André Royo — known to millions as Bubbles from The Wire and Thirsty Rawlings on Empire — sits down on the couch at Joplin's for a conversation that goes everywhere. Growing up in the Bronx, getting into acting by accident, running a restaurant in LA for a decade, getting sober, and landing a role in James Gunn's new Superman. André is one of those people who makes every room better, and this one was no different.

We talk about the moment he quit construction and never looked back. What it's like to be an over-supportive parent. Why he's treating sobriety like a scientific experiment. The Chris Stapleton music video that pulled him out of a dark stretch. And why, no matter what — on a couch in Ojai or on a big budget set — it's always been about having fun.

Topics covered:

• Kiss, Beth, and h ...