You may know Grace Van Patten from “Nine Perfect Strangers,” “Under The Silver Lake,” or “Tramps.” I first took note of her in "The Meyerowitz Stories,” where her youth belied a seemingly effortless command of her character among the likes of Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, and Dustin Hoffman. In her latest, the hit Hulu series “Tell Me Lies,” she stars as Lucy Albright, and now she commands the screen with the same effortlessness, mixed with a complexity and nuance that is compelling viewers who are...
Nov 15, 2022•37 min•Ep. 229
Paul Walter Hauser is that rare character actor who has made a name for himself as a stellar talent in both comedy and drama equally. He established himself in films like “Blackkklansman” and “I, Tanya,” but playing Richard Jewell in Clint Eastwood’s film put him on the map. Now he’s wowing audiences and critics alike with his incredible performance as serial killer Larry Hall in the Apple+ limited series “Black Bird.” On this episode, he lifts the hood and lets us peek in on his acting process....
Nov 08, 2022•38 min•Ep. 228
Renowned as “a one-woman global village,” Sarah Jones is a Tony Award-winning solo performer, writer, comedian and activist. Her directorial debut, “Sell/Buy/Date,” is a hybrid documentary/meta film which features Jones and four of her characters (all played by her) on a journey across the country to listen to real people telling personal stories about their experiences that land them on both sides of various aspects of the complex topic of sex work in America. On this episode, she talks about o...
Nov 01, 2022•35 min•Ep. 227
On a special episode of Back To One, I’m sharing a segment from a recent episode of the popular screenwriting podcast Scriptnotes called “ Writing As Acting .” In it, screenwriters John August and Craig Mazin “analyze what lessons writers can learn from acting techniques (such as staying present) and working with actors (like staying open).” When I first heard this segment, I desperately wanted to share it with Back To One listeners because I thought it was very enlightening, and maybe even heal...
Oct 25, 2022•27 min•Ep. 226
Britt Rentschler is the star of “Pretty Problems,” a smart and hilarious new indie adult comedy which she also produced and helped write with screenwriter and co-star Michael Tennant. In this episode, she talks about their lengthy commitment to making the story work, building their characters with depth, and the risky but triumphant decision to cast their talented friends in supporting roles rather than famous actors who might have secured more money. She describes how her apprehension toward pl...
Oct 18, 2022•42 min•Ep. 125
Dolly de Leon is a Filipina veteran actor of film and TV who is now, due to her outstanding performance in “Triangle of Sadness,” being spoken about with words like “newcomer” and “breakthrough.” That might have something to do with the “I’m the captain now” nature of the role she plays in the Palme d’Or winning film. It’s like the character and the actor are both saying “I have arrived.” In this episode, she describes the dark place she was in right before auditioning for the part, how director...
Oct 11, 2022•37 min•Ep. 224
If Isabelle Huppert is not your favorite actor, she’s the favorite actor of someone you know. Guaranteed. There’s something about her that is unlike any other actor that has ever been on film. But it’s really hard to talk about what that “something” is. In each performance, in every film she’s made, she has such a command of the character, the text, the frame, that we place her in equal authorship with the directors she’s worked with, who happen to be some of most interesting and important in th...
Oct 04, 2022•21 min•Ep. 123
Xolo Maridueña has been playing Miguel Diaz on the hit series “Cobra Kai” for five seasons, starting when he was 16 years old. On this episode, he talks about how preparing for his dream role as “Blue Beetle” (the D.C. superhero movie coming out next year) sent him down a road that expanded his acting capabilities in new and exciting ways. Plus he talks about William Zabka’s positive influence on him, and the ways that played into how he took on his leadership duties when he got to be number one...
Sep 27, 2022•41 min•Ep. 222
Last year, Lashana Lynch made history as 007 in “No Time To Die,” this year she uses history to energize her powerful performance in “The Woman King.” In this episode, she talks about how filming that movie “barefoot, on that soil,” surrounded by a truly supportive sisterhood, was so significant to her performance. She explains why she doesn’t have (or even want) a go-to preparation process, what choosing the hard road of avoiding typecasting has done for her career, why she cherishes outstandin...
Sep 20, 2022•48 min
Australian actor Essie Davis is best known for “The Babadook,” “Game of Thrones,” and “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.” This year, she stunned me with two incredible performances in two powerful films. In “Nitram,” directed by her husband Justin Kurzel, she plays the important and heartbreaking supporting role of Helen, opposite Caleb Landry Jones. In “The Justice of Bunny King” she broke my heart again, this time playing the house-less titular character who is desperately trying to get her kids...
Sep 13, 2022•34 min•Ep. 220
Esteemed veteran actor John Christopher Jones returns to the podcast (his first time was episode 13 ) to talk about conquering the “real fear” he had of going back to work, in a guest starring role on the television series “New Amsterdam,” while dealing with the unpredictable and often debilitating effects of worsening Parkinson’s. Then he takes us on a brief tour of the various directors that worked well for him over the years, and others that, sometimes hilariously, fell a little short, like J...
Sep 06, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 219
Austin Pendleton might be best known for “My Cousin Vinny,” or “What’s Up Doc?” but the 82 year old actor, director, playwright, and teacher is a one-man theater institution. It almost seems like there isn’t a great play that he hasn’t performed or directed, somewhere, in his 60+ years in the business, and he’s not slowing down in the slightest. In this epic, 90 minute episode, what Meryl Streep said of Pendleton will ring true—“there’s no line between the man and his work.” He talks about his l...
Aug 30, 2022•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 218
Adrian Pasdar has experienced a lot in his nearly 40 years as a working actor and in this episode he generously shares the wisdom he’s gleaned. Some of the highlights in his credits include “Top Gun,” Near Dark,” “Carlito’s Way,” “Heroes,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,” and perhaps the most talked about single-season series of the 90s—“Profit.” Not to mention he’s the voice of Iron Man. He talks about how listening became his prime directive as an actor, his search for truth in performance (and the se...
Aug 23, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 217
Dutch actor Katja Herbers plays forensic psychologist Kristen Bouchard on the hit series “Evil,” which just finished its third season at Paramount+. On this episode, she talks about how saying no to the audition actually secured her the role, and hitting it off with “the Kings” (show runners Robert and Michelle King) helped her feel ownership of it. We get into the beautiful weeds about the pitfalls of over-directing and how she often simply ignores direction or translates it into something she ...
Aug 16, 2022•35 min•Ep. 216
Zoey Deutch returns to the podcast ( Ep. 11 , Ep. 97 ) to talk about her latest role in Quinn Shephard’s dark social satire “Not Okay.” She plays Danni Sanders, a lonely, semi-clueless photo editor who suddenly gets the attention she craves after lying about almost dying in a terrorist attack. Deutch talks about how she approached the challenge of making Danni relatable, the frustrations of shooting in New York City, why she didn’t play it as a comedy, spirit animals, “using” the paparazzi, the ...
Aug 09, 2022•31 min•Ep. 215
Himesh Patel is nominated for an Emmy this year for his incredible performance as Jeevan in Patrick Somerville’s HBO Max mini-series “Station Eleven.” In this episode, he talks about how that role made him a better actor, which is saying a lot because he had already given us some phenomenal work in films like “Tenet,” “Don’t Look Up,” and his first feature film “Yesterday.” He talks about the attention and care given to him by the big-name directors of those films, and how that helped his work. ...
Aug 02, 2022•32 min•Ep. 214
She’s only 21, but Australian actor Angourie Rice has earned respect in Hollywood for stacking up diverse roles in “The Nice Guys,” “The Beguiled,” “Jasper Jones,” “Mare of Easttown,” not to mention a few Spider-Man movies. Now she has her first starring role in “Honor Society” for Paramount+. She talks about how it helped her to be able to relate so much to her character in that film, and why talking directly to the camera was oddly easy. We chat about her podcast, The Community Library , which...
Jul 26, 2022•31 min•Ep. 213
Ethan Hawke returns to the podcast (first time was episode 41 ) to talk about “The Last Movie Stars,” his epic 6-part documentary that chronicles Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s iconic careers and decades-long partnership. Years ago, a friend of the couple interviewed Paul, Joanne, and many people close to them for a potential memoir, but Newman burned the tapes. Miraculously, the transcripts survive, so Hawke called on his acting friends to bring them to life. The result is both an intimate p...
Jul 19, 2022•53 min•Ep. 212
Fresh out of Juilliard, Jeanne Tripplehorn’s first screen role was “Basic Instinct.” That started a 30+ year run of films like “The Firm,” “Waterworld,” “Sliding Doors,” and series such as “Criminal Minds,” “Big Love,” and her latest, “The Terminal List” for Amazon. In this episode, she talks about her love for extensive research, the most important tools for an actor—confidence, relaxation, and focus; how the happenings off-screen affect what’s on the screen; and why, at this point in her caree...
Jul 12, 2022•40 min•Ep. 211
Read just a sample of Juliette Binoche's credits—“Mauvais Sang,” “Three Colors: Blue,” “Damage,” “The English Patient,” “Chocolat,” “Certified Copy,” “Clouds of Sils Maria,” “Let The Sunshine In”—and one thing becomes clear: few actors have been as internationally respected for such a sustained period of time. In this episode, she speaks about the importance of acting from the body, and learning to use “sensation” as a starting point. She tells a story about feeling lost on the set of John Boorm...
Jul 05, 2022•36 min•Ep. 210
I watched the movie “Cordelia” not knowing anything at all about it, and never having seen Irish actor Antonia Campbell-Hughes in anything before. The psychological thriller greatly impressed me in no small part due to the captivating performance of Campbell-Hughes, particularly the emotional depth that she invites the viewer to examine without words. In this episode, she talks about the layering work she did to build that character, the unorthodox way her process (or conscious lack of process) ...
Jun 28, 2022•30 min•Ep. 209
Luke Bracey didn’t dream about being an actor when he was a kid, he didn’t study the craft, and on his first job, which came from his very first audition, he didn’t even really know when he should start saying the lines. But with roles in films like “Point Break,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Holidate” and the soon-to-be-released “One True Loves,” he has built a career with his instinct, experience, and innate talent. Now he plays Jerry Shilling in the Baz Luhrmann blockbuster “Elvis.” He talks about what ...
Jun 21, 2022•47 min•Ep. 208
James Scully plays Charlie, love interest to Bowen Yang’s Howie, in the new film “Fire Island,” a touching, hilarious, and entirely Queer take on “Pride and Prejudice,” written by and co-starring Joel Kim Booster, and directed by Andrew Ahn. Scully talks about the imposter syndrome that infected the cast, how sometimes when material is so relatable it’s actually hard to gauge if you’re hitting it right, why having a Queer director actually improves the work, and how Ahn specifically led the way ...
Jun 14, 2022•44 min•Ep. 207
Among many appealing qualities as an actor, Rupert Friend certainly has “range.” His two most recent roles are James Whitehouse—elitist, upper-class British politician in David E. Kelley’s Netflix limited series “Anatomy Of A Scandal”; and The Grand Inquisitor—blowhard Star Wars bad guy in “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” He’s probably best known for playing Peter Quinn on a few seasons of “Homeland,” which got him an Emmy Nomination. On this episode, he talks about why his preparation process is more “uncover...
Jun 07, 2022•33 min•Ep. 206
David Morse is one of the most respected veteran actors working in the business. “St. Elsewhere,” “The Indian Runner,” “The Crossing Guard,” “Dancer In The Dark,” “House,” “Hack,” “The Green Mile,” to name just a few of his past credits, and now a Tony nomination for his incredibly powerful performance in “How I Learned To Drive,” which he has reprised with Mary-Louise Parker, 25 years after they first did it off-broadway. I talk to him about the differences in these two incarnations, particular...
May 31, 2022•34 min•Ep. 205
Mike Leigh is back in New York City for Film At Lincoln Center’s retrospective of his films, which starts Friday May 27th. He’s doing Q&A’s after three of his best—“Naked,” “Secrets and Lies,” and “Topsy-Turvy.” Since he was last on the show ( Episode 54 ), a few of his most treasured actors have been on and discussed the joy of working with the legendary director. There have even been some guests who have talked about the pleasure of working with him just in an audition, even though they we...
May 27, 2022•39 min•Ep. 204
Few characters born in this current ‘Golden Age of Television’ rise to the legendary status of Gustavo Fring. Giancarlo Esposito brought the drug kingpin to life on “Breaking Bad” and now he’s finishing out (or filling in) his arc on the prequel “Better Call Saul.” On this episode, Esposito talks about the careful way he “whispers” a new character into existence, and why the identification and breaking down of his own resistances is so important. He tells the story of the eureka moment he had re...
May 24, 2022•38 min•Ep. 203
I was lucky to catch Alison Pill on Broadway, 16 years ago, in “The Lieutenant of Inishmore,” and then became enamored with her work in shows like “In Treatment,” “The Newsroom," “Devs,” and movies like “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” and “Milk,” to name just a few. Nowadays she plays Dr. Agnes Jurati on the series “Picard,” and stars with Sarah Gadon in Michael McGowan’s new film “All My Puny Sorrows.” She shares what she believes to be the secret ingredient that made that film work, and talks ab...
May 17, 2022•39 min•Ep. 202
Anamaria Vartolomei is the French-Romanian star of Audrey Diwan’s film “Happening,” about a young college student in desperate need of an illegal abortion in 1960s France. The camera follows Vartolomei’s character so closely, both literally and figuratively, that you begin to feel like you are experiencing the movie from inside her. On this episode, Vartolomei talks about why the closeness of the camera actually made her feel protected; how curiosity rather than competition helped her in the aud...
May 10, 2022•34 min•Ep. 201
The legendary theater director, actor, shaman André Gregory has been producing ground-breaking work for over half a century. He’s perhaps best known for the projects he did with Wallace Shawn—“My Dinner With André” (which is celebrating its 40th anniversary), “Vanya on 42nd Street” and “A Master Builder.” His recent book “This Is Not My Memoir" details, with refreshing honesty, his extraordinary life through incredible stories about, for instance, learning from the great Jerzy Grotowski, getting...
May 03, 2022•38 min•Ep. 200
