Back to One
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“I Do Not Have an Adult Profession, and So You Need To Maintain Access to Your Childlike Self”: Matthew Maher (Back To One, Episode 256)
In recent movies like Air and Funny Pages, television series like Our Flag Means Death, and plays like Annie Baker’s The Flick, Matthew Maher has made a name for himself as someone who can bring an oddball or weirdo to full life with enough charm, charisma, and genuine gusto to make us love him unconditionally. On this episode, he talks about his acting foundations, the tools formative teachers have given him, and some theories he has developed as a teacher himself. He explains the allure of experimental theater in ’90s New York City, makes a case for embracing contradictions and obstructions in a character and […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Jun 6, 2023 -
“I Don’t Want To Change a Punctuation Mark in This”: The Diplomat’s David Gyasi (Back To One, Episode 252)
You’ve seen his work in such films as Interstellar and Cloud Atlas, and television series like Containment and Carnival Row, now David Gyasi plays Austin Dennison in Debora Cahn’s new hit Netflix limited series The Diplomat. On this episode, he talks about the rare collaboration he had with Cahn in developing Dennison, the part of the job he finds “sacred,” loving re-HEARsal, the real reason why he is so picky with the roles he takes on, and much more. Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher. And if you’re […]
by Peter Rinaldi on May 9, 2023 -
“It’s a Difficult Sport”: Parker Posey (Back To One, Episode 251)
The 4K restoration and re-release of the comedy Party Girl brings Parker Posey to Back To One. Shortly after the success of that movie in 1995, she went on to star in so many independent films, like The Daytrippers, Clockwatchers, The House of Yes (not to mention a bunch of Hal Hartley and Christopher Guest classics), that she was dubbed “Queen of the Indies.” On this episode, she explains why that moniker was oddly detrimental to her career. She talks about recent experiences on the sets of Beau Is Afraid and The Staircase; the connection between actors and athletes; why, […]
by Peter Rinaldi on May 2, 2023 -
“The Only Thing We Have Is the Moment”: Betsey Brown (Back to One, Episode 250)
My first encounter with the work of actor, writer, director Betsey Brown was her captivating and shocking performance in The Scary of Sixty-First. Then, in her first feature film Actors, she and her brother Peter Vack play over-the-top versions of themselves in a wildly fictional, yet super-personal exploration of their relationship that boldly pulls out all the cinematic stops. It’s the kind of rare indie that gives you hope for the future of film. In this episode, she talks about the aspects of the acting craft that are central to her—patience, relaxation, fearlessness, appreciation, the importance of the present moment—plus […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Apr 25, 2023 -
“I Don’t Care if People Don’t Like My Characters”: Emily Meade (Back To One, Episode 249)
Emily Meade is best known for her roles in the HBO shows The Deuce, The Leftovers, and Boardwalk Empire. Her latest project, the Amazon series Dead Ringers, premieres on April 21st. She became an advocate for intimacy coordinators on set following a lack thereof on The Deuce, where she portrayed a sex worker. After urging HBO to hire an intimacy coordinator, her advocation ignited the use of intimacy coordinators on all HBO sets and beyond, creating a new standard in Hollywood. In this episode, she talks about needing to base her characters on real-life people she knows, how being a […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Apr 18, 2023 -
“You Alone Are Not Making Anything Happen; It’s a Collective Experience”: Julio César Cedillo (Back To One, Episode 248)
For three decades, Julio César Cedillo has been delivering authentic, nuanced, fully realized performances in films and television series such as Sicario, Cowboys and Aliens, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Narcos Mexico, and the new Netflix film Chupa, to name just a few. In this hour, he generously shares what he’s learned from being a “lunchbox actor,” doing this work he loves. He talks about why, as an actor who happens to be Mexican, his first read of a script is a “search for traps.” Through stories detailing his experiences on set, he explains why it’s better to ask for forgiveness […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Apr 11, 2023 -
“This Little Thing, That’s Like the Size of a Walnut, and the Width of Our Thumbnail, Can Do So Much.” Voice: A Special Episode of Back To One
On this special episode, we’re talking all about voice! Neda Lahidji is an actor, singer, vocal health coach, voice teacher and a certified vocal health first aider. She specializes in the voices and vocal health of actors, VO actors, and singers, including any vocal athletes in the film industry as well as directors who use their voice tremendously throughout production. She talks about the different factors that affect the voice, gives us techniques to help maintain a vocal athlete’s optimal vocal health, shares her own stories of various vocal ups and downs, explains why it’s almost all mental, and much […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Apr 4, 2023 -
“I Don’t Want To Know Anything. I Just Want to Listen”: The Bear Series Regular Edwin Lee Gibson (Back To One, Episode 246)
Edwin Lee Gibson’s stage career spans 40 years and over 100 U.S. and international theater productions. On television he is currently reprising his role as series regular “Ebraheim” in season 2 of FX’s hit series The Bear. On this episode, he talks about the importance of listening, “letting the character find me,” working with the late Peter Brook, cultivating a relationship with fear, how his stutter actually made him dig deeper into the study of speech, and much more. Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher. And if you’re […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Mar 28, 2023 -
“You Have To Live and Breathe This”: Marta Milans (Back To One, Episode 243)
Spanish American actor Marta Milans reprises her role as Mama Rosa in the second installment of the Shazam saga, which hits theaters March 17th. If you binged White Lines during the pandemic, you appreciated her work in that Netflix hit series. On this episode, we go way back to when she played Goneril in King Lear…at age 8! She takes us on a journey of her life as an actor, a job she says you cannot do well unless you “must do it to breathe.” She tells us the reason why language comes easy for her, how music plays a […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Mar 7, 2023 -
“I Kind of Wanted To Keep Doing It All, and Fortunately They Kept Letting Me”: Todd Stashwick (Back To One, Episode 241)
You might know Todd Stashwick from The Riches or 12 Monkeys (the Syfy series, where he played Deacon), but you definitely know him from his guest star work on countless shows, both dramas and comedies, spanning more than two decades. And now he plays Captain Liam Shaw in the new season of Picard. On this episode, he talks about how the little boy Star Trek fan in him leapt for joy when he sat in his captain’s chair for the first time, while the “all business” actor in him had to focus on the work at hand. Plus we discuss […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Feb 21, 2023
