We present: Peter Rinaldi, our most prepared guest to date.
Peter — filmmaker, sometimes actor, and host of the @backtoonepodcast — came with a list of questions, critiques, and concerns.
Once he’s done grilling us, it turns into one of our most acting-process-heavy episode ever.
Is the smoke in the basement immersive or obnoxious? What is the difference between an actor imagining vs pretending? And Ryan’s absolute disgust for people who seek his approval.IWe talk about how teaching has changed us as actors. Ryan and David have very different answers.
Also:
• Peter’s transcendent night doing The Seagull and trying to recreate it.
• Ryan’s upcoming dream play in Boston with @arlekhinplayers
• The critical reception of AF productions
Friend of the pod. Interrogator of the pod. Peter Rinaldi, ladies and gentlemen.
Mike and Josh from Creative Risk really got us talking. About acting process, and building a community at AF, and so many other things we dont necessarily get to talk about when its just us. This is a good one.
We commemorate the legendary Dame Maggie Smith. Ryan draws a wild artistic parallel between Maggie Smith and Carrie Coon. Honestly, he’s got something. We talk acting styles, outlooks on life, and the 4 year period they both took of playing great roles in great plays without any possibility of acclaim or exposure. Also. Ryan saw Carrie Coon at Steppenwolf in ‘The March’ and ‘Three Sisters’ long before he knew who she was. And now she’s his favorite contemporary actress.
Ryan learned of some not so nice things being said. We have an open conversation about something that some of our peers might be struggling with in private. Non sexual, career related.
There’s a lot more in there.
Xo
We present the testiest episode in the AF Pod’s history!
W/ our friend Cynthia Robinson.
Hear David get very defensive while proclaiming his lack of defensiveness! Is he afraid of his own sensitivity? Is his accent shtick a layer of defensiveness?
Hear Ryan defend his strong opinions, intensity of his texting style, and gnawing need for validation.
Who’s at fault for the pods inconsistency? Why doesn’t David ever bring guests onto the pod?
We discuss the Kim Kardashian and Chloe Sevigny Actors on Actors interview. Is David.. Kim?
What roles are Ryan and David playing on the pod, and how’s that working for them?
Cynthia Robinson, our resident psychoanalyst brings it all out of us.
Friendships have ended over much less.
We had a surreal conversation with the legendary Austin Pendleton.
Austin’s credits would never fit in a caption. He’s been in over 250 movies and worked with Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and Elia Kazan.
His recent Broadway credits include acting in Choir Boy in 2016 and The Minutes in 2022, and directing Between Riverside and Crazy, also in 2022.
We talked Williamstown, receiving reviews bad enough to make you quit acting, mic dropping acting advice, and stories from the short lived Lincoln Center Repertory Theater (headed by Elia Kazan).
Oh. Austin saw Adult Film’s production of the Seagull, and Ryan offers him a role in AF’s production of The Cherry Orchard.
We got a little drunk, and discussed two of the most iconic actors to have ever walked this earth. 😔
Gena Rowlands was Ryan’s greatest acting inspiration. What’s made her work mean so much to him? And what’s he learned from watching her that he’s worked to integrate into his own work. We discuss ‘Opening Night’ and the rawness of it. As well as the evolution of independent film as a result of her working relationship with her husband John Cassavetes.
We wonder out loud if Gena Rowlands and Alain Delon were stylistic opposites?
And then if Alain Delon’s unsavory past before becoming an actor contributed to the relaxed menace the he was able to portray so effortlessly on screen. We discuss his work in ‘Purple Moon’, and the new era of male on screen sexuality this his emergence as a star ushered in.
Enjoy.
We’re talking all things Faye Dunaway. The ‘Faye’ documentary just came out on HBO MAX and boy is it a crazy one.
We get into her iconic performances in ‘Chinatown’, ‘Network’, ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ and the context around them. And also her widely perceived misfire of ‘Mommie Dearest’. Was it her performance, or the script, or what? We get into it.
Why are there so many Faye Dunaway memes, and is this deserved? Is she severe and cruel, or just one of the best actresses of all time?
Ryan provides context around how she was perceived before and after ‘Mommie Dearest’, and what made her as iconic as she was.
ALSO. What is talent? Does it grow like a pearl or is it porous?
Enjoy.
We breakdown the Brian De Palma classic... 'Scarface' and then a whole lot of acting process talk.
Is Al Pacino's performance as Tony Montana a masterclass in transformational acting or... demonic? Who's to say? Us. thats who.
We break down this iconic movie-film and many of the performances.
Ryan just took Lindy Davies workshop. We get into lessons learned, Ryan's take aways as an actor and as a director.
We discuss moving slowly, and building the capacity to understand what we're actually feeling. And using it in our work.
Then we get into acting goals and areas of focus.
Enjoy.
ex oh
Warning: High drama very personal big stakes episode!!
Great week for us seeing theater…
We both saw PRE-EXISTING CONDITION Now up at The Connelly, directed by Maria Dizzia and written by Marin Ireland. It’s a wild play. We Discuss.
Ryan saw Joey Merlo’s MIDNIGHT COLESLAW running at The Tank till June 23rd, and David saw INVASIVE SPECIES at The Vineyard. We get into it baby.
Then…
David works through a big insecure, kinda resentful acting related breakdown :(
Ryan and David debate what playing a character means and how to do it.
And the dynamics of working through acting blocks while teaching classes filled with terrific actors.
Ryan discusses his expectations and hopes vs outcomes with The Seagull and what it means for his career and Adult Film going forward.
Also. Do you guys know who Mike Alfreds is?
Mark Rylance says “If I was allowed to train again to be an actor, but I was only allowed one teacher, it would have to be Mike Alfreds.”
Ps. He’s Michelle William’s coach too.
Perhaps this is worth investigating hmmm?
Enjoy :)
Ross Shenker!! Ross is an incredible New York Casting director, Chekhov teacher, scholar, writer and big friend of AF. And he’s definitely gonna get mad at me for calling him a scholar. But it’s true!
We discuss Joanna Arrow’s ‘The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something has Passed’. It’s a fucking wild ride. See it while it’s still in theaters.
Ross and David have both scene Adult Film’s production of the Seagull. We give thoughts (very honest).
We talk about success. What makes a film successful? How do we define it? And what are any of us really chasing after?
Also. How does someone who’s not a 19 year old model break into the industry. No shade to 19 year old models, but how does an average looking adult start to think about building a career in the entertainment industry. Ross weighs in.
Listen please. Please. We're desperate.
Ha ha. just kidding. We're cool baby (our space is in Bushwick).
K love you. Bye.
We had a very open, VERY AF conversation with the incredible Tina Satter.
Tina’s an Obie and Drama desk winning playwright and director, and (sometimes) teacher at Adult Film. Her Broadway produced play ‘Is This a Room’, was adapted into the critically acclaimed feature film ‘Reality’ with Sydney Sweeney.
We go in depth on Tina’s writing, and directing process. Finding a personal connection to Chekhov, and how the hell she gets her students to leave a 2 day workshop with close to fully formed plays.
Also advice to a hypothetical writer who’s written a great feature. Now what?
We talk details on getting her movie ‘REALITY’ made as a first time director.
And then we talk a little shit about actors not acting. And the secret, relatively non woo woo way to turn intentions into reality.
Also. David saw a rehearsal of @AdultFilm production of the Seagull. Gives thoughts.
Enjoy.
Time codes:
4:00
Tina’s workshops, how she structures them, and deconstructing how she works into her teaching.
6:45
How Tina’s teaching process developed and using prompts.
Using personal themes and experiences in work.
9:10
Using gestures
10:10
Specific physical behavior in direction being freeing vs limiting
14:00
Finding secret codes during rehearsal process
14:30 Tina’s journey, path to theater, and creative inspirations
19:30
Brooklyn College playwriting program
22:30
Knowing what to write about
27:00
Tina’s play ‘Seagull (Thinking of You)’
Discovering her way into Chekhov.
31:00
Experience doing a Q&A for ‘Reality’ for a Russian audience.
33:56
‘Reality’ discussion begins
35:21
Cinematographer Paul Yee having seen ‘Is this a Room’ on broadway from which ‘Reality’ was adapted.
36:00
The play vs the movie
40:02
“Boring trap” in Chekhov, a lot of classic texts and application to ‘Reality’
Making what’s seemingly passive on the page active.
41:50
Nuanced acting w repetitive dialogue.
44:30
Reality’s involvement in the process
46:30
The process of actually making ‘Reality’. From reading transcript to making the film.
51:10
Pushback on being first time director?
52:30
Tina’s non traditional path to making her first feature.
55:30
Dealing with resentment and developing “why not me attitude”
56:30
The process of doing.
57:30
Advice to writers who’ve written a feature. Now what…
1:01:00
AF training center by necessity.
1:01:45
Intentionality and creative/energetic output.
1:05:00
Actors not acting.
We have to do the thing.
1:08:30
Tina’s relationship with setting intentions
“Intentions with actions”
1:13:50
Writing in the age of cell phone addiction
1:14:40
Tina coming back to Adult Film???
1:15:15
David sits in on Seagull rehearsal (Opening may 10!!!)
How Ryan is feeling with the process, acting.
David tells semi unhinged story.
Will he or wont he???? Have a panic attack as we’re recording that is ;)
It’s a fun, slutty lil episode. You’ll see.
Small business ownership is hard and some people are mean. What do we do about it?
Adult Film was featured in the @gothamist… but not everyone’s happy about it.
Alotta psychology talk. About our responses to people talking shit, and where those responses were formed.
Ryan just shot a movie in ATL. We get into this experience.
We talk in depth about Kenneth Lonergan’s ‘You Can Count on Me’, the performances, and themes. And of course a great Jungian debate ensues.
David learns big lesson from Austin Butler in Dune, and thought on the play “The Effect” that was just up at @TheShedNY.
Ryan goes on our favorite (acting) podcast @backtoonepodcast,
And David makes a resolution to give up pettiness..
Enjoy.
“Hollywood Contraction: Actors Struggle To Find Jobs As TV Castings Dry Up” declares deadline. We get into it.
Are we all fucked? Should we find another profession? Or is everyone playing a different game?
We talk the TV revolution, Pilot Season’s last sighting, and who exactly is to blame for the near extinction of 22 episode seasons?
Also. Acting in NY vs LA, investing time/energy into things that don’t exist without us, and building a home at AF.
Then we break down Mike Leigh’s ‘Naked’ (which won best director and best actor at Cannes). And Mike Leigh’s use of improv to develop character and script.
Okay bye.
Time Codes:
2:00
A3 doesn’t exist anymore
2:50
The TV revolution
Girls, True Detective, House of Cards
4:10
True Detective’s supernatural through line
6:20
Sofia Coppola
10:00
That deadline article
11:15
When was the last time pilot season existed?
13:40
Who’s to blame for no more 22 episode seasons?
17:30
Series regulars are capped at 100k an episode oh nauuuerrrrr
19:15
Is “Peak TV” over?
20:45
Our takeaways from the article
23:40
What does being an actor mean to us.
26:00
Acting in La vs NY
28:30
We’re all living in different worlds
31:00
Building a home at Adult Film
35:40
Not putting your life on hold
37:20
Meaning. And Investing our energy into things that don’t exist without us.
40:45
Mike Leigh’s ‘Naked’ Discussion begins
And also quick tangents to Meryl Streep, ‘Sophie’s Choice’, Charlie Kaufman, ‘Bridges of Madison County’, ‘Past Lives’
46:50
Mike Leigh’s method. Using improv to develop character and script.
49:00
Using improv to understand dynamics that aren’t on the page
50:45
What stayed with us from “Naked”
57:45
Sheila O’Malley’s ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ essay
Cynthia Robinson came on the pod and completely shifted Ryan and David's dynamic. This is good. Very unhinged episode. I think this is excellent for us.
We broke down Jonathan Glazer's "Sexy Beast", and our slutty reasoning behind picking it to review. Ryan tells us his biggest acting/career related regret of his 20's, and we talk about the roots of our deepest egoic desires and whether they're worth following.
ALSO. Our experience being in our mid 30's at Adult Film, and in this industry in general. Expectation, and things we would have done differently.
Oh. and we even talk about everyones favorite channeled non-physical entity Abraham Hicks!
This is a good one.
Time Codes:
2:40 Sexy Beast Conversation begins.
5:30 Why’d David pick this movie
9:00 Surprising characters qualities and casting
13:00 How we pick the movies to talk about and differences in our tastes
Types of movies going forward
19:40 cultural/film context around Sexy Beast
21:20 Ryan’s favorite film subject
24:20 Brief ‘Irishmen’ discussion
26:40 Sensitive movie mobsters and what we’re projecting on to them.
28:45 societies expectations of men… and are they real.
Who actually punishes young men for vulnerability?
37;44 Cynthia loves making guys mad. Thoughts around jealousy and acting out in a relationship.
41:10 Getting older and AF. Being 35 and not having ‘MADE IT’
42:30 Ryan’s biggest regret in his 20’s. Art vs businessmindedness
45:00 Actual timeline of a career. Missing benchmarks.
46:22 Trap of class and community validation.
48:00. What are we actually in control of? Leaving a body of work…
What is the “Meaning” of Adult Film? And defining meaning.
52:00
Why do we want the things we want?
Should we follow purely egoic desires?
56:00
Difference between Ryan and David’s identities or non-identities as actors
58:30
Not trying as a defense mechanism to avoid heartbreak
1:01:00
Doing something for the sake of the doing.
1:04:00
Lil Abraham Hicks//manifestation debate
1:13:00
Very interesting conversation that I will not include in these notes.
1:14:00
Sex and The City discussion.
Happy New Year!! Wanna hear us say stuff we might regret? Great.
We talk some of the new movies of the year, Ryan’s experience on Ariana Grande’s video for ‘Yes, And?’. AND the original ‘Rocky’, which turns out is 95% incredible indie drama and 5% boxing movie.
There are some spicy takes, cringy confessions and a day of Intermittent Fasting broken with 4 glasses of red wine.
Oh. And we discover a major plot hole in Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Why does no-one talk about this?
Is 2024 is the year of Adult Film? Lets see baby.
Time Codes:
2:55
Ryan is in Ariana Grande’s new music video
4:45
Thoughts on new movies
6:45
Blue Valentine
12:10
May December and Charles Melton’s performance
15:00
Adult Film’s end of year showcase
16:00
Dramatic improv/fishing for compliments
17:50
Sense memory class at AF?
19:00
Rocky discussion
26:20
David is a new man, Ryan watches Mean Girls
27:45
The Notebook
Rachel McAdams and Ryan ‘The King of Love’ Gosling
28:50
Sylvester Stallone documentary
29:45
Setting goals/intentions for 2024
Thoughts on manifestation and affirmations
And a big embarrassing confession
35:00
The year of Adult Film ;)
36:30
An interesting encounter on the L train.
38:30
AF schedule for the year
39:45
Big plot hole in Long Days Journey Into Night.
41:45
We need help making video content for the pod!!
42:30
Closing thoughts from Ryan
We sat down with Maria Dizzia!! Maria is a Tony and Drama Desk nominated actor/Ryan’s acting teacher and mentor. Her film and TV work includes ‘Martha Mary May Marlene’, ‘While We’re Young’, ‘Christine’, and ’13 Reasons Why’.
We talk acting process in detail, feeling numb on stage and working through blocks, using imagination vs drawing from your own life, “giving it all up” in performances, and seeing Liev Schreiber in ‘View From the Bridge”
Also learning from Maria’s journey in acting and biggest lessons learned.
This is a good one. Enjoy 😘
Time Codes:
1:52
Ryan and Maria’s history and experience working together
7:00
Maria’s teaching process
9:12
Ryan reads an email from Maria about what he needs to work on in scenes
13:55
How Maria started teaching
18:15
Working through acting blocks
19:35
Using your blocks as information for your process and performance
22:18
When you feel “numb” on-stage. And using it as a springboard.
27:30
Liev Schreiber in ‘View From the Bridge’. Forcing audience to listen.
30:40
“The art stands in for the world”
34:00
Connection with audience. Creating boundaries to understand what’s yours and what isn’t.
38:00
“Giving it all up” so performances can be cathartic vs draining
41:15
Maria’s timelines. Lessons and training that have the greatest impact.
54:05
“You’re paying for an audience”
1:03:00
Archetype work, drawing from your own life, imagination and using whatever tools work.
1:13:00
“Submerging technique”
1:17:00
Maria’s transition to film/tv and working with Harold Guskin.
1:20:00
The trap of imitating your own truth.
1:23:00
Finding freedom in theater vs film/TV
1:28:20
Learning to enjoy work that you don’t immediately like/understand.
1:29:27
Watching Antonio Campos’ ‘Christine’ with Rebecca Hall and Maria. Maria on her performance.
1:31:35
Maria’s favorite TV/Film project she’s worked on.
1:33:25
How Maria started working with her agent/manager.
And addressing reality of building a team that actually represents you.
1:36:50
Ryan losing his manager.
Our very first guest! Sheila O’Malley is an incredible actor-focused film critic (Roger Ebert, film comment) and cultural essayist. Her work has had a huge impact on Ryan. If you love film, if you love acting… this episode will make you happy.
We talk Gena Rowlands, Bette Davis, and our favorite modern actors. We discuss John Cassavetes’ ‘Opening Night’, Streetcar named Desire at Williamstown, and the ever changing pipeline of how directors discover actors. Oh, and also a whole lot of actor process talk. Enjoy.
xo
3:00
The impact of Sheila’s work on how Ryan thinks about film and culture
7:50
Sheila’s essay on ‘Streetcar named Desire’ at Williamstown. Stella being the key to the play.
9:10
‘who am I this time?’ And ‘Opening Night’ being some of the best films about acting
12:20
How Sheila developed her artistic perspective and started writing
16:00
Director vs actor focused film critiques
20:20
‘Raging Bull’ discussion and casting
26:10
How directors discovered and fall in love with actors
34:40
Green Screen being everywhere (even in TRUE DETECTIVE?????) and what we lose.
37:50
Dan Callahan’s 2 incredible books on American film acting.
Positive vs negative responses to life in performances
40:38
“A sense of searching” in performances. Gena Rowlands as an example
46:20
“Thin air acting”
47:45
More on Dan Callahan
Bette Davis. Playing the result not the cause
53:00
Ryan: “this is the most important minute of acting pre-brando”
56:20
Modern Actors we love
1:00:45
Gena Rowlands performance in “Opening Night”. Sense of truth.
Ryan’s favorite movie.
1:12:00
Cassavettes and relationship based movies.
1:14:04
Continuing ‘Opening Night’ discussion. Why it’s Ryan’s favorite movie.
1:16:00
How consensus about a film builds and
times when Sheila got a review wrong
1:18:05
Rebecca Hall in ‘Resurrection’
1:19:45
Discussion about younger actors that we love
1:29:20
The heir of Bette Davis
1:34:00
Meryl Streep and hints about her process
This week we discuss Christian Petzold’s ‘Afire’.
The performances of the incredible leads, unlikeable main characters, and the German version of a “Summer Blockbuster”.
We make a quick detour to psychoanalyze Franz Rogowski and to debate happiness vs. meaning.
Then we get into all things career related.
Development as an actor, when to focus on getting an agent, how to actually get good at auditioning when you have no idea what other people’s auditions look like, and our different approaches to our careers.
Oh! And Ryan reveals Adult Film’s next major production after ‘The Seagull’.
There’s a whole lot of other stuff in there. Time codes below:
1:20
Afire discussion
6:30
Unlikeable main characters
15:45
Psychoanalyzing Franz Rogowski
Happiness vs joy vs meaning
19:06
Thoughts on how to develop as a younger actor
22:00
Getting an agent
25:55
Role of pay-to-plays with casting directors/agents
27:50
Role of private coaching
31:00
Not delaying life while ur waiting to book something
35:00
Ryan and David’s different approaches to career
36:55
David wants to do a play w Ryan
39:00
No Fun improv w/ @reunion
42:50
David went to Ryan’s acting class!!
47:50
Seeing ‘Seaguts’ at the actors studio
48:25
Ryan reveals Adult Films next production after The Seagull!!!
52:15
Tom Hardy/crazy talk begins
56:30
Fanboying over Peter Rinaldi and his podcast/our favourite podcast @backbone
59:00
Thoughts on why some technically not so good actors are working.
Watchability vs technique
Wild one for you today!!! Apologies for the reverb. Maybe listen on 1.3/1.5 speed if it bothers you.
Ryan goes on a retreat with Adult Film, David finishes the run of his play and reads the reviews.
The guys both auditioned for Danny and The Deep Blue Sea, and then watched each other's tapes. Oh! And Ryan just did a reading at New York Theater Workshop.
We've got acting lessons and even a touch of working through shadow elements.
Time codes:
1:40
The Seagull retreat
10:15
How Ryan’s love of Chekhov was born
16:27
David’s relationship w Chekhov
19:06
Experience of doing Bite Me @ WP
Acting lessons, uncomfortable moments
24:20
Reading the reviews
26:37
Ryan‘s feedback on the play
29:25
Ryan and David both audition for Danny and the Deep Blue sea
Breakdown the difference in their auditions
37:30
Ryan did a reading at NY theater workshop!!
Also interesting detour about working through shadow
We break down Isabelle Huppert's and Robert De Niro's performances in 'The Piano Teacher' and 'Taxi Driver.' We discuss themes, and similarities/differences in character drives. Ryan gets Jungian.
Then we discuss our own trajectories in the industry and in NY, and our lowest points. We get nice and personal :)
And we also briefly debate whether or not everyone under the age of 30 is bisexual. 🤷♀️
Time Codes:
3:05
Isabelle huppert
5:30
Actors not having/or not talking about their process
7:09
The piano teacher//taxi driver comparison
8:29
Robert De Niro Submerging technique
Analysing what he brings role to role and moment to moment
12:09
What’s driving Travis Bickel
The theme of Taxi Driver
16:50
Watching actors think on screen
18:50
Surrealism in Taxi Driver
20:00
How deeply Isabelle Huppert feels vs how little her face moves
20:50
Is the industry over?
22:00
Why can we all relate to Travis Bickel now?
23:00
Jungian analysis of taxi driver and the piano teacher
Discussion about last scene of taxi driver
27:30
Ryan and David disagree on humanity or lack thereof in Travis Bickel
31:25
Getting into ‘The Piano Teacher’
45:00
‘Power of the Actor’ Book
47:00
Full(ish) story of our trajectories and lowest points in the industry
1:00:35
The acting scene in Atlanta
1:08:00
Feelings about career now vs when Ryan got to Ny
1:14:02
David gets advice from older working actor
The days of the actors studio is done?
1:19:00
Ryan does or does not believe in an intelligent universe
Spirishual talk
