Back to One
A podcast about acting -- just the work. by Peter Rinaldi
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Back to One, Episode 85: Stephanie Kurtzuba
Stephanie Kurtzuba plays Irene, wife of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), in The Irishman. It’s her second film with Martin Scorsese. She played stockbroker Kimmie Belzer in The Wolf of Wall Street. She talks about working with the legendary filmmaker and what sets him apart as an actor’s director. She also explains her process of extracting preconceptions made in the audition, and she gushes about her first love–the rehearsal room, but tells us why, despite her heart being on the stage, she wouldn’t give up working for the camera if she could. Plus much more! Back To One can be… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 84: Tracy Letts
Tracy Letts has parallel successful careers as an actor and a playwright. He won a Tony Award for his performance in the Steppenwolf revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and a Pulitzer Prize for his play August: Osage County. His screen credits include Lady Bird, The Lovers, and the new movie Ford v Ferrari, in which he plays Henry Ford II. In this episode, he talks about “pretending with authority,” making friends with the camera, the “responsibility” of the leading role, and how he’s preparing to do something he’s never done–act in a play he wrote (The Minutes) on Broadway. Plus… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 83: Devika Bhise
The Warrior Queen of Jhansi is the first Hollywood action film to have a female Indian lead. Devika Bhise not only stars in the film (opening Friday November 15th), she co-wrote it with her mother, Swati Bhise, who also directed it. In this episode, she talks about performing under stressful time restraints, how not having “the leisure to lose it” actually helped her play such a powerful leader, and the physical work required (including some “illegal” horseplay!), plus how her intense training in classical Indian dance helps her prepare for every role, and much more! Back To One can be… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 82: Dorian Missick
I’ve wanted to sit down with Dorian Missick for some time. The seasoned actor has six dozen credits in television shows like Southland, Luke Cage, Tell Me A Story, and movies spanning from Two Weeks Notice to this year’s Brian Banks. In this hour, he passes on pearls of wisdom acquired from his many years in the business, like his new radical approach to auditions, why he aims for 100 reads of a script before first day of production, how he and his actor wife Simone Missick support each other’s journeys, and the importance of a “team sport” mentality, plus… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 81: Alex Wolff
He’s only 21, but going by the depth of his work and the eloquent way he talks about it, Alex Wolff feels like a seasoned veteran. “I’ve basically been on camera since the sonogram,” he says, joking about his childhood in The Naked Brothers Band with his brother, Nat, on Nickelodeon. Since then he’s knocked out a handful of impressive performances in films like Patriots Day, My Friend Dahmer, and Hereditary. Now he’s written, directed and stars in a labor of love called The Cat and The Moon. He talks about treating his actors like kings and queens on that… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 80: Jason Clarke
Australian actor Jason Clarke is a rare breed — the character actor leading man. He gives a virtuoso performance as Grigory Potemkin, opposite Helen Mirren, in the new HBO mini-series Catherine The Great. He also stars in Pet Cemetery, Dawn of the Planet of The Apes, Terminator Genysis, Zero Dark Thirty, and won accolades for his portrayal of Ted Kennedy in Chappaquiddick. In this half hour he talks about his love of research, his dedication to the text, being there for the other actor, and the uselessness of fame. Plus much more! Back To One can be found wherever you… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 79: Tim Heidecker
I didn’t know if Tim Heidecker was going to show up for this interview, or if I was going to get his boorish, abusive, dim alter ego, Tim Heidecker. Luckily Tim Heidecker leaves Tim Heidecker in the On Cinema universe. That project he started with Gregg Turkington is comprised of an ongoing series called On Cinema at the Cinema, various spin-off series including The Trial of Tim Heidecker, special episodes, segments, tweets, songs, and now the feature film Mister America. In this half hour, I ask Heidecker to lift the hood on his performance style and the evolution of his… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 78: Cassidy Freeman
The wise and talented Cassidy Freeman plays Amber, wife of Danny McBride’s character Jesse, on the hilarious new HBO comedy series The Righteous Gemstones. She talks about the wonderful troupe mentality on that show, what acting in 60+ episodes of Smallville did to build her craft early in her career, the importance of creativity for the actor, plus much more! Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher. And if you’re enjoying what you are hearing, please subscribe and rate us! Photo credit: Catie Lafoon
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Back to One, Episode 77: Josh Pais
One could easily call Josh Pais a scene-stealer, but that’s not accurate. He actually feeds the other actor in the scene, and they both grow. Check out Leaves of Grass with Edward Norton, Synecdoche New York with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lynn Shelton’s Touchy Feely, and his recent work on Ray Donovan, to name just a few of his dozens of credits. This fall he’s in Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn, and Joker with Joaquin Phoenix. In this episode he talks about finding the character in his body, counting on spontaneity, partying in the unknown, creating not recreating, and Committed Impulse, his high… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 76: Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker’s work in Elia Kazan’s Baby Doll and Jack Garfein’s Something Wild is just as impressive and valuable as any performance delivered by her legendary Actors Studio contemporaries Marlon Brando and James Dean. So why isn’t she talked about in the same way? After the simultaneous sensation and scandal of Baby Doll (it was condemned by the Legion of Decency), Baker became a star, but she spent most of her career either avoiding sex-symbol roles or begrudgingly accepting them. Despite a handful of other great performances (Giant, Cheyenne Autumn, The Big County, Station Six-Sahara), conflicts with studios, producers, and… Read more
