Awards Chatter

In front of an audience at the Access Canada Summit in Toronto, the consummate character actor reflects on his fateful crossing of paths in the late '60s with David Mamet, his feelings about often being cast as "losers" (e.g. 'Fargo' and 'The Cooler') and why he was "swept away" by the script for Clint Bentley's new film about the American character. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This key figure in the Iranian New Wave, one of only four filmmakers ever awarded the top prize at each of the three biggest European film festivals, reflects on his cinematic critiques of Iranian society, continuing to work even after being jailed by the regime and then banned from making films under the threat of being sent back to jail, and how his own experience with a prison interrogator partially inspired his latest film, which won Cannes' Palme d'Or in May and was just chosen as France's entry for the best international feature Oscar race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In front of an audience at Chapman University, the fan favorite reflects on how she stumbled into standup comedy and then into acting, how she landed the part of elementary school principal Ava Coleman on Quinta Brunson's ABC series and why she's prouder of her Emmy-nominated work on its fourth season than any prior. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The "Queen of the Indies," as TIME magazine famously called her, reflects on the rewards and challenges of being so associated with independent film, what eventually led her to begin dabbling in studio films and TV, and how it felt, with the latest season of Mike White's HBO drama series, to finally find herself at the center of a project that found itself at the center of the cultural conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In front of an audience in the Campari Lounge at the Locarno Film Festival, the trailblazing actress reflects on breaking into the business on TV's 'Ally McBeal,' becoming a movie star via the 'Charlie's Angels' and 'Kill Bill' films, and why her latest project, an indie that she produced and in which she plays a Chinese immigrant trying to protect her troubled American-born son, is so close to her heart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most influential comedic talents of his generation reflects on coming from Vancouver to Hollywood as a teenager, the backstories of the crude but heartfelt and largely improvised film comedies that made him a multi-hyphenate star ('Knocked Up' and 'Superbad'), his occasional forays into drama ('Steve Jobs' and 'The Fabelmans') and how his own misadventures in Hollywood ('The Green Hornet' and 'The Interview') informed his hit Apple TV+ series about contemporary Hollywood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The lovable screen actor reflects on his slow evolution from starving artist to 'Knocked Up' and 'Step Brothers' scene-stealer to TV stalwart, what he learned on 'Party Down' and 'Parks and Recreation,' and how Ben Stiller's 2013 film 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' started him on the path to playing Mark — 'Innie' and 'Outie' — on the most Emmy-nominated TV show of the 2024-2025 season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Oscar- and Emmy-nominated indie darling reflects on her unusual path to prominence, the backstories of some of her more provocative projects (including 'Kids,' 'Boys Don't Cry' and 'The Brown Bunny') and why she has increasingly been drawn to TV projects (from 'Big Love' to numerous Ryan Murphy projects including his latest limited series, in which she plays the Menendez family's murdered matriarch). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In front of an audience at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the veteran Swedish actor reflects on working with everyone from Ingmar Bergman to David Fincher, moving between art house projects (e.g. his five collaborations with Lars von Trier) and studio fare ('Dune,' 'Mamma Mia!,' 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and five MCU installments), and why he's particularly proud of his latest film, Joachim Trier's Cannes' Grand Prize winner in which he plays an aging filmmaker who has a complicated relationship with his two daughters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Oscar and two-time Emmy winner reflects on the bumpy road to her breakthrough in 'Misery,' why she didn't enjoy working on 'Titanic,' how she was convinced to do a nude scene in 'About Schmidt' and why, after nearly quitting the business, her creativity and passion have been reawakened by her hit new CBS drama series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices