Back To One

You know Olli Haaskivi from his work in series such as “Winning Time”, “Manifest”, and “The Sinner,” and films like “Motherless Brooklyn”, “Nancy” and of course, this Summer’s blockbuster “Oppenheimer,” where he played scientist Edward Condon. On this episode he shares his experience of working with Christopher Nolan on that film (which he says seemed less sprawling than some student films he’s worked on!), why he felt the freedom to bring his ideas and “all of himself” (spoiler: Nolan is not afraid of actors!), and how all this affected the work in the moment. Plus he talks about his “this IS the job” approach to auditioning, something post-strike that he’d like to see implemented about the work, why you can’t get to the great stuff “without risking that it might all go off the rails,” and much more.

Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from Filmmaker Magazine. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.

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Brit Marling is an inspiration. The talented multi-hypenate became an indie darling in 2011 with “Another Earth” and “Sound of My Voice”—collaborations with Mike Cahill and Zal Batmanglij respectively. She avoided various vapid roles and unfulfilling career paths and instead went on to star in (and co-create with Batmanglii) the hit Netflix series “The OA,” which was bafflingly cancelled after two seasons, despite a rabid and large fan base. The two are back with another series, “A Murder At The End of The World”—a cool Zoomer detective whodunit set in a remote super-hotel in Iceland. On this episode, she talks about how knowing she will have to play a character affects the writing process, the “shared loneliness” of collaboration, using AI as a story element before the world even knew it existed, why she has to hold on to her character during the editing process, the cosmic concoction she uses to make her ideas grow, and much more.

Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from Filmmaker Magazine. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.

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The SAG strike is over and Back To One returns in the most fitting way—with The Sixth Annual Kevin Corrigan Episode. The living patron saint of the indie actor fills us in on what’s been going on in his world over the past year, talks about playing off of Tim Blake Nelson in his latest film “Bang Bang,” takes us way back to his first time on a film set as an extra in 1987, describes a recent rewarding experience of performing his own ultra personal material, and ponders his strange case of involuntary lens spiking. Plus stories about “manhandling” Christopher Walken, a horrific "Sopranos" audition, sitting down with Pacino at a diner, and much much more.

Past Kevin Corrigan Episodes: Ep. 1, Ep. 67, Ep. 133, Ep.185 Ep. 234

Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from Filmmaker Magazine. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.

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“Dogleg” is one of the best films of the year. A unique and hilarious feat of cinematic inventiveness, it follows amateur director Alan, played by Al Warren, after he loses his fiancé's dog at a gender reveal party on the day of an important shoot. Warren also wrote and directed the film, which took more than half a decade to finish. On this episode, he tells us why he was in no hurry to complete the film, and why he has taken a much more intentional and meaningful approach toward bringing it to the audience. He takes us back to his childhood, and a story of how prematurely promised stardom, followed by years of actively avoiding acting, led him to arrive at the craft in a genuinely meaningful and life-enriching way, which is where we find him now. Plus he shares his philosophy of comedy (which boils down to “Nothing is funnier than self-seriousness”), talks about his latest role opposite Nicolas Cage in “Dream Scenario,” and much more.

Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from Filmmaker Magazine. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.

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Aidan Gillen returns to the podcast (first time: Episode 40). You know him from some of the most beloved shows of the century: “Game of Thrones,” “The Wire,” “Peaky Blinders,” to name a few. Now he stars in the Irish Neo-noir film “Barber,” where he plays a private investigator hired by a wealthy widow to find her missing granddaughter. He talks about why he doesn’t look at the lines until the day before shooting, how his latest venture on the stage affected his work, why he still doesn’t like rehearsal for film, what bothers him about the idea of an “actor-centric” production, and much more.

Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from Filmmaker Magazine. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.

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Onur Tukel is a boldly independent writer-director-actor who, for more than a decade, has been making cutting edge comedies in New York City that sometimes land in the horror category, sometimes social satire, are often absurd, mostly hilarious, and always thoughtful—“Catfight,” “Applesauce,” “Summer of Blood,” “The Misogynists,” “Scenes From An Empty Church,” to name just a few. His latest, “Poundcake,” about a serial killer who only targets straight white men, is maybe his boldest yet, which says a lot. In this hour, he talks about his reluctant approach toward acting in his own films, the ways he has navigated low budget indie film production consistently enough to make a film every year, what rejuvenated his excitement for making movies after almost quitting, why he won’t stop taking big storytelling risks, and much more!

Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from Filmmaker Magazine. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.

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The great actor of the stage and screen, Ron Cephas Jones died on August 19, 2023, at the age of 66. On this episode from 2020, he details the value of a true collaborative relationship with the director, why the script never leaves his side in preproduction, talks about what it was like to slowly build “William” on “This Is Us” through many seasons of that show, and takes us back to his early days at LAByrinth theater in New York City to explain how Philip Seymour Hoffman forever changed his approach to work, plus much more! This is an expanded version of his episode, recorded on June 29, 2020, featuring a few minutes of extra material not included in the original release.

Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from Filmmaker Magazine. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.

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Please Note: These interviews were recorded prior to the SAG/AFTRA strike, in June 2023, as part of the Tribeca Festival.

On this special episode of Back To One, actors Sophia Lillis, Hannah Gross, and Michael Cera talk about their work in writer/director Dustin Guy Defa’s wonderful new film "The Adults." We get a glimpse into each of their general preparation processes before doing a deep dive into their work on this actor-centric production. They each talk about how they built the reality of their complex sibling relationship, why the songs and dances that play such a big part in their characters’ past feel so organic, the extremely hard task of being truly unfunny, and much more. The Adults opens in select U.S. cities on August 18th.

Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from Filmmaker Magazine. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.

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On this very special episode, I visit the picket line at each of the four SAG/AFTRA strike sites in New York City, in one continuous, unbroken audio “take.” Actors Michael Gaston, Clarissa Thibeaux, and others talk to me about what’s at stake, and en route to each location I share my own thoughts on the issues at hand, make some predictions, voice concerns, and offer up my total and complete solidarity to the cause, all supported by the loud and never-ending symphony of the New York City streets! Get ready for the strangest, but definitely most sonic-rich, episode of this podcast yet!

This episode was recorded on Monday, August 7, 2023 from 9:56am ET until 10:48am ET

For more information of the SAG/AFTRA strike, click here

Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from Filmmaker Magazine. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.

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(This episode was recorded prior to the SAG/AFTRA strike)

Dierdre Friel always finds a way to ground her characters in such a deep reality that you feel like they aren’t written at all, just simply among the living. Two examples of this can be found in “Ella” on the NBC show “New Amsterdam,” and “Greta” on “Physical,” the Apple TV+ hit that enters its third season on August 2nd. On this episode, she details the helpful exercise of laying out the similarities she shares with the character, and using Meisner’s “what if” when the differences outweigh them. She talks about her amazing experience training at the Globe Theater, the “detective work” that is so integral to her process, the risky decision to take a part in a play that continues to pay dividends, and much more.

Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast from Filmmaker Magazine. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.

Follow Back To One on Instagram