Back To One

With riveting performances in films such as "Hell or High Water," "The Messenger" and "3:10 to Yuma," Ben Foster established himself as an intensely serious actor who goes all-in for a role. With this year's "Leave No Trace," Foster takes that same intensity and brilliantly turns it inward, portraying a laconic veteran who suffers from PTSD and survives in the woods of Oregon with his teenage daughter, played by Thomasin McKenzie. Foster talks about working with McKensie to establish the connection they needed, why he took performance enhancing drugs to play Lance Armstrong, and the "emotional erectile disfunction" of over-directing.

Elsie Fisher was not just some 13-year-old Bo Burnham plucked from Middle America to star in his debut feature "Eighth Grade." She has been a working child actor in Hollywood since infancy. She did, however, just finish eighth grade in public school when filming began, and she managed to create a performance so vulnerable and true that the seams of the acting craft are invisible. In this half-hour, I attempt to get Fisher and Burnham to open up about the origins of this movie and how this young lady carried it so successfully that it just might be the performance of the year.

Jim Cummings' performance in the Sundance winning, one-shot short film "Thunder Road" was the talk of the indie film world in 2016. And then he turned it into a feature, and it won the Grand Jury Prize at the SXSW Film Festival. Now Cummings has decided to turn down the less than thrilling distribution offers and make the risky decision to distribute "Thunder Road" himself. It was the right move. The film has not even hit American screens yet and it has already made its money back and more. He talks to me about "performing" the script into existence, mastering the long take, and his passion for demystifying the idea of making movies, and inspiring people to follow him and make and distribute their own. Now.

It's difficult, right now, to find the words "Kayli Carter" without the word "breakthrough" nearby. The adjective refers to her brilliant performance in Tamara Jenkins' PRIVATE LIFE, in which Carter unflappably shines next to her more seasoned co-stars Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti. She talks about the chemistry she had with those three, and about her formative experience with Mark Rylance in the play "Nice Fish" (including a 60 minute audition!), plus how she's perfectly fine with passing on parts that do not depict young women as fully formed characters.

Kathryn Hahn has joked about her plethora of "best friend or randy crazy lady" roles in comedies like "How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days," "Anchorman" and "Step Brothers." But recent projects by Jill Soloway ("Afternoon Delight" and "I Love Dick") and Tamara Jenkins (the new Netflix film "Private Life") have cast Hahn in the lead role, and suddenly we have an exciting leading lady who's much more than a scene-stealer-extraordinaire. She lets us in on a fascinating process she has for getting into the "I" of the character, talks about the road that led to "Private Life" with co-stars Paul Giamatti and Kayli Carter, and cites the Alan Watts quote "You're under no obligation to be the person you were five minutes ago."

When Nicolette Robinson made her Broadway debut in September, taking over the lead role of Jenna in "Waitress," she was not just fond of Sara Bareilles' hit musical, she had been listening to the cast album cathartically as she went through emotional ups and downs in her own life. This might be part of why I found her "Jenna" so connected to the material, so alive. We talk about what led up to that Broadway debut night, stepping through the complex engulfing that is "Hamilton" (her husband Leslie Odom Jr. won a Tony for the musical), and what her inner actor needs before that curtain rises. (Robinson's limited run in "Waitress" is through October 28)

The hilarious Taran Killam lets us peek under the hood of his comedic craft in this half hour. He stars in the new ABC series "Single Parents" (premiering September 26th) and the comedy "Night School" (opening September 28th) opposite Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish. He's probably best known for his 6 years on Saturday Night Live. We talk about how that "bootcamp" prepared him for almost anything. But his talent goes beyond comedy. He writes, directs (check out his film "Killing Gunther" on demand), and sings (he was King George III in "Hamilton"). Plus he finally answers a question I have been trying to ask comedic actors since this show began.

Linus Roache has played upstanding characters on "Law and Order" and "Homeland" but he had to plumb the depths and reach the epicenter of narcissism to play Jeremiah Sand in "Mandy," and it's a frightening joy to behold. He talks about the draining yet rewarding time bringing this character to life and the guidance and trust he had from director Panos Cosmatos. Plus he answers a listener question about the faith life of his character, King Ecbert, in the TV series "Vikings."

Ashlie Atkinson is getting kudos for playing Connie Kendrickson, the motherly yet evil KKK wife, in Spike Lee's "Blackkklansman." We talk about the unique prep work that went into inhabiting her and the tools she used to stay present inside such a sick character. We also chat about her approach to comedy, particularly in the Ingrid Jungermann web series "F to 7th," and working with Craig Zobel in both "Compliance" (a favorite of mine, as may listeners know) and now the brand new CBS All Access show "One Dollar."

John Cho, known for his roles in 'Star Trek' and 'Harold and Kumar', discusses the unique challenges of his new movie 'Searching' filmed entirely on computer screens. He shares his connection with co-star Haley Lu Richardson in 'Columbus', and talks about the persuasive effort by director Aneesh Chaganty to cast him in a movie. Cho also compares working on big budget and small budget movies, and shares his desires in acting like performing action-packed scenes on a moving train.