In this time of the year when traditions give us a sense of comfort and repetition that we need, especially in these volatile times, Back To One has a tradition of its own—the annual Kevin Corrigan episode! The patron saint of the indie film actor was the first guest on this podcast and he has returned every year since, telling hilarious stories from his adventures in the acting world, waxing about Brando, Walken, Scorsese, expounding on music, philosophizing about life in general—these episodes...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 319
As an actor, Peter Vack is known for his work in television series such as “I Just Want My Pants Back (series lead),” “Mozart In The Jungle,” and “Love Life,” and recent independent films like “PVT Chat,” Eugene Kotlyarenko’s “The Code” and his virtuoso turn as an evil version of “Peter Vack” in “Actors” (written, directed, and co-staring his sister Betsey Brown). As a filmmaker, he has gotten a reputation for demanding an “all in” approach from his performers. His first feature, “Assholes” (cal...
Nov 19, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 318
Jack Dunphy is a writer, filmmaker, animator, actor and podcaster. His shorts have played in festivals around the world and his latest, “Bob’s Funeral,” won Best Nonfiction Short Film at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. As an actor, he starred in Peter Vack’s “Assholes” and Caveh Zahedi’s legendary, unfinished, 24-hour retelling of Joyce’s “Ulysses.” He can soon be seen in “Paradise and Lunch,” the new film from Jordan Tetwesky and Joshua Pikovsky, and "Anything That Moves” from Alex Phillips. H...
Nov 12, 2024•47 min•Ep. 317
Jaclyn Bethany is an Emmy award winning filmmaker, writer and actor based in New Orleans, Louisiana. She has been committed to creating art and telling stories exploring complex women, the intimacy of female friendship, sisterhood and queerness from the female perspective. Some upcoming film projects include "Delusion “- a short film in collaboration with Adult Film NYC, “In Transit,” written by Alex Sarrigeorgiou and featuring Jennifer Ehle and Francois Arnaud, and “All Five Eyes,” which she co...
Nov 05, 2024•29 min•Ep. 316
Daisy Ridley shot to global fame for her portrayal of Rey in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy. Since then, she has been choosing diverse roles that showcase her talents in films with wide ranging budgets that prove her north star is the quality of the work and nothing else. She has three films that have come out in this year alone—“Sometimes I think About Dying,” “Young Woman and The Sea”, and her latest, “Magpie.” On this episode, she explains how coming up with the idea for “Magpie” and building...
Oct 29, 2024•37 min•Ep. 315
Actor, director, coach, teacher, Maria Dizzia is a perpetual student of the craft of acting, which makes her celebrated and in-demand for all those jobs. The movie “My Old Ass” and the play “Pre-Existing Condition” are a couple of her most recent projects. On this incredibly dense and gold-filled episode, she generously gives us a peek into the aspects of the work that she deems important to focus on, worth struggling with, or where she simply finds the most fruit. She talks about the huge impor...
Oct 22, 2024•51 min•Ep. 314
“There are practical paths and intuitive paths with each character,” says Cory Michael Smith at the start of this episode, and it’s a recurring theme throughout. The talented actor was Riddler on the series “Gotham,” a standout in three Todd Haynes films, and now plays Chevy Chase in "Saturday Night.” On this episode he details the careful process of studying Chevy clips for months before diving into the script. He talks about the importance of “ridding myself of any hint of fraudulence,” why it...
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 313
Michael Urie is one of those mega-talented actors who seems to jump effortlessly from theater (like "Torch Song," "Spamalot," and, currently, the revival of "Once Upon A Mattress") to television (like "Ugly Betty," "Younger," and, currently, "Shrinking"), with a genuine love for both. On this episode, he talks in-depth about his acting process with a humility and a humor that is infectious. He explains why he decided to always be off-book on day one, how he came to believe in himself as an actor...
Oct 08, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 312
Straddling the line between outsider artist and full fledged Hollywood sellout, Will Janowitz has always found solace working both sides of the industry. With work ranging from Troma films to Ang Lee's “Taking Woodstock” to “The Sopranos,” he’s made a career of always doing the unpredictable. This year two films he produced, and one he wrote, will make their festival run; “Bang Bang” starring Tim Blake Nelson and the later, “Train Dreams,” starring Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones directed by Cl...
Oct 01, 2024•58 min•Ep. 311
His breakout role in Netflix’s “Outer Banks” catapulted Chase Stokes to fame. In the series, he portrays the charismatic and determined John B, the leader of a group of young outcasts on a treasure hunt in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The show’s blend of adventure, mystery, and coming-of-age drama quickly gained a massive fanbase, establishing Stokes as a rising star. Since then he’s been in “Tell Me Your Secrets,” this year’s “The Uglies,” opposite Joey King, and next year’s “Valiant One,...
Sep 24, 2024•51 min•Ep. 310
The mega-talented Canadian multi-hyphenate Grace Glowicki gives an incredible performance in Mary Dauterman’s debut feature “Booger.” On this episode, she reveals why she was interested in the project before even opening the script, and how she could just tell Dauterman was going to be the kind of director that would give her the support she needs. She talks about her current focus on examining issues dealing with authority, her love of bodily fluids in film, her struggle with emotional scenes, ...
Sep 17, 2024•35 min•Ep. 309
Odessa Young is only 26, but she already has a truly impressive body of work behind her. “Assassination Nation,” “A Million Little Pieces,” “Shirley,” “Mothering Sunday,” “The Stand,” “The Staircase,” “Manodrome,” in each of these projects, she seems to have an effortless command over her character, each unique, never forced, always true. Now she stars as Vita, the lead character based on Zia Anger in “My First Film.” On this episode, she talks about the need to “cultivate an obsession” as chara...
Sep 11, 2024•50 min•Ep. 308
To be a standout on a show featuring Jason Segel and Harrison Ford is quite a feat, but that’s exactly what Luke Tennie did in his breakthrough role as Sean in the hit Apple TV+ series “Shrinking.” On this episode, the seemingly effortlessly-talented young actor takes us back to his early days and details how football played a pivotal part in helping him with the disciplines required for acting. He explains his belief that there can be no real “play” without massive preparation; talks about comi...
Sep 04, 2024•56 min•Ep. 307
He was in “The OA,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and played Roy Cohn in “Fellow Travelers,” but the stage is where Will Brill has found the most satisfaction and success recently, in “A Case For The Existence of God,” “Uncle Vanya,” and, just this year, as Reg in “Stereophonic” on Broadway, for which he received a Tony Award. On this episode he talks about building Reg by starting with his voice, why following playwright David Adjmi to a bar was a pivotal move, the importance of directorial affi...
Aug 27, 2024•48 min•Ep. 306
He was a model and MTV VJ, and then Simon Rex transitioned to acting, becoming widely recognized for his comedic roles in the "Scary Movie" franchise, where his sharp timing and parody skills made him a fan favorite. But more substantial parts were on the horizon. On this episode, he talks about the job that changed everything, Sean Baker’s *Red Rocket,” which won him wide acclaim, an Independent Spirt Award, and a fresh chapter in his career. He talks about the interesting new place he finds hi...
Aug 20, 2024•47 min•Ep. 305
Marianne Rendón’s performance in “Summer Solstice,” Noah Schamus’ “modern twist on the buddy comedy from a queer and trans perspective,” is special in such a rare way that makes shinning a light on it actually detrimental to its effect on the new viewer. Its revelations are small and imbedded in the nuances of the character. It’s how they seem rooted and not created, “lived” and not “played,” that make them extraordinary. On this episode, Rendón takes us back to her training, and how being fed g...
Aug 13, 2024•45 min•Ep. 304
Still in his early career, Dylan Arnold has already built a diverse catalog of roles, including a breakout one in season three of Netflix’s “You,” reprising a fan-favorite for the “Halloween” franchise in “Halloween Kills,” a nd last year, of course, playing Frank Oppenheimer, holding much more than his own, opposite Oscar winner Cillian Murphy. Now he goes a good bit darker in Alma Har’el’s Apple TV+ series “The Lady In The Lake.” On this episode, he talks about the differences between these tw...
Aug 06, 2024•33 min•Ep. 303
David Garelik was in Trey Edward Shults’ “Waves,” Peter Berg’s “Mile 22,” and recently finished a run of an Off-Broadway 2-hander at the WP Theater, co-produced with Colt Coeur. Now you can see him as the bad guy/enucleator, opposite Liana Liberato, on this season of “Criminal Minds: Evolution” on Paramount+. On this epic episode, he recounts his journey from moving to New York with zero acting experience and “being a bad auditioner”, to making naivety work for him and “changing the game” by ref...
Jul 30, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 302
Jimmy Tatro is an actor, director, writer, and comedian best known for the popular YouTube channel he created over a decade ago, "LifeAccordingToJimmy." His career expanded into the mainstream with roles in movies like "22 Jump Street" and the Netflix series "American Vandal,” all while he continued to expand the content on his channel. His latest project is "The Real Bros of Simi Valley: The Movie," a continuation of his popular mock-reality show web series. The film delves deeper into the absu...
Jul 23, 2024•55 min•Ep. 301
Y’lan Noel played Daniel in the HBO series “Insecure" and starred in “The First Purge,” now he plays Officer Platt in “Lady in The Lake,” Alma Har’el’s eagerly anticipated new series for Apple TV+ that drops on July 19th. On this episode, he discusses his unique approach to the work, which starts with, and centers on, daydreaming and the avoidance of aiming to do “the right thing.” He talks about allowing for “an energy that’s not me to make certain decisions;” the importance of solitude, space,...
Jul 16, 2024•38 min•Ep. 300
After early success opposite Kirsten Dunst in Lifetime’s “Fifteen and Pregnant,” and as Jasper on the CW’s reboot of “90210,” Zachary Ray Sherman has gone on to build an impressive acting resume balancing television work (Hulu’s “Under the Banner of Heaven”) with edgy, transformative roles in independent films (“Cuck”; “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine,” opposite Lindsay Burdge; and “A Desert,” which just premiered at the Tribeca Festival, to name a few). On this episode, he talks about why it all st...
Jul 09, 2024•53 min•Ep. 299
In the midst of a successful modeling career a decade ago, Abbey Lee’s chance to break into acting came with “Mad Max Fury Road.” That challenging shoot was the first of many she faced with relish. A scene-stealing role in “The Neon Demon” followed, then M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old,” “Lovecraft County,” and “Florida Man,” to name a few, and now she stars opposite Kevin Costner in his 2-part western epic “Horizon: An American Saga” (in theaters now). On this episode, she talks about letting the cha...
Jul 02, 2024•51 min•Ep. 298
There are few actors more well respected than the preternaturally gifted Julianne Nicholson. Recent notable credits include “August: Osage County,” “Dream Scenario,” “Mare of Easttown” (which won her an Emmy award), and her latest, playwright Annie Baker’s first film, “Janet Planet.” In this episode, she talks in-depth about playing Janet in that remarkable film, her elusive preparation process, getting the environment to settle into her body, actually learning how to do acupuncture, why she let...
Jun 25, 2024•41 min•Ep. 297
John Early is an actor, comedian, writer, and wearer of many hats. His latest as a comedian and writer is the HBO special “Now More Than Ever.” His latest as an actor is the independent film “Stress Positions.” On this episode he talks about how these two projects came about, the differences between the John Early character and himself, the pleasure of working on the series "Search Party," why he relishes straight-up acting, the comedy breakthrough he made in his new special, and much more. Back...
Jun 18, 2024•38 min•Ep. 296
When you look at the illustrious career of Clive Owen, you see choices made based on the depth of the roles (“Closer,” “Children of Men,” “Hemingway and Gellhorn,” “The Knick”), not on trajectory or star power. His two latest projects, “Monsieur Spade” and “A Murder At The End of The World,” are quality television series where he’s able to settle in and deliver the grounded, nuanced work we’ve come to expect from him. On this episode, he explains why he needs time to prepare a role, and the “mar...
Jun 11, 2024•33 min•Ep. 295
Betsy Aidem has been in over 80 plays, off Broadway, on Broadway, and around the world. Recent titles of note: “All The Way,” where she played Lady Bird Johnson, “Mama’s Boy,” where she played Lee Harvey Oswald’s mother, Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt,” and “Prayer For The French Republic,” for which she is nominated for her first Tony Award. On this gold-filled episode, she talks about her love of extensive research, why she doesn’t think the people she plays are just one person, the “golden mome...
Jun 04, 2024•57 min•Ep. 294
Molly Gordon makes everything better. She was a stand-out among stand-outs in films like “Good Boys,” “Booksmart,” and “Shiva Baby.” Then she showed her talents on the other side of the camera, co-writing/directing the hilarious indie hit “Theater Camp.” Now she plays Claire on the beloved series “The Bear,” which is about to drop its third season. On this episode she talks about why she loves improv, how her parents unintentionally formed her comedy sensibilities, getting “buzzed” from in-perso...
May 28, 2024•36 min•Ep. 293
She was on “Game of Thrones” when she was a child, but Nell Tiger Free hit her stride in the M. Night Shyamalan series “Servant,” and now her absolutely incredible performance in the hit horror film “The First Omen” has solidified her as one of the great young actors working today. On this episode, she discusses her ‘total non-process’ process, which means every aspect of her work takes place between “action” and “cut” and literally nowhere else. She talks about why she only reads the script onc...
May 23, 2024•50 min•Ep. 292
Since he was last on the podcast ( Ep. 112 ), Tom Pelphrey has been nominated for an Emmy for his work on “Ozark,” he’s had juicy roles on "Outer Range” and David E. Kelly’s “Love and Death,” and now Kelly has given Pelphrey perhaps his most exciting role to date in the character of Raymond Peepgrass in Netflix’s “A Man In Full.” On this episode, Pelphrey takes us deep into his work on that limited series. He talks about why a good costumer designer is an actor’s best friend, what made him feel ...
May 15, 2024•31 min•Ep. 291
Over the past year and a half, no actor in any medium has given me more inspiration through their work than Mia Vallet. As a company member and frequent performer at the exciting NYC “loft theaters” Adult Film and The Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research , she continues to show the thrilling possibilities for this craft of acting, culminating in her performance as Nina in “Sea Gull,” Adult Film’s new version of Chekov’s masterpiece, opening on Friday May 10th in Manhattan. On this episode, she t...
May 07, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 290
