Actor & Comedian Tone Bell is the new favorite TV Host we didn’t know we needed: Talks Drink Masters on Netflix & journey in Hollywood!

Tone Bell is an actor, comedian, and host doing it all. One of the hardest-working men in Hollywood who isn’t stopping anytime soon. Fans fell in love with him even more, this year as he hosted Netflix’s newest reality show Drink Masters. I had the opportunity to speak with him about this recent project and his overall career in entertainment.  

In Drink Masters, Tone Bell captivated audiences with his genuine and relatable approach to the contestants. “People don’t see me crying after elimination,” said Bell. Instead, during the six and a half weeks it took to film the series, Tone became interested and learned something personal about all twelve mixologists. He said even his assistant would call him after particular eliminations. I see you got emotions with that one.    

Tone said, “I treated this role differently than most hosts on reality shows because I didn’t just stick to creating bonds with the judges. I wanted to do something different and bond with the mixologist too. This is these people’s livelihood.”  

Viewers couldn’t get enough of Tone as a host. It had them and him going back home mixing drinks as if they were mixologists. “Let me fat wash these lemon pepper wings and see what I can come up with,” said Bell jokingly as we talked about how people became inspired after binge-watching the show. But, of course, none of us knew what fat washing meant before the show.   

“I’m not as dumb as I look on the show sometimes,” said Bell. Many need to learn that he comes from a 7-year corporate background working for Anheuser Busch, which he was able to bring to the show. But to make it more exciting and relatable for the audience, he would   

ask fundamental questions that may seem so simple and silly to some. But he did this because he knew this would be the first experience for many viewers in the science and terminology behind mixology. So, Tone said, “how do I make someone at home not feel dumb for not knowing.”  

I GOTTA EAT FIRST  

There was always this entertainment bug in him since the early age of 12 years. It wasn’t until a recent conversation with friends that he remembered he was on a public access kids’ television show in Decatur, Georgia. “It was at 28 that I had to roll the dice and move to Los Angeles,” said Bell. He had this routine to feed his entertainment needs by making stand-up after his 9 to 5. When he had his epiphany at 28, it was now or never for him to pursue entertainment full-time. He laughed jokingly when he said it would be either at 28 or never because he wasn’t going to do it at 40.   

“Bruh, I moved to LA, and within 10 months, I’m a regular on a show, which is unheard of,” said Bell when he spoke about his first year in the city of dreams. Though he was quickly achieving success at a rate, others can only fathom he still wasn’t convinced. Within three weeks of his move, he had already booked a national commercial.  

Tone kept asking himself if this early success was just a fluke for him. “I kept treading lightly,” said Bell, since he had only started acting compared to the 6 years of stand-up he had done at that point in his life. He didn’t want others to believe he didn’t know what he was doing, but he wasn’t going to give up or pass on an opportunity.    

“I had to grow up quickly,” said Bell when he thought back to when he was first asked to stand up on the road while acting. This was a pressure cooker moment for him because he was now doing something full time was new to him (working) and presented with the opportunity to do something he has done for years (stand up) with some of the people he looked up to in the industry. And in his usual fashion, he took with confidence and determination to only succeed. Tone laughed when he told them that he only had thirty minutes of material which they told him to figure out.   

Tone Bell’s journey demonstrates the power of it’s always possible to start over. He shows us that you can literally manifest the destiny you want by having faith and continue working towards your goals. There are no such things as excuses for him! When working full-time, he made time to perform his craft. When he was new to a city and industry, he dived into it head first. My takeaway from him is that if I want something, I better go for it with everything I have and leave nothing to chance.