So no one told her life was going to be this way. Except Friends director Jimmy Burrows, who took Courteney Cox and her fellow cast members to dinner in Vegas, telling them to enjoy the last time they’d ever be able to go out together in public without causing total pandemonium. For Cox, who never had a master plan, it was the start of what was arguably the most successful 18-year run on series television, after which some actors might welcome a break and a margarita or two. Others might freak out just a bit. You probably know what camp she falls in. We talk to Cox about her meteoric acting career, what it’s like to simultaneously finance and direct an independent film, learning her craft on the fly, and how none of it would have ever happened if Brian De Palma had actually listened to her back in 1984.
So no one told her life was going to be this way. Except Friends director Jimmy Burrows, who took Courteney Cox and her fellow cast members to dinner in Vegas, telling them to enjoy the last time they’d ever be able to go out together in public without causing total pandemonium. For Cox, who never had a master plan, it was the start of what was arguably the most successful 18-year run on series television, after which some actors might welcome a break and a margarita or two. Others might freak out just a bit. You probably know what camp she falls in. We talk to Cox about her meteoric acting career, what it’s like to simultaneously finance and direct an independent film, learning her craft on the fly, and how none of it would have ever happened if Brian De Palma had actually listened to her back in 1984.
So no one told her life was going to be this way. Except Friends director Jimmy Burrows, who took Courteney Cox and her fellow cast members to dinner in Vegas, telling them to enjoy the last time they’d ever be able to go out together in public without causing total pandemonium. For Cox, who never had a master plan, it was the start of what was arguably the most successful 18-year run on series television, after which some actors might welcome a break and a margarita or two. Others might freak out just a bit. You probably know what camp she falls in. We talk to Cox about her meteoric acting career, what it’s like to simultaneously finance and direct an independent film, learning her craft on the fly, and how none of it would have ever happened if Brian De Palma had actually listened to her back in 1984.
Hank Azaria became a character actor because “With this face, I had no choice.” But it’s the plastic voice that really gave him no alternative, along with whatever mysterious, uncanny power has allowed him since childhood to hear someone once and mimic them for the rest of his life. What sets him apart even further is an innate emotional connection that makes characters out of what would otherwise be just caricatures. He never understood his ability, but he was grateful for it, because all he ever wanted was to be anyone but himself. Turns out, that doesn’t work so well for an actor. In an animated conversation, we go inside baseball, The Simpsons, fatherhood, his career – and his head. Yes, he’s one of the most talented and successful actors around, but we think you’ll find a lot of common ground there.
Hank Azaria became a character actor because “With this face, I had no choice.” But it’s the plastic voice that really gave him no alternative, along with whatever mysterious, uncanny power has allowed him since childhood to hear someone once and mimic them for the rest of his life. What sets him apart even further is an innate emotional connection that makes characters out of what would otherwise be just caricatures. He never understood his ability, but he was grateful for it, because all he ever wanted was to be anyone but himself. Turns out, that doesn’t work so well for an actor. In an animated conversation, we go inside baseball, The Simpsons, fatherhood, his career – and his head. Yes, he’s one of the most talented and successful actors around, but we think you’ll find a lot of common ground there.
Hank Azaria became a character actor because “With this face, I had no choice.” But it’s the plastic voice that really gave him no alternative, along with whatever mysterious, uncanny power has allowed him since childhood to hear someone once and mimic them for the rest of his life. What sets him apart even further is an innate emotional connection that makes characters out of what would otherwise be just caricatures. He never understood his ability, but he was grateful for it, because all he ever wanted was to be anyone but himself. Turns out, that doesn’t work so well for an actor. In an animated conversation, we go inside baseball, The Simpsons, fatherhood, his career – and his head. Yes, he’s one of the most talented and successful actors around, but we think you’ll find a lot of common ground there.
For as long as she can remember, Maggie Siff has been measuring herself. It wasn’t vanity or self-obsession; she was after honest self-assessment in the name of getting better at her craft. It’s why she entered NYU grad school at 27, where the most important lesson she learned was how to deal with criticism, especially her own. Her unexpected television success since then has erased a lot of doubts, but not the eternal question of artistic fulfillment versus commercial success. Thankfully for Siff and her obvious talent, it’s no longer an either/or proposition. Join us for some talk therapy as we discuss her roles on Billions, the film that made her revisit the path not taken and the “six-month art project” that launched her TV career. She’s proven herself the serious actor she knew she could be. Now if someone would just put her in a screwball comedy.
For as long as she can remember, Maggie Siff has been measuring herself. It wasn’t vanity or self-obsession; she was after honest self-assessment in the name of getting better at her craft. It’s why she entered NYU grad school at 27, where the most important lesson she learned was how to deal with criticism, especially her own. Her unexpected television success since then has erased a lot of doubts, but not the eternal question of artistic fulfillment versus commercial success. Thankfully for Siff and her obvious talent, it’s no longer an either/or proposition. Join us for some talk therapy as we discuss her roles on Billions, the film that made her revisit the path not taken and the “six-month art project” that launched her TV career. She’s proven herself the serious actor she knew she could be. Now if someone would just put her in a screwball comedy.
