actor
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“I’m a Good Director’s Actor”: Clive Owen, Back To One, Episode 295
When you look at the illustrious career of Clive Owen, you see choices made based on the depth of the roles (Closer, Children of Men, Hemingway and Gellhorn, The Knick), not on trajectory or star power. His two latest projects, Monsieur Spade and A Murder At The End of The World, are quality television series where he’s able to settle in and deliver the grounded, nuanced work we’ve come to expect from him. On this episode, he explains why he needs time to prepare a role, and the “marination” process that is required. He talks about the qualities found in […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Jun 11, 2024 -
“The Most Human Part of Acting is the Moment In-Between When You Don’t Know What To Do”: Betsy Aidem, Back To One, Episode 294
Betsy Aidem has been in over 80 plays, off Broadway, on Broadway, and around the world. Recent titles of note: All The Way, where she played Lady Bird Johnson, Mama’s Boy, where she played Lee Harvey Oswald’s mother, Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt, and Prayer For The French Republic, for which she is nominated for her first Tony Award. On this gold-filled episode, she talks about her love of extensive research, why she doesn’t think the people she plays are just one person, the “golden moment when your character is unsure,” the importance of a director’s patience and willingness to let her […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Jun 4, 2024 -
“I Want To Get Back To That Lack of Self-Consciousness I Had as a Kid” Molly Gordon, Back To One, Episode 293
Molly Gordon makes everything better. She was a stand-out among stand-outs in films like Good Boys, Booksmart, and Shiva Baby. Then she showed her talents on the other side of the camera, co-writing/directing the hilarious indie hit Theater Camp. Now she plays Claire on the beloved series The Bear, which is about to drop its third season. On this episode she talks about why she loves improv, how her parents unintentionally formed her comedy sensibilities, getting “buzzed” from in-person auditions, “locking in” with Jeremy Allen White, why she’s always aspiring to a child-like lack of self consciousness, and much more. […]
by Peter Rinaldi on May 28, 2024 -
“Because I HAVE TO Do It, I Do”: Nell Tiger Free, Back To One, Episode 292
She was on Game of Thrones when she was a child, but Nell Tiger Free hit her stride in the M. Night Shyamalan series Servant, and now her absolutely incredible performance in the hit horror film The First Omen has solidified her as one of the great young actors working today. On this episode, she discusses her “total non-process” process, which means every aspect of her work takes place between “action” and “cut” and literally nowhere else. She talks about why she only reads the script once, finds all backstory that isn’t on the page “cringe,” doesn’t like to rehearse […]
by Peter Rinaldi on May 23, 2024 -
There’s Nothing Better than Working with Talented Peers Who Give.” Judy Reyes, Back To One, Episode 289
Judy Reyes is best known for playing Carla on the TV series Scrubs, but her nearly three-decades-long career is packed with roles on long-running shows like Devious Maids, and in movies like Birth/Rebirth, for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress. Her latest is Hannah Marx’s highly anticipated screen version of John Green’s celebrated novel Turtles All The Way Down (coming to MAX on May 2nd). On this episode, she takes us back to the beginning—her “dramatic” childhood household serving as a form of acting training, defying her mother when she wanted to actually be […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Apr 30, 2024 -
“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 -
“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 -
“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
