Back to One
A podcast about acting -- just the work. by Peter Rinaldi
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“I’m Really Good at Getting a Laugh Out of Terrible Circumstances”: Griffin Dunne, Back To One, Episode 329
Griffin Dunne has balanced acting, directing, and producing for over 40 years in this business. Chilly Scenes of Winter, An American Werewolf in London, After Hours, Practical Magic, This is Us, to name just a small handful of his credits. For his latest, Ex-Husbands, he delivers a performance revelatory in its ease, miraculously blending lightness and dread. It’s so much fun, and even inspirational, to simply watch him walk around as this character, carrying this load. Hopefully, this is the start of a new chapter: Dunne as the contemplative man of a certain age who has seen it all. On… Read more
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“Being Clean with the Words Gave Me More Freedom than Anything”: Margo Martindale, Back To One, Episode 328
In movies like Million Dollar Baby, August: Osage County, Blow The Man Down, and series like The Americans, Justified, and Sneaky Pete, “esteemed character actress Margo Martindale” loves to play people much different from herself. And she’s been so good at it for so long that she only started to get truly recognized for her work in her 60s. Three Emmys later, she’s able to pick and choose what she wants to do. Her latest, the Amazon series The Sticky, finds her number one on the call sheet and having a blast playing the bombastic maple syrup farmer Ruth Landry.… Read more
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Actor and Teacher Brad Fleischer on the Importance of the Visceral Over the Intellectual in the Work of the Actor: Back To One, Episode 327
Brad Fleischer is an actor, teacher, coach, filmmaker, producer, and founding partner of GhostLight Media. He originated the role of Doug in Gruesome Playground Injuries alongside Selma Blair. On Broadway, he starred opposite Robin Williams in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, opposite Tony Schaloub in Golden Boy, and played the title character in the Olivier award winning Coram Boy. On the screen, Brad has worked with Robert De Niro in The Good Shepherd, Scott Frank and Liam Neeson in Walk Among the Tombstones, Greg Nicotero on The Walking Dead, among many others. For 17 years and counting, he continues… Read more
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“If You Remember That You Are a Creative Artist While You’re Being an Interpreter, You’re Gonna Be All Right”: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Back To One, Episode 326
Marianne Jean-Baptiste is getting accolades and awards for her incredible performance in Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths. The two last worked together nearly 30 years ago, on Leigh’s Secrets and Lies, for which Jean-Baptiste was nominated for an Oscar. On this episode, she takes us all the way back to her first time working with Mike Leigh, on the play It’s A Great Big Shame, and details for us the ins and outs of working with him on these three projects. She talks about her love of process, how this intense character work fuels her on less actor-centric jobs, why she’s still mad at Leigh… Read more
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Mike Leigh Dishes Hard Truths: A Special Episode
The U.S. premiere of Hard Truths at the New York Film Festival in October brings director Mike Leigh back to the podcast for the third time (Ep. 54 and Ep. 204). He talks about working again with Marianne Jean-Baptiste after nearly 30 years, how a lower budget didn’t change his process but made him “dig vertically,” why American actors are unofficially not allowed in his films. Plus he shares his hope for cinema after he’s gone, but explains why he refuses to officially pass down his process. And much more! Hard Truths opens in select U.S. theaters on Friday January… Read more
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“Letting Go of Judgement of Myself and Just Having My Imagination Be So Big”: Tiffany Boone, Back To One, Episode 324
Tiffany Boone’s breakout role was Jerrika Little on the series The Chi. Little Fires Everywhere, The Midnight Sky, Nine Perfect Strangers, and Hunters followed. Now she voices Sarabi in Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King. She explains how getting back to her childlike imagination was a must for that role. She tells the story of trying to break up with acting but acting wouldn’t break up with her. She talks about the importance of knowing the character better than anyone else, how focusing on connecting with people through her art allowed her to “let go of the desperation,” and much more.… Read more
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“There Was an Opportunity to Make the Movie More Romantic and Luckily We Took It”: Your Monster Star Tommy Dewey, Back To One, Episode 323
Tommy Dewey is best known for playing Alex Cole on the Hulu series Casual for five seasons. This year, two movies benefit from his talents—the Jason Reitman ensemble comedy Saturday Night, and Caroline Lindy’s romantic/horror/comedy Your Monster, where he brilliantly plays the titular character. On this episode, he talks about what went into deciding on the proper mixture of absurdity and tenderness for that special role. He explains why, if a comedy script connects with him, he “maybe reads it once and stay the hell away from it.” Plus how writing can help you as an actor, the increased pressure… Read more
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“Another Guy, Another Wig,” Alessandro Nivola Returns to Talk about Almodóvar, The Brutalist, and The Rhino: Back To One, Episode 322
Alessandro Nivola returns to the podcast (Ep. 37 and Ep.170) to discuss three performances he gives in three different films out at the same time this week—Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door, The Brutalist, and Kraven The Hunter. He gifts us with a detailed peek into what it took to build each of these characters. He talks about the interesting way he received a “green light” from Almodóvar in terms of his approach to the role of an Upstate New York policeman, the challenge of balancing adherence to period authenticity with a modern accessibly as Attila in Brady Corbet’s epic,… Read more
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Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson on the Unique Challenge of Performing in Nickel Boys— Back To One, Episode 321
Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson are the stars of Nickel Boys, RaMell Ross’ bold and brilliant adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel that tells the story, cinematically, almost entirely in a first-person POV-style. Herisse and Wilson talk about the challenge of acting to the camera, their saga of navigating auditions, the “freedom” and “openness” they both felt from Ross, how the trust they built with the crew played a big part in performing in this process, and much more. Nickel Boys opens in select theaters on December 14th. Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple… Read more
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“It’s Your Job to Disappear”: Michael Shannon, Back To One, Episode 320
Michael Shannon is known for his intense and versatile performances across film, television, and theater—Take Shelter, 99 Homes, Nocturnal Animals, Boardwalk Empire, Long Days Journey Into Night, George and Tammy, to name just a few. On this episode, he talks about his “simplistic” approach to preparation, the test he gives directors to see if he can trust them, the importance of “disappearing,” why he no longer likes to do endless takes, and much more. Plus he discusses his love for George Mackay, who plays “Son” to Shannon’s “Father” in The End, Joshua Oppenheimer’s post-apocalyptic musical which opens in select theaters… Read more
