Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

According to Michael Imperioli, acting is all about showing up prepared and positive. Lucky for us, that's something he's been doing on-screen for close to thirty years. Raised in New York by supportive, hardworking parents who also doubled as local actors, Michael broke out on the film scene in 1990 with a role in Martin Scorsese's classic, GoodFellas. He appeared in many memorable films of the '...

Jay Duplass is a busy guy. Often alongside his younger brother Mark, Jay has left his distinct signature on dozens of projects over the past two decades, proving through his prolific yet singular work that the indie film spirit is still alive and well in America. Whether he’s acting, directing, writing, or producing, Jay is always creating art that’s imbued with a sense of unvarnished honesty. Mov...

Unless you've lived without a TV for the past decade or so, you probably recognize Josh Radnor. The actor--who is also a skilled writer, director, and musician--has been immortalized in the eyes of the public as Ted Mosby, the goofy and hyper-romantic protagonist of the hit series How I Met Your Mother, which ran on CBS from 2005 to 2014. In real life, though, Josh will be the first to tell you th...

Talk Easy returns! Actress Alia Shawkat is on the show this week. We talk growing up on the television, the success of Search Party, and how the #MeToo movement is getting increasingly complex. http://talkeasypod.com/  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Se...

With the year coming to a close, Sam (literally) calls on past guests of the show to deliver some hope. Including: Janicza Bravo talking Kahlil Joseph’s Shadow Play at the New Museum; Jon Daly wishing to be friends with the Obamas; Lena Waithe getting engaged; Anna Sale adoring Search Party; Martin Starr being proud of his “Big Sick” friends; Noel Wells falling in love with Lady Bird; AO Scott del...

Sean Baker is a writer/director known primarily for the Prince of Broadway, Tangerine, and, most recently, The Florida Project. In this week’s episode, Sam and Sean dive into his upbringing in New Jersey, the difficulty of making movies on a low-budget, and why he stands by the heavily debated ending of his latest project. http://talkeasypod.com/  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.ih...

The inimitable Lois Smith has lived a full and exciting life, beginning in Kansas in 1930 and leading her to where she is today, acting in films like Marjorie Prime and Lady Bird at the age of 87. Lois studied theater at the University of Washington, got married at the age of 18, moved to New York with her husband, and has acted on stage and screen ever since. In this episode, she and Sam spend a...

This week, Sam sits down with comedian, actor, and TV writer Paul F. Tompkins. Paul is a longtime standup comic who has appeared in everything from Mr. Show with Bob and David to two Paul Thomas Anderson films--more on both of those in the episode. Besides his prolific standup career, Paul's current projects include roles on Bob's Burgers and Bojack Horseman and a podcast hosting gig of his own. H...

Rory Scovel has been on the stand-up scene for more than ten years, from his early days spent doubling as a “desktop support specialist” in Washington D.C., to this year’s Netflix special, Rory Scovel Tries Stand-Up for the First Time. When he’s not on an endless Kerouac-esque comedy tour across America, Rory is guesting on shows and podcasts with comedians like Pete Holmes and Chris Hardwicke, an...

Joachim Trier is a Norweigan filmmaker who has so far directed four feature films, including the English language family drama Louder than Bombs and his newest project, Thelma, an intense thriller that was selected to represent Norway in this year's competition for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. As Sam points out, each of these films is incredibly different than one another, a deliberat...

Early this year, Sam and actress Noël Wells recorded an episode of Talk Easy at Sundance. Days after the presidential inauguration and in the midst of festival chaos, it was a strange time for both of them, but the resulting conversation was thought-provoking and lovely. Now Noël’s back at a different moment of her life–debuting Mr. Roosevelt, her first feature as director, writer, and lead actres...

Since the late '90s, director Miguel Arteta has worked in film and television to bring us multilayered comedic movies like Chuck & Buck and Youth in Revolt, as well as episodes of acclaimed shows like Six Feet Under, Freaks & Geeks, and Enlightened. This year saw the release of his latest feature, Beatriz at Dinner, a topical story of a tense dinner party between an earthy, socially consci...

His whole adult life, Shea Serrano's worked hard. Not just at one thing, but at everything he's done, from chronic pool-playing and highly-calculated games of Texas hold 'em in college, to teaching middle school for eight years at an underserved school in Houston. Here, he talks to Sam about all of this, as well as how the work he did to pay the bills ultimately led him to writing. Shea has writte...

Jen Yamato is an internet-era journalist working at one of the last print news institutions in America, The LA Times. That in itself is interesting, but it's only the latest step in a career that's also included time spent working at Rotten Tomatoes, Deadline, Movieline, and The Daily Beast. This week, after warning us that she's a Gemini, Jen talks with Sam about the best year of her life (age 17...

This week, Sam sits down with friend, comedian, and writer Jon Daly. Along with appearing as a regular at the improv institution Upright Citizens Brigade, Jon's taken on comedic roles in dozens of shows and movies over the past fifteen years. Jon's had roles in feature films like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Janicza Bravo's Lemon, and can be seen in episodes of Kroll Show, Comedy Bang! Bang...

For over thirty years, Willem Dafoe has been putting in hard work on stage and screen, and it’s paid off. Starting in 1980 with Heaven’s Gate, a movie that he was mostly cut from during editing, he went on to take memorable roles in a wide range of films that include Platoon, The English Patient, Shadow of a Vampire, and Spider-Man. Most recently, he’s starring in The Florida Project, a film by Se...

This week, CEO, author, and nationally recognized doula Erica Chidi Cohen joins Sam on the show. Erica is known for taking a whole-self, support-based approach to pregnancy and parenting, first through her solo doula practice and soon through her upcoming LA-based reproductive wellness center, LOOM. She's knowledgeable, upbeat, and always open to discuss the nuances of her profession. Here she tal...

Giancarlo Esposito started performing at age 8. Now nearing 60, the signature character actor is reflecting on a lifetime of work. From his collaborations with Spike Lee (“School Daze”, “Do the Right Thing”) to playing the terrifying Gustavo “Gus” Fring on “Breaking Bad”. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music for the show is by Dyla...

Heather Havrilesky is the author of “How to Be a Person in the World”, a collection of essays from her hit Ask Polly column in New York Magazine. In her writing, Heather has an ability to hear and see people in a way that feels selfless and genuine. In this week's episode, Sam and Heather try to do same for one another. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

TV titan Norman Lear joins Sam on the show this week. The 95-year-old is chiefly responsible for changing television. His shows—All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons, Good Times—were unlike anything that came before them. Political, combative, funny. Lear’s greatest gift is his endless curiosity in the imperfection of humans. Especially Americans. When Sam and Norman sat down, they discussed hi...

For over thirty years, Fred Melamed has been a true Character Actor. He’s starred in seven Woody Allen movies, played Sy Ableman in the Coen Brothers’ “A Serious Man”, and has made appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, House of Lies. He’s most recently in Janicza Bravo’s dazzling debut feature, Lemon. If you perhaps don’t recognize Fred by name, you’ve certainly heard his iconic, booming v...

Amber Navran is the lead vocalist of "Moonchild", a neo-soul group out of Los Angeles. With their third record out in stores, Amber came on the show to discuss her musical influences, performing with Stevie Wonder, and what it looks like to be a working musician in 2017. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music for the show is by Dy...

Rostam Batmanglij was first introduced to us through his band Vampire Weekend. The music was infectious and seemed to be the soundtrack of every New England college campus for the many following years. Rostam was the producer for the band--the person blending the different influences together and packaging it into something unheard. Now, he is about to release his first solo record and it is even...

Doreen St. Félix is only 25 but she has made a name for herself in the New York media scene. After graduating from Brown she started her career at "Lenny Letter", Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner's digital, feminist publication. While doing this, she was also freelancing for places like Pitchfork, New York Magazine, and The Fader. Now, she is a contracted writer with the New Yorker (at only 25!). She...

Robert Downey Sr. (also known as "The Prince") is known for giving a candid response. Throughout all of the films he has directed he has never been afraid to poke fun at the establishment--little is off limits. This is not to say that he isn't a thoughtful person, though. In this interview the Prince tells Sam about his days in the army (12:40), his early days of filmmaking (28:37), and some of hi...