S2E68: Acting Up

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

In this GRAB BAG OF GOODIES, MALCOLM MCDOWELL, TAYE DIGGS, SHERRIE ROSE, BARRY PRIMUS MARK IVANIR, CHARLES FLEISCHER and BRANDON ROUTH all do a little ACTING UP as they take us deep inside their acting process to where the nitty meets the gritty. Where characters really come alive inside actors’ heads.

We’ve said many times on this podcast that we never, ever hired actors to act. That’s because, in film and TV, the camera sees everything – including acting. That’s why the best, most successful film actors don’t act for the camera. They just “are”. They’ve learned how to be the most honest version of themselves – for the camera. There really is a craft to acting for the screen.

Actors Talk Acting

Malcolm talks about his experience making CALIGULA – another great example of how NOT To Make A Movie. Or porn for that matter.

TAYE DIGGS takes us into his acting process. He’s actually got terrible stage fright but has taught himself to overcome it completely. That gave him the courage to appear on – and win – LIP SYNC BATTLE.

At Crypt – where we usually hired actors only once – we hired SHERRIE ROSE three times because we liked her so much! Sherrie shares the story of making the “ON A DEAD MAN’S CHEST” episode, directed by WILLIAM FRIEDKIN. Sherrie’s also a filmmaker in her own right. She tells another story, too, about a big directing break that would have required her to check her integrity at the door.

BARRY PRIMUS took us backstage to the first time he auditioned for JEROME ROBBINS and then sat in while Robbins directed the brilliant ZERO MOSTEL.

CHARLES FLEISCHER’s parents wanted him to be a doctor. Charlie wen to LA instead and got hired on LAUGH IN and lots of other classic 70’s comedies. In time, he became the voice of ROGER RABBIT. All the while, Charlie dreamed of growing up and becoming a scientist.

Multilingual MARK IVANIR acts all over the world. Americans would recognize Mark from his work on SHOWTIME’s HOMELAND as a vicious Russian spy. Mark talked about the craft of acting. Mark’s quite a craftsman. That’s why keeps working with master like DE NIRO, CHRISTOPHER WALKEN, KATHERINE KEENER and the late PHYLIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN.

Finally, BRANDON ROUTH talks about getting the role of his lifetime: Superman in “SUPERMAN RETURNS”. The really, really weird thing is? Brandon saw it coming from a long, long way off. Now that’s super, man!

We’ve picked out some of the best bits from this year’s conversations with actors. It really was a season where acting up made for some of our favorite conversations.