Back to One, Episode 206: Rupert Friend

Among many appealing qualities as an actor, Rupert Friend certainly has “range.” His two most recent roles are James Whitehouse—elitist, upper-class British politician in David E. Kelley’s Netflix limited series Anatomy Of A Scandal; and The Grand Inquisitor—blowhard Star Wars bad guy in Obi-Wan Kenobi. He’s probably best known for playing Peter Quinn on a few seasons of Homeland, which got him an Emmy nomination. On this episode, he talks about why his preparation process is more “uncovering” than “building,” how energy management has served him well, the gift of being allowed to “fail safely,” and the most important thing…  Read more

Back to One, Episode 205: David Morse

David Morse is one of the most respected veteran actors working in the business. St. Elsewhere, The Indian Runner, The Crossing Guard, Dancer In The Dark, House, Hack, The Green Mile, to name just a few of his past credits, and now a Tony nomination for his incredibly powerful performance in How I Learned To Drive, which he has reprised with Mary-Louise Parker 25 years after they first did it off-Broadway. I talk to him about the differences in these two incarnations, particularly one important and significant moment he arrives at toward the end of the play. He explains how…  Read more

Back to One, Episode 204: Mike Leigh Returns

Mike Leigh is back in New York City for Film At Lincoln Center’s retrospective of his films, which starts Friday May 27th. He’s doing Q&A’s after three of his best—Naked, Secrets and Lies, and Topsy Turvy. Since he was last on the show (Episode 54), a few of his most treasured actors have been on and discussed the joy of working with the legendary director. There have even been some guests who have talked about the pleasure of working with him just in an audition, even though they weren’t selected. I ask him to break down his audition process and…  Read more

Back to One, Episode 203: Giancarlo Esposito

Few characters born in this current ‘Golden Age of Television’ rise to the legendary status of Gustavo Fring. Giancarlo Esposito brought the drug kingpin to life on Breaking Bad and now he’s finishing out (or filling in) his arc on the prequel Better Call Saul. On this episode, Esposito talks about the careful way he “whispers” a new character into existence, and why the identification and breaking down of his own resistances is so important. He tells the story of the eureka moment he had reading the words “hiding in plain sight” and how that opened up the character for…  Read more

Back to One, Episode 202: Alison Pill

I was lucky to catch Alison Pill on Broadway, 16 years ago, in The Lieutenant of Inishmore, and then became enamored with her work in shows like In Treatment, The Newsroom, Devs, and movies like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Milk, to name just a few. Nowadays she plays Dr. Agnes Jurati on the series Picard, and stars with Sarah Gadon in Michael McGowan’s new film All My Puny Sorrows. She shares what she believes to be the secret ingredient that made that film work, and talks about how adopting a physicality for a character is foundational to her…  Read more

Back to One, Episode 201: Anamaria Vartolomei

Anamaria Vartolomei is the French-Romanian star of Audrey Diwan’s film Happening, about a young college student in desperate need of an illegal abortion in 1960s France. The camera follows Vartolomei’s character so closely, both literally and figuratively, that you begin to feel like you are experiencing the movie from inside her. On this episode, Vartolomei talks about why the closeness of the camera actually made her feel protected; how curiosity rather than competition helped her in the audition; how feeling safe leads to fearlessness in action; and the importance of breathing, surprises, and, most importantly, anger. Back To One can…  Read more

Back to One, Episode 200: André Gregory

The legendary theater director, actor, shaman André Gregory has been producing ground-breaking work for over half a century. He’s perhaps best known for the projects he did with Wallace Shawn—My Dinner With André (which is celebrating its 40th anniversary), Vanya on 42nd Street and A Master Builder. His recent book This Is Not My Memoir details, with refreshing honesty, his extraordinary life through incredible stories about, for instance, learning from the great Jerzy Grotowski, getting punched by Gregory Peck, buried alive in Richard Avedon’s backyard, to name just a few. On this episode, Gregory answers some questions about his unique…  Read more

Back to One, Episode 199: Wunmi Mosaku

Wunmi Mosaku won a BAFTA award for Damilola, Our Loved Boy. She was only the second Black actress to win one in 62 years. You might know her from her incredible work as Ruby in Lovecraft Country, Rial in His House, or B-15 in the Marvel series Loki. Her latest is We Own This City, from the makers of The Wire, which premiered Monday on HBO Max. On this episode, she talks about her early days of learning the ropes of screen acting, how rehearsal makes a big difference in her process, why connecting to people is so important to…  Read more

Back to One, Episode 198: Fiona Glascott

In the new HBO Max series Julia, talented Irish actor Fiona Glascott plays Judith Jones, the real life editor who pulled Julia Child’s book Mastering the Art of French Cooking from the reject pile and turned it into a bestseller. In this episode, Glascott talks about the joy of inhabiting that trailblazer and playing opposite the great Judith Light in a pivotal scene. She also details the unique preparation process she employs when she takes on the young Professor McGonagall in the Fantastic Beasts films, shares an inspiring reason why she doesn’t obsess over landing some ideal role, and much…  Read more

Back to One, Episode 197: Eddie Marsan

Eddie Marsan first came to my attention with his now legendary performance in Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky. He has so many layers at play under Scott’s anger, gives so much depth to that character; It is a wonder to behold. He kept doing it in films like Tyrannosaur, Still Life, Sherlock Holmes, as Terry in the Showtime series Ray Donovan, and now in his newest film, The Contractor, opposite Chris Pine. In this half hour, Marsan talks about the formative influence of Leigh on his work and the meaning of the command “dig a hole and sit in it.” He shares…  Read more