Podcast
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Back to One, Episode 126: Carrie Coon
Carrie Coon has quietly built a reputation as an acting powerhouse though a collection of phenomenal performances in television shows like The Leftovers, Fargo, and The Sinner, and movies such as Gone Girl, The Post, and her latest, The Nest. In this episode, she talks about the paramount importance of breath work, using “touchstones” for emotional connection, her first experience on the New York stage in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the quarantine film education she’s getting with her husband, Tracy Letts, and much more! Back To One can be found wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Sep 15, 2020 -
Back to One, Episode 110: Peter Friedman
In these last 10 years, stage and screen veteran Peter Friedman has enjoyed a steady flow of work, more than the first 30 years of his career. Recently, he got raves for his Polonius in Sam Gold’s production of Hamlet at the Public Theater, had a recurring role on the Hulu series The Path, and now plays Frank Vernon on the hit HBO show Succession. On this episode, he talks about how being the “new kid in class” as a day-player on set makes him nervous, why it’s ok to dismiss work that doesn’t speak to you, how performing with […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Jun 3, 2020 -
Back to One, Episode 104: Miriam Shor
Miriam Shor is unrecognizable as Lorraine Ela in the powerful new Netflix film Lost Girls. It’s the kind of performance that doesn’t feel performed, that doesn’t get recognized often because it’s invisible. We talk about that phenomenon this half hour, and break down a hilarious moment from the show Younger, where Shor played the beloved character Diana Trout. She talks about the importance of feeling like she is in collaboration with a director, and how being cast in a role you don’t think you’re “right for” can help you grow. Plus much more! Back To One can be found wherever […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Mar 25, 2020 -
Back to One, Episode 101: Zach Woods
I remember when I first saw Zach Woods. It was in the Armando Iannucci film In The Loop. His comedic sensibilities matched so perfectly with what I demanded as a consumer of comedy—bold choices, molded in subtlety, grounded in reality. He has continued to morph and advance his style with unforgettable roles on The Office, Silicon Valley, and now again for Iannucci on Avenue 5, where he plays cheerful nihilist Matt Spencer, Head of Customer Relations. In this inspirational episode, we have a far-reaching conversation on his approach to the craft and the industry in general. Summary: the greatest comedic […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Mar 11, 2020 -
Back to One, Episode 100: Andrea Riseborough
It’s time we stop taking the preternaturally gifted British actor Andrea Riseborough for granted. She transforms so completely into her characters (appearance, accent, posture, mannerisms) that it’s easy to just believe she is the character and hard to measure her talents because we don’t know what “default Andrea Riseborough” is like. One thing is crystal clear though. She’s simply one of the best we have. On this, the 100th episode of Back To One, she talks about being surprised by the reactions to her chameleon-like abilities, how she uses the shooting environment (no matter how difficult) to fuel her work, […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Mar 10, 2020 -
Back to One, Episode 99: Lesley Manville
The brilliant British actor Lesley Manville has given us two of the truly great cinematic performances of the last decade, Mary in Another Year and Cyril in Phantom Thread (which landed her an Oscar nomination). But those are just two in a long list of living, breathing characters she has inhabited with subtlety, nuance and depth, both on the stage and screen. In this episode, she talks about her latest–Joan in Ordinary Love, her formative years with Mike Leigh, the necessity of director input, why she doesn’t want to take her characters home, and much more! Back To One can be […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Mar 3, 2020 -
Back to One, Episode 93: Marsha Stephanie Blake
Marsha Stephanie Blake destroyed me. Not just once, a few times. Her devastating portrayal of Linda McCray in When They See Us was justifiably recognized with an Emmy nomination last year. She talks extensively about one line in particular that really got to me in that incredible limited series. She also “kills” with comedy too. Like in The Merchant Of Venice on Broadway. She talks about obsessively studying Al Pacino during that run, and relishing her time with Viola Davis on this season of How To Get Away With Murder. She was on her way toward a career in medicine when […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Jan 22, 2020 -
Back To One Episode 87: Aaron Taylor-Johnson
To say Aaron Taylor-Johnson puts 100% into every role is actually a bit of an understatement. He starts to live as the character months before filming begins. Then, when it’s over, it takes him months to “shed the layers” of the character before returning to himself. This might sound like a bunch of hooey, until you actually see the brilliance of the work and the fullness of transformation. He got his big break with Kick-Ass, spent some time in the Marvel universe, played John Lennon in Nowhere Boy, then won a Golden Globe for playing a psychopath in Nocturnal Animals. […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Dec 10, 2019 -
Back to One, Episode 81: Alex Wolff
He’s only 21, but going by the depth of his work and the eloquent way he talks about it, Alex Wolff feels like a seasoned veteran. “I’ve basically been on camera since the sonogram,” he says, joking about his childhood in The Naked Brothers Band with his brother, Nat, on Nickelodeon. Since then he’s knocked out a handful of impressive performances in films like Patriots Day, My Friend Dahmer, and Hereditary. Now he’s written, directed and stars in a labor of love called The Cat and The Moon. He talks about treating his actors like kings and queens on that […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Oct 29, 2019 -
Back to One, Episode 79: Tim Heidecker
I didn’t know if Tim Heidecker was going to show up for this interview, or if I was going to get his boorish, abusive, dim alter ego, Tim Heidecker. Luckily Tim Heidecker leaves Tim Heidecker in the On Cinema universe. That project he started with Gregg Turkington is comprised of an ongoing series called On Cinema at the Cinema, various spin-off series including The Trial of Tim Heidecker, special episodes, segments, tweets, songs, and now the feature film Mister America. In this half hour, I ask Heidecker to lift the hood on his performance style and the evolution of his […]
by Peter Rinaldi on Oct 15, 2019
