mental health
“I think one of the things is just loving more. Trying more often to put yourself in other people’s shoes; a lot more prayer. I’ve been a prayer person for quite some time and now I just find it to be far more vital to the structure of our day.
“I’ve joined a Bible study on Tuesday nights. Just trying to keep ourselves spiritually whole, because there’s so much going on and there’s so much that’s really out of our control. A lot of it for me was shutting off social media, turning off the news.
“I remember about a month into the lockdown, I just felt so overwhelmed. I didn’t know what to believe any more. So I felt the best thing to do was to try to educate myself and focus on what I can control in this moment: what I’m eating, how I’m getting my sleep, taking care of myself, being with my family, trying to spread positive love and joy to the people around me with the people in my circle, sending phone calls out to people I hadn’t spoken to in years just to check on them.
“I hope into the future I’ll continue the simple things. Just checking in on someone sometimes can be so vital. That has kept my mental health and spiritual health combined together.”
Max Winslow And The House Of Secrets is out in cinemas on 23 October. Find your nearest screening here.
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