Back To One

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. Follow Back To One on Instagram

The legendary theater director, actor, shaman André Gregory has been producing ground-breaking work for over half a century. He’s perhaps best known for the projects he did with Wallace Shawn—“My Dinner With André” (which is celebrating its 40th anniversary), “Vanya on 42nd Street” and “A Master Builder.” His recent book “This Is Not My Memoir" details, with refreshing honesty, his extraordinary life through incredible stories about, for instance, learning from the great Jerzy Grotowski, getting punched by Gregory Peck, buried alive in Richard Avedon’s backyard, to name just a few. On this episode, Gregory answers some questions about his unique rehearsal process, talks about why it doesn’t matter if the stories he tells about his life are rooted in fact, offers up a one word answer to what his hope is for the future of performance, and much more.  Follow Back To One on Instagram

Wunmi Mosaku won a BAFTA award for “Damilola, Our Loved Boy.” She was only the 2nd black actress to win one in 62 years. You might know her from her incredible work as Ruby in “Lovecraft Country,” Rial in “His House,” or B-15 in the Marvel series “Loki.” Her latest is “We Own This City,” from the makers of “The Wire,” which premiered Monday on HBO Max. On this episode, she talks about her early days of learning the ropes of screen acting, how rehearsal makes a big difference in her process, why connecting to people is so important to her job, how one prompt led to the most exciting artistic night in her career, and much more. Follow Back To One on Instagram

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 more. Follow Back To One on Instagram

Eddie Marsan first came to my attention with his now legendary performance in Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky.” He has so many layers at play under Scott’s anger, gives so much depth to that character. It is a wonder to behold. He kept doing it in films like “Tyrannosaur,” “Still Life,” “Sherlock Holmes,” as Terry in the Showtime series “Ray Donovan,” and now in his newest film, “The Contractor,” opposite Chris Pine. In this half hour, Marsan talks about the formative influence of Leigh on his work and the meaning of the command “dig a hole and sit in it.” He shares some things he picked up from never leaving Jim Broadbent’s side on the “Gangs of New York” set, the technique of “listening with prejudice,” the importance of living a life in such a way that the job of acting doesn’t fulfill your egotistic needs, plus much more. Follow Back To One on Instagram

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 her relationship with her inner child; the “art of being a movie star;” and much more.  Follow Back To One on Instagram

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 tool of a good night’s rest, what he relished on the set of his latest role in “The Girl From Plainville,” and much more. Follow Back To One on Instagram

Alessandra Mesa and Ani Mesa are the stars of Erin Vassilopoulos’ debut feature "Superior," a fascinating, fun, and suspenseful genre-blending exploration of identity. The three collaborated on a short of the same name six years earlier, and the feature functions almost like a sequel. In this episode they talk about the benefits of having the “real memories” of the short as a kind of backstory to use in the feature, how they made the anxiety of shooting on film work to their advantage, the interesting way Ani helped Alessandra (who co-wrote the script) take off the writer’s hat and put on the actor’s hat during production, how “world building” tangibly helps the acting process, why the mysterious elements shared by any two actors in a scene have even more useful potential when those two people are identical twins, plus much more. Follow Back To One on Instagram

He played Captain Pike on "Arrow," Basqat on "Smallville," and Nick Barron on the acclaimed Canadian drama "19-2," and now Adrian Holmes has stepped into the biggest role of his career—Uncle Phil on "Bel-Air," Peacock’s dramatic reboot of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." In this half hour, Holmes talks about the process of finding his own version of that iconic character, the theatrical trick he plays on himself in auditions that keeps him "dropped in," why telling positive black stories is so important, and much more.  Follow Back To One on Instagram

In films such as “Transit,” “In The Aisles,” and “Undine,” German actor Franz Rogowski has quickly established himself as one of the most respected and sought after actors in international cinema. But now, with his transformative and revelatory performance in “Great Freedom,” it is hard to even find words to properly describe his astounding work, except maybe outer-worldly. On this episode we get a detailed glimpse into his unique preparation process, which involves using drawings and word graphics to move motivations and dialogue onto another plane of accessibility. He talks about “the exchange” that needs to take place for a performance to take hold, why his hearing loss actually makes him a better listener, how lockdown’s interruption of production actually benefited the work, and much more. Follow Back To One on Instagram

Emory Cohen’s past credits include “Brooklyn,” “The Place Beyond The Pines,” “Lords of Chaos,” and the short-lived but much-loved series “The OA.” Now he stars as Samuel in Brian Petsos’ wildly unique comedy “Big Gold Brick,” and delivers a performance so full of mania, big humor and bold choices, it will have you continuously rapt. On this episode, he talks about the aspects of his process that he relies on with every role, the walk down “the gallery” of past great performances, sometimes “silly” animal work, focused rehearsal with a coach, and he explains why he actually enjoys the restrictions and frustrating precisions of the film set, plus much more.  Follow Back To One on Instagram

Chukwudi Iwuji has been celebrated for his stage work (particularly Shakespeare) on both sides of the pond. He got raves for his Henvy VI at RSC, and his Othello and Hamlet at The Public, to names just a few. The raves continued for his performances in “The Low Road” (Obie win) and Ivo van Hove’s “Hedda Gabler.” He has only recently been transitioning, in a concerted way, to film work. James Gunn rewrote Clemson Murn in “Peacemaker” after seeing Iwuji’s audition, then put him in “Guardians of the Galaxy 3,” and called him one of the greatest actors who has graced his camera. In this episode, Iwuji talks about what Gunn and Hove have given him, what he needs from a director in general, his realization of the essence of the difference between film and stage performance, why he gets off book immediately, the importance of feeding your work with substance other than work, and much more. Follow Back To One on Instagram Subscribe to Jenna Dolittle's Actors Rise newsletter Follow Actors Rise on Instagram

She has been acting professionally for the better part of two decades, so Joey King has a bit more experience than the average 22 year old Hollywood actor. And after the gigantic surprise success of “The Kissing Booth,” and its subsequent sequels, she knows what it’s like to have a global hit on her hands. Add an Emmy nomination for her phenomenal work in “The Act” to her resume, and you have a well-respected actor/producer with a constant pile of scripts on her desk and first look deals at Hulu and Netflix. In this episode, she explains how it only seems like it’s easy for her to get emotional on camera, why learning everyone’s name on the set actually helps her work, the importance of letting the best idea win especially if it isn’t yours, why she encourages healthy debate with her team, her mystical connection to her new film “The In Between,” and much more. Follow Back To One on Instagram

He was Aquaman on “Smallville” and Hawk on “Titans,” and now Alan Ritchson is taking on the role of “Reacher” in the new Amazon series based on the Lee Child books. Child highlighted the “blend of menace and goodwill” that Ritchson brings to the role as something that attracted him to the actor. Ritchson talks about how the super long audition process functioned almost like a workshop for him to experiment with different approaches to the character, which paid off when he landed the part and finally got in front of the camera. He tells another story of a very different audition that wasn’t as successful but that changed his life for the better, and shares a valuable lesson he learned about letting go and picking your battles as an actor, plus much more. Follow Back To One on Instagram

Norwegian actor Renate Reinsve’s performance in her first leading role, in Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person In The World,” earned her the best actress award at Cannes and is slowly taking the world by storm. She embodies Julie with a levity and depth that is both grounded in a relatable reality and poetically expresses the beauty and heartbreak of life at the same time. To say it’s the kind of work that changes people’s lives is not an exaggeration. In this half hour, we take the microscope to her performance and lay out the factors at play in its creation. Reinsve talks about her obsession with character motivation that she developed at an early age, almost as a form of self therapy. She explains the importance of leaving the ego out and serving the piece as a whole, Trier’s balance of control and freedom that made all the difference, Timothée Chalamet as spirit animal, plus much more. "The Worst Person In The World" opens in LA and NY on February 4th. Follow Back To One on Instagram

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Eric Roberts will soon have more credits as an actor than anyone else who has ever lived anywhere in the world. An intensity matched only by raw talent on display in films like “Star 80,” “The Pope of Greenwich Village,” and “Runaway Train” established him as a respectable actor’s actor in Hollywood. And, as he talks about in this episode, once video replaced film, and more people began shooting, they wanted Eric Roberts in their movies. And once he became privy to how many offers were coming in, he started saying yes. Work begot work fairly quickly, and he never stopped. I ask him how he handles non-professional crews and actors on these ultra low budget sets, and if the drain on his energy is worth it. He compares acting to exercise, sex, and kissing, talks about the art of using cue cards, tells insightful stories about Mickey Rourke and Bob Fosse, explains why “The Righteous Gemstones” is his favorite working experience ever, plus much more.  Follow "Back To One" on I

This is Kevin Corrigan’s fourth time on the podcast (his previous episodes are #1, #67, #133). It’s a yearly tradition to visit with the wise sage of indie film acting. We’re catching him right after returning from his latest job in Vancouver. He highlights a few moments from that shoot that stand out for him, shares what’s behind his incredible drawings of moments he loves from various performances, fails at “Kevin Corrigan Trivia” (which leads to some memories of “Walking And Talking”), talks about what makes it all “worth it,” and much more. Plus we chat way too much about “The Beatles: Get Back.” Follow Back To One on Instagram Check out Kevin's amazing drawings on his Instagram

Chris Diamantopoulos was always an actor. Never held another job. He was working on the stage at an early age—touring companies, Broadway—then transitioned to television, film, and eventually voice overs. Never stopped. Some highlights: Russ Hanneman on “Silicon Valley,” Reinhold on “Community,” Moe in “The Three Stooges,” the official voice of Mickey Mouse, and right now you can see him playing bad guys in Netflix’s “Red Notice” and “True Story.” We recorded this interview hours before he started a new job and he takes us through what’s on his mind on the night before day one. He talks about how the voice is always the aspect he starts with when building a character, why going back to Broadway in a musical after many years was so challenging, the importance of keeping himself at a place of healthy neutrality, plus lessons learned from Brian Cranston, Kirk Russell, David Fincher, and much more!  Follow Back To One on Instagram

“The Girlfriend Experience” put Riley Keough on the radar, and she’s been giving us multi-layered, deeply-rooted, captivating performances ever since, mostly in indie films like “American Honey,” “Under The Silver Lake,” “The House That Jack Built,” and now this year’s “Zola,” where she brilliantly walks the line of authentic nuance and absurdity in the role of Stefani. In this episode, she talks about the touchy endeavor of building the right approach for that character with director Janicza Bravo, the importance of knowing when to tighten up on prep or leave it loose, why she hates auditioning, how her spirituality enriches the work, why she’s not willing to risk her mental health for the job, and much more!  Follow Back To One on Instagram

Léa Seydoux was a talented young French actor when she reached planet-wide stardom with her incredible performance in “Blue Is The Warmest Color” (she even shared the Palm d’Or at Cannes, which had never been awarded to actors before). Since then she has invaded Hollywood, starring in James Bond movies and Wes Anderson films, but also continuing to turn in exceptional performances for international directors like Yorgos Lanthimos, Arnaud Desplechin, Ildikó Enyedi, and, for her latest film “France,” Bruno Dumont. In this episode, she talks about the “sweet craziness” of working with Dumont, the importance of learning the “language” of the director, why their differences of approach are actual what appeals to her, how cinema saved her life, and much more. Follow Back To One on Instagram