Back To One

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