Back To One

Corey Fogelmanis' first big break came as the fan-favorite Farkle on the Disney Channel series "Girl Meets World." He later appeared alongside Octavia Spencer in the psychological thriller "Ma," and in Netflix's hit series "My Life with the Walter Boys." Now his first lead performance as Ben, a teen who comes out as non-binary, in the refreshingly modern coming-of-age movie "I Wish You All the Bes...

Nina Hoss is one of our most respected stage, film, and television actors working internationally. She is known for her collaborations with director Christian Petzold in films such as "Barbara" and "Phoenix," as well as "Tar" opposite Cate Blanchett, the celebrated series "Homeland," and her latest "Hedda," opposite Tessa Thompson. On this episode, she talks about what drew her to Nia DaCosta's bo...

Cooper Raiff returns to the podcast (first time was Ep. 128 ) to discuss his latest project, the eight-episode, independently-made, decades-spanning series "Hal & Harper." He picks up right where we left off in the first interview, 5 years ago, taking us through the process of getting "Cha Cha Real Smooth" made, and how that green light helped him avoid compromising "Hal & Harper." He explains why...

This is the second part of my interview with Crispin Glover where we dive deep into his latest film "No! You're Wrong or Spooky Action At A Distance," which he spent the better part of the last 18 years making, completely independently. He touches on many of the technical aspects of the film, such as shooting ratio, color correction, music scores, film vs. digital, why he's bad at sound mixing, wh...

Crispin Glover is best known for playing George McFly in "Back To The Future," but for the past three decades he's been very thoughtful, patient, and selective about his acting roles and even more thoughtful and patient as a true independent filmmaker, self-financing and self-distributing three films — "What is it?", "It is Fine! Everything is Fine," and his latest, "No! You're Wrong Or: Spooky Ac...

Catherine LeFrere plays Isabella Blow in the inventive off-Broadway production "House of McQueen" at The Mansion At Hudson Yards in New York City. The play depicts the life of the brilliant fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who was discovered by Blow. On this episode, LeFrere takes us on a deep dive into the creation of her version of Isabella. She talks about starting with the voice, why she do...

Josh Pais returns to the podcast (first time was Ep. 77 ). Aside from being one of the most respected actors in the game, with over 150 credits in film and TV, Pais is the founder of "Committed Impulse," a groundbreaking training born from his own acting process that has since become a "secret weapon" for thousands of top entrepreneurs, artists, doctors, lawyers, public speakers, and creators of a...

Watching Ruby Cruz's remarkable and seemingly effortless performance in her latest film, "The Threesome," I got a hunch that she was engaging with the work on some kind of intuitive level where connection was paramount. I also sensed that this might not be easy to talk about. In one sense I was right, the gifted young actor, who's credits include "Bottoms," "Willow," "Mare of Easttown" and "The Se...

Tim Blake Nelson is a celebrated actor, writer, and director. His nearly 100 screen credits include "The Thin Red Line," "Lincoln," "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs," "Watchmen," and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" For his latest, the independent film "Bang Bang," he plays an aging boxer whose glory days are long past. On this episode, he details how his process has changed by comparing the patience he...

John Carroll Lynch has delivered so many performances, on so many sets, for both the big and small screen, that it is almost ridiculous. Just a few highlights of his hundreds of credits include: "The Drew Carey Show," "Fargo," "Zodiac," "Big Sky," "American Horror Story," "The Trial of The Chicago 7", and his latest, "Sorry Baby". On this episode, he gives us a deep dive into his approach to the w...

You know the multitalented Sunita Mani from "Glow," "Spirited," "Mr. Robot," or "Save Yourselves!" And now, just this year, she has roles in so many projects (like "The Wild," "Death of a Unicorn," "A Nice Indian Boy," "Government Cheese," "His and Hers," "The Roses") that one wonders how she has to time to do it all. On this episode, she takes us back to where it all started, improv comedy, and e...

Mary Neely first came to the world's attention during the pandemic with her viral videos, earning praise from Lin-Manuel Miranda and Andrew Lloyd Webber, as well as being named "Best Theater of 2020" by The New York Times and The Washington Post. Since then, she has been delivering   great work on both sides of the camera, such as the tv pilot "Stars Diner" which premiered at SXSW this year, "Vall...

You can see Ivan Martin's work in "Billions," "The Sopranos," "Suits," "Ozark," "Gaslit," "What We Do In The Shadows," and much more. Currently, he stars in the exceptional indie film "To Kill A Wolf," writer/director Kelsey Taylor's modern take on Little Red Riding Hood. On this episode, he talks about the circumstances that brought that role his way, the connection he has with the character that...

Martin Harris has delivered stand-out work on "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "Young Sheldon," "NCIS: Los Angeles," "Stranger Things," and now he plays the Boravian General in "Superman." On this episode he describes the surprisingly efficient production that James Gunn presided over, and how it felt like "shooting a party video." He surmises why directors keep giving him more scenes on-set, how read...

Jason Patel is an emerging actor and artist. He plays the lead role of "Aysha" in "Unicorns," opposite Ben Hardy. It's his feature film debut. The film is co-directed by Sally El-Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd, who also wrote the screenplay. "Unicorns" also features Patel's music, a true fusion of both art forms. On this episode, he talks about how he approaches everything in life with creativity...

For the 350th episode of Back To One, I sat down with an actor who brings me great joy when he's on the screen, the one and only David Malinsky. He wrote the blurb himself for this episode. It follows: Peter has only met David three times in person before. His filmography includes Onur Tukel's "Abbey Singer/Songwriter," "Black Magic for White Boys," "Poundcake," Theodore Collatos' "Tormenting the...

Erik Jensen is a multipyphenate who, along with his wife and creative partner Jessica Blank have been called "the foremost practitioners of documentary theater in the U.S." Their genre-defining plays "The Exonerated," "Aftermath," "Coal Country," and "The Line" were all critically acclaimed. As an actor, Jensen's credits include "The Walking Dead," "Mindhunter," "Mr. Robot," "The Americans," not t...

Bonnie Rose started her professional career as a stand-in for Bette Midler on "First Wives Club." Next up, the iconic and legendary film director Sidney Lumet hand picked her for the feature film "Night Falls On Manhattan ," playing a New York City cop opposite Andy Garcia, which led to many other Lumet projects over the next decade including a recurring role as a legal aid attorney on the TV lega...

Steve Zahn gained early attention for his breakout roles in the 1990s, including " Reality Bites" and " That Thing You Do!" He became a frequent scene-stealer in films like " Out of Sight ," " Happy, Texas ," and " Saving Silverman ," showcasing his offbeat humor and charm. In HBO's " Treme ," he played a passionate music teacher navigating post-Katrina New Orleans. More recently, he appeared in t...

Tim Bagley has so much experience doing comedy on television that his credits read like a comprehensive list of every sit-com over the past 30 years. But his depiction of Brad Schraeder on "Somebody Somewhere" is on another level. It's beautiful, truthful, restrained work, that is often hilarious and sometimes very moving. Few performances on television this year have impacted me more. On this epi...

Carrie Preston is back in her Emmy-winning role as 'Elsbeth Tascioni' in the second season of the CBS series "Elsbeth," from "The Good Fight" and "The Good Wife," creators Michelle and Robert King. On this episode she gives us a deep dive into her work on that hit show, taking us way back to the "queen of quirk" as just a recurring role on the "Goods", trying to figure out how to dip her toes into...

The legendary Ian McShane has been acting for more than 60 years, from "The Wild and The Willing," "The Last of Shelia," and "Jesus of Nazareth" to "Lovejoy," "Sexy Beast," and the "John Wick" films. His two latest films are "Ballerina," set in the John Wick universe, and and the action comedy "Deep Cover." On this episode he talks about what made his time as Al Swearengen on "Deadwood" (perhaps h...

You know Bobby Naderi from his subtle and sometimes hilarious work in films like "Bright" and "The Beekeeper." Now he brings that same aliveness to the new Amazon series "The Better Sister," where he plays Detective Matt Bowen. On this episode, he talks about how his nomadic youth shaped his life and work, how failures paved the way for breakthroughs, why he stopped anticipating how a scene will p...

The young but wise Lovie Simone is best known for "Selah and The Spades" and "The Craft: Legacy." Now she stars in the hit Netflix series "Forever," an adaptation of the Judy Bloom book. On this episode, she talks about the giant role music plays in her preparation, why having a Black hair & make-up person on set is crucial to work, "importance over relevance," "quality over quantity," her love of...

Theodore Bouloukos returns to the podcast after nearly 7 years (first time was episode 14 ). The "secret weapon of independent cinema," as The New Yorker's Richard Brody called him, brings us up to date on his adventures in acting. He talks about why he never dwells on a project's prospects after his work is done, explains the kind of characters that attract him, reminisces about a couple exceptio...