Back To One

Seven seasons on the sitcom "That 70's Show" led Topher Grace to roles in Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic," "In Good Company," a not entirely successful turn as "Venom" in "Spider Man 3," and lighter projects like "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton," and "Valentine's Day." He then decided to change the trajectory of his career. He told his agents he wanted to work exclusively with great film artists in en...

The "stay positive and keep it simple" approach Ann Dowd has toward her work is truly inspiring. A go-to character-actor-extraordinaire for 30 years, she has now received wide acclaim (and an Emmy) for her portrayal of the terrifyingly devout Aunt Lydia in "The Handmaid's Tale." And her pitch perfect performance in Craig Zobel's "Compliance" is, in my opinion, a tour de force for the ages. In this...

Grace Rex has been a series regular on the British sitcom "High and Dry," a recurring guest star on "The Good Wife," and had roles in "Master of None", "Mindhunter" and "Boardwalk Empire," among many other TV shows and films.  For me, her finespun and hilarious work in Ingrid Jungermann's "Women Who Kill" solidified her place among the uniquely talented comedic actors to watch. We talk about one s...

We really get to know the brilliant actor Theodore Bouloukos in this hour. He lets us peek in on him as a child fascinated, perhaps to a peculiar degree, with design, typography, and channel logos. And then what led him to performance art with Brock Enright and others, and  the "self training" of student film parts that led to feature roles and works exhibited and staged the world over. We learn t...

John Christopher Jones is a veteran "actor's actor" with many Broadway shows including Simon Gray's "Otherwise Engaged" (directed by Harold Pinter), "Hurlyburly" (directed by Mike Nichols), "The Iceman Cometh" (with Jason Robards), and Shaw's "Heartbreak House." He is the subject of a documentary film, "The Endgame Project," which follows him in his tenth year with Parkinson's as he rehearses and...

There is, perhaps, no actor at the moment more synonymous with New York indie filmmaking than Keith Poulson. His uncanny comedic sensibilities first caught my attention in Bob Byington's "Somebody Up There Likes Me." He's since honed his mastery of the low key "throw away" in dozens of low budget gems and appeared in nearly everything made recently by the prolific Brooklyn filmmakers Alex Ross Per...

Not every ingénue is deserving of the attention Zoey Deutch is about to get. But this 23 year old already has the miraculous and mysterious skill of a veteran actor. Since her brilliantly nuanced performance in "Flower," I have wanted to find out the secret to her magic. Her natural talent shines equally bright in heart-wrenching dramas such as "Before I Fall" and wild comedies like "The Year of S...

Glen Powell gives me hope for the future of the movie industry. He crushed the role of legendary astronaut John Glenn in "Hidden Figures," and donned some 80s duds in Richard Linklater's "Everybody Wants Some," but he really grabbed my attention in the brand new Netflix rom-com "Set It Up," where, in my humble opinion, he has crafted a classic, for-all-time, romantic lead performance opposite the...

Lea Thompson has a lot of wisdom to share. Her work as an actor spans three decades with hit films like the "Back To The Future"   trilogy and "Some Kind of Wonderful" to successful television shows like "Caroline in the City" and "Switched at Birth." She recently started a second chapter as a director. Her first feature film "The Year of Spectacular Men" (opening Friday June 15th) stars her daugh...

The brilliant J. Smith-Cameron blew us away in "Margaret" (written and directed by her husband, Kenneth Lonergan) and in the acclaimed series "Rectify." Currently she's starring in the new play "Peace For Mary Frances" (with Lois Smith), and the praiseworthy film "Nancy" (written and directed by Christina Choe and co-staring Andrea Riseborough and Steve Buscemi), which opens Friday June 8th. We ta...

Sami Gayle has played Nicky Reagan on the hit CBS drama "Blue Bloods" for eight seasons, performed on Broadway a few times, acted opposite Adrien Brody in her first film, and she's only 22. She now stars in "Candy Jar," a fun and smart new Netflix film set in the world of high school debate, which was written by her brother Chad. We talk about the unique way the work deepens when you have played a...

I finished Lee Grant's incredible autobiography "I Said Yes To Everything" right before sitting down with her and that was a huge mistake, only because it was frustrating to have such a limited time with the legendary actress after reading her extraordinary story. Consider this episode a tiny drop in the ocean of this astounding life. She was nominated for an Oscar for her first screen role in Wil...

At the moment, Harry Lennix is perhaps best known for his portrayal of FBI agent Harold Cooper on NBC's "The Blacklist." The breadth and depth of his work on the stage and screen go well beyond that hit show, however, with film roles spanning from Robert Townsend's "The Five Heartbeats" and Julie Taymor's "Titus," to General Swanwick in both "Man of Steel" and "Batman vs. Superman," and on Broadwa...

In this hour, Sheila Vand gifts us with a glimpse into the inner life of an incredibly talented young actor on the verge of harnessing her art and reaching new heights. She first captured our attention in Ana Lily Amirpour's noir vampire western A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT, and in the small but pivotal role of Sahar, the Iranian housekeeper, in  ARGO. Co-starring stints on NBC's STATE OF AFFA...

Joshua Leonard first came onto the scene with the lo-fi sensation The Blair Witch Project , then went on to receive rave reviews for his performance in Lynn Shelton's Independent Spirit Award-winning Humpday . His narrative feature debut as director, The Lie, premiered at Sundance in 2011 and he just wrapped production on his sophomore feature Behold My Heart which stars Marisa Tomei. Currently he...

Emily Mortimer is perhaps best known for her role as MacKenzie McHale in Aaron Sorkin's beloved HBO series "The Newsroom." Some of her other memorable performances are in Woody Allen's "March Point," Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" and "Hugo" and as Phoebe, Jack Donaghy's love interest, on the NBC series "30 Rock." In this hour she talks extensively about one particular, powerful scene in her b...

We could not have a more perfect guest for the first episode of a podcast about "the work" of acting if we build one. The TV guest star extraordinaire, the go-to indie comedy player of our time, the actor's actor--Kevin Corrigan seems to be in everything. From nearly 30 years of experience in front of the camera in indies like  Buffalo 66  and  Results,  studio films like  Goodfellas  and  The Dep...