It’s difficult, right now, to find the words “Kayli Carter” without the word “breakthrough” nearby. The adjective refers to her brilliant performance in Tamara Jenkins’ Private Life, in which Carter unflappably shines next to her more seasoned co-stars Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti. She talks about the chemistry she had with those three, and about her formative experience with Mark Rylance in the play Nice Fish (including a 60-minute audition!), plus how she’s perfectly fine with passing on parts that do not depict young women as fully formed characters. Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, […]

Kathryn Hahn has joked about her plethora of “best friend or randy crazy lady” roles in comedies like How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days, Anchorman and Step Brothers. But recent projects by Jill Soloway (Afternoon Delight and I Love Dick) and Tamara Jenkins (the new Netflix film Private Life) have cast Hahn in the lead role, and suddenly we have an exciting leading lady who’s much more than a scene-stealer extraordinaire. She lets us in on a fascinating process she has for getting into the “I” of the character, talks about the road that lead to Private Life […]

When Nicolette Robinson made her Broadway debut in September, taking over the lead role of Jenna in Waitress, she was not just fond of Sara Bareilles’ hit musical, she had been listening to the cast album cathartically as she went through emotional ups and downs in her own life. This might be part of why I found her “Jenna” so connected to the material, so alive. We talk about what led up to that Broadway debut night, stepping through the complex engulfing that is Hamilton (her husband Leslie Odom Jr. won a Tony for the musical), and what her inner […]

The hilarious Taran Killam lets us peek under the hood of his comedic craft in this half hour. He stars in the new ABC series Single Parents (premiering September 26th) and the comedy Night School (opening September 28th) opposite Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish. He’s probably best known for his six years on Saturday Night Live. We talk about how that “bootcamp” prepared him for almost anything. But his talent goes beyond comedy. He writes, directs (check out his film Killing Gunther on demand), and sings (he was King George III in Hamilton). Plus he finally answers a question I […]

Linus Roache has played upstanding characters on Law and Order and Homeland but he had to plumb the depths and reach the epicenter of narcissism to play Jeremiah Sand in Mandy, and it’s a frightening joy to behold. He talks about the draining yet rewarding time bringing this character to life and the guidance and trust he had from director Panos Cosmatos. Plus he answers a listener question about the faith life of his character, King Ecbert, in the TV series Vikings. Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, including iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. And […]

Ashlie Atkinson is getting kudos for playing Connie Kendrickson, the motherly yet evil KKK wife, in Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. We talk about the unique prep work that went into inhabiting her and the tools she used to stay present inside such a sick character. We also chat about her approach to comedy, particularly in the Ingrid Jungermann web series F to 7th, and working with Craig Zobel in both Compliance (a favorite of mine, as may listeners know) and now the brand new CBS All Access show One Dollar. Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, […]

John Cho is perhaps best known for playing Sulu in the Star Trek reboots and Harold in the Harold and Kumar films. His new movie Searching takes place entirely on computer screens. Cho’s performance is one of the reasons why it is a successful piece of true cinema and not a novelty. We discuss the unique challenges of performing alone in some scenes and trusting director Aneesh Chaganty to navigate him through the space. We also talk about one of my favorite recent indie films, Columbus, and the connection he felt with co-star Haley Lu Richardson that truly powers the […]

His portrayal of “Richie” on the HBO series Looking brought Raúl Castillo some serious recognition and started moving him into bigger and better parts. One such role is “Pops” in the astonishing queer coming-of-age film We The Animals (in theaters now) directed by Jeremiah Zagar from the Justin Torres best-seller. Castillo talks in depth about his process of bringing this complex character to life, and the importance of owning your space as an actor. Plus we do a deep-dive into the straight man’s approach to same-sex on-camera kissing. Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, including […]

His performances in Spring Awakening and American Idiot are probably what John Gallagher Jr. is most known for at the moment (he won a Tony for the former), and are often what get him labeled a “musical theater guy,” but they were the only musicals he’s done in his 20-year career. I ask him about two recent play productions (Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Jerusalem) that I suspect were very formative for him, and his latest screen role in the important and moving indie The Miseducation of Cameron Post. And, of course, I couldn’t let him go without talking […]

Seven seasons on the sitcom That ’70s Show led Topher Grace to roles in Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, In Good Company, a not entirely successful turn as “Venom” in Spider Man 3, and lighter projects like Win A Date With Tad Hamilton and Valentine’s Day. He then decided to change the trajectory of his career. He told his agents he wanted to work exclusively with great film artists in environments that inspired him. Worthy projects like Interstellar, Truth and War Machine followed. And this year, Grace’s next chapter continues with David Robert Mitchell’s Under the Silver Lake and the challenging role […]