Authors — Peter Rinaldi
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“Seeing an Actor Experiencing the Limits of Transcendence is More Interesting than Pretending” Ryan Czerwonko, Back To One, Episode 288
As a working actor, Ryan Czerwonko’s credits include The Endgame, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Cherry, Paint, and Watchmen, to name a few. He’s also the artistic director of Adult Film, an exciting Brooklyn theater and film group where he acts, directs, and teaches. His latest project is a year-long exploration of Chekhov’s Sea Gull that will culminate in a limited engagement in Manhattan in May and a documentary on the whole process. On this episode, he explains why Chekhov is so important to him and what he set out to do with this ambitious endeavor. He gives us a deep […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Apr 23, 2024 -
“My Best Ability, In Terms of Acting, Is To Know Everything About My Character.” Dylan Baker, Back To One Episode, 287
Dylan Baker is the definition of a consummate actor. For over three decades he has delivered so many incredible performances in series like The Good Wife, Damages, Hunters, films like Happiness, Selma, Spider-Man 2, and his latest, LaRoy, Texas, where he plays a professional killer. He talks about his approach toward playing despicable people, some who other actor’s wouldn’t touch. He takes us back to his beginnings, and the acting instruction that changed his work and which he still uses today. He tells a story about how the legendary theater director Nikos Psacharopoulos had a big impact on his early […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Apr 16, 2024 -
“Every Character We Play, Every Story We’re a Part Of, There’s a Beautiful Thing to Take From It”: Brandon Scott, Back To One, Episode 286
His work in series like Grey’s Anatomy, 13 Reasons Why, and This Is Us, has established Brandon Scott as a captivatingly talented actor. His latest is the new MAX series The Girls on the Bus, where he plays the jilted ex-lover of Melissa Benoist’s journalist character who now needs his help because he’s the new press secretary to the leading Presidential candidate. He talks about the process of building connection between two people that are supposed to have a past, and how sometimes that can be done in simple ways. He describes the impact Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini had […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Apr 9, 2024 -
“We Accidentally Did Everything Wrong, But It’s Starting to Work”: Dad & Step-Dad Stars Colin Burgess and Anthony Oberbeck, Back To One, Episode 285
Colin Burgess and Anthony Oberbeck star in Dad & Step-Dad, an independent comedy film they co-wrote with director Tynan DeLong. It follows Jim and Dave, a dad and a step-dad, as they struggle with bonding during a weekend upstate with Branson, the 13-year-old son they share. It’s about family, communication, insecurity and the fragility of the male ego. On this episode, Burgess and Oberbeck describe the development of their comedy tastes and take us back to the improvised shorts that preceded the feature, where they were able to hone their characters and comedic sensibility before growing the project to feature-length. […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Apr 2, 2024 -
“All You Can Do is Give Your Offering” George MacKay, Back To One, Episode 284
You know the gifted actor George MacKay from films like 1917 or True History of The Kelly Gang. Now he has given us two absolutely incredible performances in Femme (in select theaters now) and The Beast (out on April 5th). On this episode, he takes us into his process of inhabiting these two extremely different characters. He explains why context is becoming more and more important to him in his preparation, talks about the actor as storyteller, the secret to appearing truly menacing, those sex scenes in Femme, a lesson about respect that he learned from Eddie Marsan, and much […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Mar 26, 2024 -
“There Is an Acceptance that Is Happening with Me Right Now Where I Just Only Care About Doing the Work”: Lukas Gage, Back To One, Episode 283
Lukas Gage is on a roll. In shows like The White Lotus, Euphoria, You, and the latest season of Fargo, films like How to Blow Up a Pipeline, Down Low (which he also co-wrote), and now the eagerly anticipated Road House reboot, he’s been able to display his immense talent and range. He’s even played himself in Gossip Girl and The Other Two. On this episode, he explains how sometimes doing the opposite of what’s described is beneficial in an audition, why over-directing doesn’t work for him, the importance of creativity for the actor, how he arrived at his current […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Mar 19, 2024 -
Back To One, Episode 282, Ben and Suzanne, A Reunion in 4 Parts star Anastasia Olowin On the 10-Year Journey to Bring the SXSW Hit to the Screen
The Brooklyn-based actor Anastasia Olowin stars in Shaun Seneviratne’s Ben and Suzanne, A Reunion in 4 Parts, which just had its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival. She has such a command of the screen and brings so much life to her character, it’s hard to believe this is her first feature film. On this episode, she takes us back to her training at NYU’s Experimental Theater Wing, her eight years producing and acting in new work for the stage, and the 10-year journey to bring Ben and Suzanne to the screen. She talks about the collaborative process at […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Mar 12, 2024 -
“Feeling Vulnerable is a Good Thing”: Hugo De Sousa, Back To One, Episode 281
As an actor, Hugo De Sousa had breakout leading roles in We Used to Know Each Other, Mister Limbo, and Everything in The End. I was introduced to his work as an actor/filmmaker, with the celebrated shorts he made in collaboration with Frank Mosley—The Event and Good Condition. On this episode he talks extensively about the making of those films, and his latest, which might be of particular, cathartic interest to listeners of this podcast, the absurdist short Je Ne Suis Pas Une Star De Cinéma. Plus he discusses the importance of feeling “out of balance in front of the […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Mar 5, 2024 -
“I Feel Like I’m Still Young Enough To Be a Fairly Humble, Malleable Student, and Old Enough To Be a Badass Teacher.” Mario Van Peebles, Back To One, Episode 280
Heartbreak Ridge put him on the map as an actor, New Jack City as a director, and with Posse, the 1993 hit Western he directed and stars in, Mario Van Peebles secured his place as a celebrated actor/director with countless credits, over the next 30 years, on the big and small screen. His latest is another star-filled, super fun western called Outlaw Posse. On this episode, he talks about the importance of discovering the tone of the project, how his love of learning leads to his desire to make “edutainment,” ways his acting experience informs his work as a director, […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Feb 27, 2024 -
“My Endless Struggle is for Utter Honesty on Film”: John Magaro, Back To One, Episode 279
John Magaro has been delivering consistently stellar performances in films like Not Fade Away, The Big Short, Carol, First Cow, and Showing Up, to name a few. This past year he played Arthur, husband of Greta Lee’s character Nora, in Past Lives. On this episode he talks, spoiler-free, about the last scene of that film and why it makes people emotional. He explains how receiving books, music, photos from directors helps in his preparation. He makes the case for experience over academia, takes us back to a big breakthrough that came to him from the legendary acting teacher Howard Guskin, […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Feb 20, 2024
