Interviews
Q & A: Noah Wyle on ‘Falling Skies’, the Cast and His Newest Co-Star, Booger the Horse
Noah: “I was more exhausted at the end of this season than I had been”
Interview: Brit Marling and Director Zal Batmanglij Talk ‘The East’, Their Writing Process and Acting Notebooks
Brit on acting notebooks: “They can kind of become a crutch”
Interview: Tony Nominee Shalita Grant on ‘Vanya and Sonia’, Her Rehearsal Process and Why She Was Willing to Wait for Her Broadway Debut
We also talk about her Tony Nomination, Juilliard and her advice to actors!
Click Here For More Interviews!Acting Advice
Nature of the Beast
Chart your course, set your goals and go after it again and again!
Fail Boldly
Make the choices that you are scared of. Experiment. Play. Fail!
Keep the Drama on the Stage: How to Get Along with Your Fellow Actors
Ego and competition! 3 Steps to get along with your actor friends
Want To Read More Columns? Click Here!
Latest News
Oxford Academic Reveals Horrible Conditions for Elizabethan Child ActorsJune 19, 2013 | 1 Comment
History has shown that child actors on film and television often face tremendous “growing pains,” with many of them spiraling into drug and alcohol abuse and falling prey (in a variety of terrible ways) to older people that they trust. But according to one academic, child actors of today have it easy compared to child actors in the Elizabethan era.
Dr. Bart van Es of the University of Oxford says that child actors in the Elizabethan era underwent “systematic exploitation and abuse.” By studying court documents, Dr. van Es discovered that children were picked up off the streets and made to perform by “violence and force” (including whipping). Continue »
June 19, 2013 | Leave a Comment
Here’s the newest trailer for Anchorman 2!
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues - With the 70′s behind him, San Diego’s top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), returns to the news desk in “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.” Also back for more are Ron’s co-anchor and wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), man on the street Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner) – All of whom won’t make it easy to stay classy… while taking New York’s first 24-hour news channel by storm.
In theaters: December 20th Continue »
June 18, 2013 | Leave a Comment
Falling Skies, TNT’s hit series, just started Season 3 and as its star, Noah Wyle, said in a recent conference call that he’s “never experienced a show that got better, and better, and better.”
Wyle is really proud of the show and in particular, this season. The “scare factor” is up, the characters are more “engaging” and the show is working on all cylinders.
In this interview, Wyle talks about the show and how it was much more physically demanding than previous seasons, how his son suggested that he originally take the role and his newest co-star, Booger the horse.
Falling Skies airs on Sunday at 10pm on TNT Continue »
June 18, 2013 | Leave a Comment
Emma Watson’s startling transformation from comely British schoolgirl to status obsessed SoCal party princess in Sophia Coppola’s gorgeous new cautionary tale, The Bling Ring isn’t the first time that an actor has thrown themself out of their comfort zone. In fact, since the dawn of Hollywood, performers have struggled to challenge the image that this industry, their fans, and the rest of America seem intent on fashioning them with.
Of course, when all goes right, careers can be made or solidified, and the true range of a particular actor is stunningly revealed. Here’s five recent examples of just that:
June 18, 2013 | Leave a Comment
Five years ago Jane Lynch was best known for her hilarious appearances in Christopher Guest‘s ensemble mockumentaries and doing abbreviated runs on soon-to-be-canceled television series. Though she was a familiar face, she never seemed to reach her potential. Then came Glee and her career-changing starring role as Sue Sylvester… and Lynch’s world has never been the same since.
Now she is fulfilling one of her longtime dreams starring in Broadway’s Annie as Miss Hannigan. She gave a lengthy interview with The Star about how she got here and how she doesn’t really care where she ends up going.
Despite Miss Hannigan being a nasty character, Lynch admits that she’s really enjoying her Broadway turn. She says, “I’m having a blast. She’s an amazing character. She hates what she is, but she’s got enough energy to try and get past that. But don’t get the wrong idea. Once I’m doing a part, I just show up every day, put on the clothes and do my thing.” Continue »
June 17, 2013 | Leave a Comment
After hosting the Tony Awards, Neil Patrick Harris won’t be away from Broadway too long. It looks like as soon as he’s done with the last season of How I Met Your Mother, he’s headed back to New York to start in the Broadway premiere of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
The musical, by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask, will open in the spring of 2014.
The remaining creative team members, additional casting, and the theatre will be confirmed at a later date.
Neil Patrick Harris said, “I am simultaneously ecstatic and terrified to be stepping into Hedwig’s heels. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime role and I can’t wait to begin the journey.” Continue »
June 17, 2013 | Leave a Comment
For all the ill will IMDb got during the recent lawsuit that accused the website of fostering ageism in Hollywood and the reveling personal details, it’s worth noting that The Los Angeles Times did a recent article about how IMDb Pro has helped actors profoundly in the past.
The prime example used in the article is Robert Pattinson, a virtual unknown before being cast in the starring role of the Twilight film series. When looking to cast the part, Summit Entertainment’s casting directors browsed IMDb when Pattinson’s name came up and based on the information on there decided to contact him. $3.3 billion dollars in box office money later, Pattinson is no longer an unknown. Continue »
June 17, 2013 | Leave a Comment
It’s incredibly hard for actors on a long-running television series to find success in other roles — mainly because audiences want to keep seeing them as the character that the actor became famous for in the first place. As a result, it’s likely John Krasinski will have a difficult time being seen as anyone else as the affable Jim from The Office for the next few years… at least! Yahoo! News spoke with Krasinski about his upcoming work and whether his decision to move into behind-the-scenes roles means we’ve seen the last of him on camera.
Krasinski’s first post-Office releases were a small role in the revival of Arrested Development and voiceover work for the Disney/Pixar movie Monsters University. Krasinski points out that he enjoyed both, saying, “It was fun to do both those roles but they were small, fun roles … For me it was just supporting two things I love so much. I think Arrested Development is one of the best shows ever on television, so I was just honored to be a part of that in any way. And it is exactly the same with Monsters University. Not only am I a fan, but my nieces and nephews are bigger fans than I am, so it is the first time in my career that I reached hero status in their eyes.” Continue »
June 17, 2013 | Leave a Comment
As someone who writes reviews of films and theater, I’m no stranger to the creators of what I review lashing back at me if I say something critical about their work. Of course, this is nothing new — just recently Alec Baldwin called for the firing of New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley because he felt Brantley’s review of his recent play was too harsh and said nobody he knows likes Brantley anyway — but most people in the arts seem to understand that the simple act of making your work public immediately opens yourself up to criticism, both constructive and petty. However, because of the internet and social media, it’s easier for those criticized to bite back.
Such is the case with playwright Neil LaBute and a recent review of his play Reasons to be Happy, which is now running off-Broadway at the MCC Theatre and stars The Office‘s Jenna Fischer and Crossing Jordan‘s Leslie Bibb. Time Out‘s David Cole not only gave the play a negative review, but he called aspects of it boorish, monotonous, predictable, and banal. In fact, he began his review with, “If Neil LaBute were to teach a course on playwriting, I bet his lesson plan would look something like this: ‘Week 1: Dumbing down characters to pad out dialogue and pump up conflict’” and it just went downhill from there. Continue »
June 17, 2013 | Leave a Comment
As most parents can tell you, kids can be hard to please. For example, most adults would find it pretty cool to meet Robert Downey, Jr. After all, he’s a fantastic actor and comes off as quite the character in interviews.
But not for one and a half year-old Jaxson Denno, who cried when he met Downey. But I guess I could understand it — he was told he was going to meet Iron Man and Downey didn’t show up in costume. Well, it’s probably a bit more difficult for Downey to bring Iron Man’s gear around than it is for Johnny Depp to bring his Captain Jack Sparrow costume to visit children.
