Back to One
A podcast about acting -- just the work. by Peter Rinaldi
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Back To One Ep. 69: Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Actor/writer/director Ruben Santiago-Hudson is the kind of artist whose awe-inspiring dedication to the work can almost be overwhelming. He won a Tony Award for his performance in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars. His autobiographical play Lackawanna Blues was a sensation at the Public Theater and went on to be an award-winning HBO film. He started directing plays (particularly Wilson’s) and is now one of the most sought-after directors working in theater. His production of Jitney on Broadway won the Tony award for Best Revival of a Play. As an actor, he can currently be seen on Showtime’s Billions and recently on… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 68: Damon Herriman
It’s rare for one actor to be cast as the same real-life character in two different productions almost simultaneously. When that real life character is Charles Manson, that makes some news. Australian actor Damon Herriman has taken on this challenging role in both Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood and the second season of David Fincher’s Netflix series Mindhunter. Herriman is perhaps best know for playing Dewey Crowe in the series Justified and currently plays Paul Allen Brown in Perpetual Grace LTD. We talk about the character of Manson, how good writing makes for good acting, and why… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 67: Kevin Corrigan
Kevin Corrigan will always have a special spot in the Back To One pantheon, not just because he was the very first guest, but because he set the stage for the discussions on the craft of acting that were to come—personal, steeped in the work, confessional at times, often inspirational, always educational. In this hour, he shares some more inspiring personal experiences from a life in acting, and also talks about the work of those who’ve inspired him, from his friend Natasha Lyonne and his current co-star Pete Davidson, to Marlon Brando, Glenda Jackson, Taylor Negron, the actor Bob Dylan,… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 66: Jesse Eisenberg
While he might be best known for his Oscar-nominated performance as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, Jesse Eisenberg’s preternatural ability for making unique characterization choices has won him roles in wildly original films, both indie and studio, such as The End of the Tour, Adventureland, Holy Rollers, American Ultra, Zombieland, and two of my favorites, The Squid and the Whale and The Double. Now he continues that trend with Riley Stearns’ The Art of Self Defense. In this half hour he talks about the effort he put into finding the right tone to play the absurdity in that film,… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 65: Emmy Harrington
I first was introduced to the incredible talents of Emmy Harrington on the set of Caveh Zahedi’s The Show About The Show, where she plays “Slut Machine,” and witnessed, first hand, her ability to adapt to all types of run-and-gun shooting environments and unorthodox directing styles and deliver a great performance take after take. You can also see her work in shows like High Maintenance and Jessica Jones, and an award-winning film she wrote, directed, and stars in — Two Little Bitches — is currently making the festival circuit. I sat down with her a couple of days after directing… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 64: David Zayas
David Zayas has so many credits on television, in movies, and on the stage that it’s hard to believe he was also a New York City police officer for 15 years. He’s played a lot of fictional cops too, so many he’s lost count, but he says his career highlight was portraying Angel Batista for eight seasons on Showtime’s hit series Dexter. Before that he dabbled on the other side of the law, playing Enrique Moralez on the HBO drama Oz. He was an early member of the LAByrinth Theater company with Paul Calderone, John Ortiz, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman,… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 63: Jacki Weaver
Jacki Weaver’s “big break” story is unique because she was finally embraced by Hollywood at age 63, landing an Oscar nomination for her incredible performance in the Australian film Animal Kingdom, after being a staple in the Australian theater and film world for 30 years. She went on to great roles in such films as Widows, The Disaster Artist, and Magic in The Moonlight, plus the acclaimed new version of Uncle Vanya on the stage with Cate Blanchett, not to mention her second Oscar nomination for Silver Linings Playbook. And this year she stars opposite Diane Keaton in the cheer-elder… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 62: Michael Kelly
Through six seasons on House of Cards and multiple Emmy nominations, Michael Kelly has brilliantly embodied the character of Doug Stamper, navigating him through the highs and lows of loyalty, devotion, and dark-heartedness, culminating with a new layer of antagonism in the final season. It was a tour de force performance. In this episode he sits down to talk about the nuts and bolts of his craft, his meticulous and elaborate script breakdown process, how David Fincher knocked him off his game, and why he will never stop worrying about the next job no matter what awaits him post-Stamper. Back… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 61: Christopher Abbott
In this first Back To One live podcast event from the Made In NY Media Center in Brooklyn, Christopher Abbott tells us some hilarious stories about his naive beginnings as a pavement-pounding young actor in New York, then he takes us into the nuts and bolts of the craft he’s developed both on the stage and in indie films over the past decade. And we find out what he makes of George Clooney’s claim that he’s going to be our next movie star. If you only know this talented actor from his breakthrough on Girls, it’s time to catch up.… Read more
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Back to One, Episode 60: Lindsay Burdge
Lindsay Burdge is one of the bravest and best actors working in indie film this decade. Her breakout role in Hannah Fidell’s A Teacher brought her raves for her intense performance of destructive obsession. Bold choices continued in movies like Nathan Silver’s Thirst Street, Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation, and Joe Swanberg’s Netflix show Easy. Now she’s taken on the role of Mandy, in the long-awaited second season of Caveh Zahedi’s acclaimed The Show About The Show, after the real Mandy (Zahedi’s wife) left the show mid-production. She talks about the unique experience of working with Zahedi under these conditions, how… Read more
