Podcast
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Back to One, Episode 210: Juliette Binoche
Read just a sample of Juliette Binoche’s credits — Mauvais Sang, Three Colors: Blue, Damage, The English Patient, Chocolat, Certified Copy, Clouds of Sils Maria, Let The Sunshine In — and one thing becomes clear: few actors have been as internationally respected for such a sustained period of time. In this episode, she speaks about the importance of acting from the body and learning to use “sensation” as a starting point. She tells a story about feeling lost on the set of John Boorman’s In My Country, and what set her free should be a lesson to all directors. She […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Jul 5, 2022 -
Back to One, Episode 207: James Scully
James Scully plays Charlie, love interest to Bowen Yang’s Howie, in the new film Fire Island, a touching, hilarious, and entirely queer take on Pride and Prejudice, written by and co-starring Joel Kim Booster, and directed by Andrew Ahn. Scully talks about the imposter syndrome that infected the cast, how sometimes when material is so relatable it’s actually hard to gauge if you’re hitting it right, why having a queer director actually improves the work, and how Ahn specifically led the way so thoughtfully and effectively. Plus much more! Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Jun 14, 2022 -
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 […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Jun 7, 2022 -
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 […]
by Peter Rinaldi on May 31, 2022 -
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 […]
by Peter Rinaldi on May 27, 2022 -
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 […]
by Peter Rinaldi on May 24, 2022 -
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 […]
by Peter Rinaldi on May 10, 2022 -
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 […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Apr 19, 2022 -
Back to One, Episode 196: Dominique Fishback
Dominique Fishback talks about the characters she plays as if they inhabit her rather than the other way around. This begins to explain the immense, yet subtle, and always authentic power on display in performances such as Darlene in The Deuce, Kenya in The Hate You Give, and Deborah Johnson in Judas and the Black Messiah. Now she stars with Samuel L. Jackson in the Apple+ series The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. She talks about the interesting way her character, Robyn, disrupted her usual psychological preparation process; where she gets the courage to fiercely advocate for her characters; repairing […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Apr 5, 2022 -
Back To One Episode 195: Kelly AuCoin
You know him as Pastor Tim on The Americans, or “Dollar” Bill Stearn on Billions, or maybe Kelly AuCoin has wowed you as a regular on the New York stage for many years. In this episode he lifts the hood and lets us peek in on what keeps his acting engine running, or (because he prefers sports metaphors) what keeps him in the game. He talks about how his wife made him realize he actually does have a preparation process, the differences between his hours leading up to “action” as apposed to “curtain up,” the importance of the often overlooked […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Mar 29, 2022
