Interview: ‘Vikings’ Katheryn Winnick on Her Audition for the Show and Shooting Battle Scenes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:30 — 6.6MB)

The History Channels Vikings is one of those shows that just keep getting better and better. It’s so well written and the cast, including George Blagden, Travis Fimmel and Katheryn Winnick are just great. 

Winnick plays Lagertha in the show and in this roundtable interview, she talks about how she got cast – complete with a story about driving around town in a Viking costume – going from Bones to a period piece and shooting on location in Ireland.

Vikings airs on Sundays at 10pm on The History Channel

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes  Read more

Interview: Travis Fimmel Talks ‘Vikings’, Learning the Norse Language and Shooting in Ireland

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:42 — 8.8MB)

Vikings tells the story of Ragnar, one of the greatest heroes of that era. It follows him, his family and band of Viking brothers on his quest to become the King of the Viking tribes. His often brutal quest.

Travis Fimmel plays Ragnar and as he said when I talked with him at WonderCon, it wasn’t the violence, it was learning the Viking language. “It took me a long time,” he said.

In the interview, Travis talks about getting that language down, the shooting conditions in Ireland – “it just pissed down rain” – and how he prepares for the next shooting day when he’s already working long such long hours.

Vikings airs on Sundays at 10pm on The History Channel

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes  Read more

Interview: ‘Vikings’ George Blagden on How He Got Cast and Doing a Sex Scene on His Very First Day On-Set

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:01 — 9.7MB)

George Blagden plays Athelstan in The History Channel’s great new show, Vikings. Created by Michael Hirst, the show is about the adventures of Ragnar (Travis Fimmel), his family and his band Viking brothers.

Besides his work in Vikings, you may have seen him as Grantaire in the film version of Les Miserables. From singing in the French revolution to playing a 12th century viking… he’s has had a very good year!

I talked to George at WonderCon about how he got his part, being nervous on his first day on set – he had to do a sex scene…the very first day – and how he prepared to play a Viking. 

Vikings airs on Sundays at 10pm on The History Channel

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes  Read more

Interview: Matt Bomer talks ‘Superman: Unbound’ and How Voice Acting is a “Different Beast”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:47 — 4.7MB)

I’ve always liked Matt Bomer and love him in USA’s White Collar. But, I guess I never really knew how popular he was till I tweeted a picture I took of him when I was at WonderCon. It was the most re-tweets I’d ever gotten on anything ever. I stopped counting after 100. It was crazy!

So, yeah. People love Matt Bomer.

And what’s not to like. The guy is incredibly handsome, smart, funny and a great actor. Now, he can add playing the Man of Steel as something else he’s good at. That’s right, he’s voicing Clark Kent and his alter ego, Superman, in the new DC animated film, Superman: Unbound, which also stars Castle‘s Molly C. Quinn.

I talked to Matt in a roundtable interview and it went by quick. I think we only got like 6 or 7 minutes with him. He was very cool and I hope one day I can talk with him longer and ask him some more in-depth questions. In the interview, he talks about doing voice work and how it’s “almost harder” then being on-screen, why he found playing Superman challenging and how the part has been circling his career “pretty heavily.”

Superman: Unbound will be released on May 7th on DVD & Blu-Ray

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes  Read more

Interview: Molly C. Quinn on Voicing Supergirl in ‘Superman: Unbound’

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:28 — 5.2MB)

Castle‘s Molly C. Quinn is taking up residence in Smallville. In the new DC animated film, Superman: Unbound, she play’s the Man of Steel’s cousin, Kara. Better known as Supergirl.

I talked to Molly at WonderCon where she talked about voice work, preparing the script beforehand and what superhero she’d love to play in a live-action film.

Superman: Unbound will be released on May 7th on DVD & Blu-Ray

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes 

So how do you feel about Supergirl as a character and the experience of voicing her?

Molly C. Quinn: I felt very similar to her, to be honest. She’s very headstrong and when she wants something, she’s gonna get it. When she wants to get something done, she’s gonna get it done. And she doesn’t need anybody else to tell her how to get it done or anything like that. She knows that she’s capable and she’s gonna do it. So that’s what I tried to bring to her and that’s what I connected with her about and that’s definitely what I took from her. Read more

Interview: Voice Casting Director Andrea Romano talks Casting ‘Superman: Unbound’, Telephone Auditions and Going to Bat for “Rank and File” Actors

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:45 — 8.8MB)

Andrea Romano is one of the top voice casting directors around. From SpongeBob Squarepants to Animaniacs, The Smurfs to Batman, she’s cast dozens of animated shows and films since the mid-80′s.

Lately, she’s been casting the DC animated films (Justice League and Green Lantern to name a few) and her current film, Superman: Unbound, was one of the featured panels at WonderCon. 

Andrea is also the voice director on the film that stars Molly C. Quinn as Supergirl, Stana Katic as Lois Lane and Matt Bomer as Superman. She said in a roundtable interview that that means she’s listening to the actor’s work and helping them round out their performance, sometimes even giving the actors line readings after they’ve done 5 or 6 takes.

Andrea was very cool and you’re definitely going to like this interview. She talks about voice casting and finding the right voices, not caring if the actors are known or not, auditioning over the phone, and getting that right “Ahh’s” and “Arghs!”

Superman: Unbound will be released on May 7th on DVD & Blu-Ray

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes 

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SXSW Interview: Actors Josh Barrett and Marc Menchaca Talk About Their Feature Film Debut as Co-Directors of ‘This Is Where We Live’

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:54 — 11.6MB)

Josh Barrett and Marc Menchaca are two actors who are doing things right. They’re not waiting for someone – their agents, managers, whoever – to call them. They took their careers into their own hands and made a really nice film called, This Is Where We Live.

Josh and Marc met and became friends while they were filming HBO’s Generation Kill in Africa. When that ended, they kept in touch, helping each and with auditions. But, with acting not the most secure business in the world, they both separately branched out and started writing and directing. Marc eventually wrote the script for This Is Where We Live, contacted Josh and the two decided to go all in and make the film. They would end up co-directing and Marc would be the star.

The film, which screened at SXSW, is set in Texas and has Marc playing Noah, a local handyman. He’s hired by a family to build a wheelchair ramp for the families son, August (Tobias Segal), who has cerebral palsy. Noah and August form a bond and from that, lives are changed. The writing is great, the actors are pretty damn perfect and as directors, Marc and Josh definitely have a bright future. Check it out if you get a chance.

I talked to both Marc and Josh after SXSW ended about why they decided to grab the reigns of their careers as they put it and make the film. We also talked about how co-directing worked, directing the actors and their advice to others who want more out of their careers.

 For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes  Read more

SXSW Interview: Brian Geraghty on ‘Kilimanjaro’, Acting Survival Jobs and Working with Denzel Washington

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:43 — 7.4MB)

Brian Geraghty is so good in smaller roles in films like Flight (opposite Denzel Washington) and The Hurt Locker, just to name a few. He’s always got something going on in his eyes and most anything he does I’ve always enjoyed watching.

In Kilimanjaro, which premiered at SXSW this year, Brian is out front and center as the star of the film. He plays Doug, a guy who’s life isn’t what he imagined. He’s got a bad job, boring relationship and he’s just wading through life. When his girlfriend packs up and leaves, he decides to embark on a more meaningful life and starts planning to climb the famous Mount Kilimanjaro. But, as sometimes happens, life gets in the way and he finds himself trying to get to that elusive mountaintop… both literally and figuratively.

Brian is an interesting guy and I got a kick out of talking to him at SXSW. We talked about how he prepared for his role in Kilimanjaro, how he got his start, what it was like showing up on the set of Flight and working with Denzel Washington and what was his acting survival job(s) were.

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes  Read more

SXSW Interview: Abigail Spencer talks ‘Kilimanjaro’, Working with Good People and Her Advice to Actors

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:13 — 9.1MB)

When Abigail Spencer shows up on your screen, you know those moments will be interesting. She was one of the best parts about Chasing Mavericks and she made the opening segment of Oz, the Great and Powerful that much better. 

Abigail was discovered by casting director of All My Children, Judy Blye Wilson, when she was – get this – sitting in the audience of the Regis and Kathy Lee. Wilson tracked her down, had her audition for a role on the soap and she ended up doing a little more than 20 episodes. But before you get all, “What the heck?,” she already had the chops. She went to Carnegie Mellon University for acting, spent her teen years doing theater and her mentor growing up was none other than Broadway great Ann Reinking.

I talked to Abigail at SXSW where she was promoting her film, Kilimanjaro. In that film, Brian Geraghty plays Doug, a guy kind of floating through life. After his girlfriend moves out, Doug decides to embark on a more meaningful life and starts planning to climb the famous Mount Kilimanjaro. Abigail plays a woman who comes into his life and shows him that being spontaneous isn’t a bad thing.

In this interview, we talk about how she got her start – including the Regis and Kathy Lee story, giving back to young actors, working with good people and her advice to actors.

Follow Abigail on Twitter and be sure to check her out in the new Sundance Channel series, Rectify. Premieres April 22nd!

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes 

Read more

SXSW Interview: Writer, Director & Actor Shane Carruth Talks ‘Upstream Color’

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:19 — 11.9MB)

If you haven’t seen Shane Carruth’s directorial debut, Primer, you are missing out. It’s really something to witness and it’s one of those debut films that people are still in awe of.

His sophomore effort is Upstream Color, which screened at SXSW. The film, which also stars Amy Seimetz, is about how two people mysteriously come together by a strange, almost mystical and kind of evil organism. The film explores ideas about life, love and the images and imagery he captures on film is something that you really should witness in a theater. It might take you a couple minutes to get into it but once you do, the film just takes over and you’re engulfed in this world he’s created. It’s really quite something.

Like Primer, Shane was the writer, director, producer, composer, editor and actor on the film and it’s a massive undertaking. When I talked with him at SXSW, I have to say, he was completely inspiring and I would love to have half his energy and intelligence.

In the interview, we talk about his decision to be the lead actor, if he has any vanity at all when watching himself on-screen, casting and how he got the inspiration for the story.

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes 

Upstream Color opens in New York today and expands around the country April 12th. Read more

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