Joaquin Phoenix is one of the greatest actors of his generation. For three decades, he’s moved seamlessly between auteur-driven films (Her, The Master) and box-office sensations (Gladiator, Joker).

We sit today for a rare, long-form conversation with Phoenix, starting with his latest film, Joker: Folie à Deux (7:00), his free-wheeling collaborations with director Todd Phillips (9:30), and the nomadic upbringing that marked his early years (13:13). Then, he reflects on his childhood television debut in Hill Street Blues (20:30), the brilliance of Robert De Niro (27:20), and his formative performances in To Die For and Parenthood (31:50).

On the back-half, we discuss how the polarizing mockumentary, I’m Still Here (42:07), inspired his singular collaborations with directors Spike Jonze, Paul Thomas Anderson, James Gray, and Lynne Ramsay (46:10). We also talk about the evolution of his acting process (48:00), the impassioned Oscars speech he delivered accepting Best Actor for Joker (52:45), and whether he’ll ever turn in what he believes is a ‘great’ performance (58:22).

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For actor Myha’la, the role of a lifetime arrived less than a year out of college. “Lightning struck,” she says, “and in so many ways I have been preparing my entire life to be here.” In this case ‘here’ is Industry’s Harper Stern, a fiercely ambitious college grad who has come to London from New York to join Pierpont, a prestigious financial investment bank.

With the season finale of HBO’s breakout hit approaching, we sat down with Myha'la to discuss all things Harper (4:42): how the evolution of the character can be charted by her hairstyles (8:05), a recent pivot into “ethical investing” (10:45), and the Gen-Z qualities she best exemplifies (14:04). We also discuss the actor’s first experiences singing and dancing (16:00), her time as frontwoman of a Christian Rock band (20:30), and a formative experience at her Catholic high school (23:01).

On the back half, Myha’la reflects on her years at Carnegie Mellon (34:55), her views around “method acting” (39:30), the first day on the set of Industry (42:55), the personal investment she’s made in Harper Stern (48:00), a humbling performance (53:50) never far from mind, and the ‘picture’ she’d like to paint as an artist in the years ahead (56:50).

This conversation was recorded at Spotify Studios and Pushkin Industries. Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at sf@talkeasypod.com.

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For the past couple decades, actor Ken Leung has played scene-stealing characters in films like Rush Hour, Keeping the Faith, and A.I. Or, prestige TV shows like Lost and The Sopranos.

Today, he joins us to discuss his spectacular turn in HBO’s Industry (7:30), how he created his character in baseball-bat-wielding manager Eric Tao (9:55), and his Brooklyn upbringing to a family of Chinese immigrants (17:35). Then, he shares how he found his footing as an actor (23:30), a memory of his late younger brother, Kevin (29:27), and why he views each film and TV set as a ‘spiritual space’ (30:56).

On the back-half, we walk through Leung’s work on The Sopranos (32:30), his present-day collaboration with actor Myha’la (37:45), the arc of this latest season of Industry (44:15), the state of representation in Hollywood (48:06), and why he feels at peace in this moment (53:00).

Clips courtesy of HBO. Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at sf@talkeasypod.com.

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To commemorate his 30th birthday, Abbi Jacobson interviews Sam!

They talk about Sam's early days in journalism (8:00), his Almost Famous-like experience as a teenage film critic (10:30), making Talk Easy and how the show evolved post-pandemic (13:15), and the email from the late Roger Ebert that changed his life (22:30).

On the back-end, they discuss Abbi’s annual birthday questions (28:00), why Sam’s episode with filmmaker Werner Herzog has stayed with her (31:57), and how he approaches asking hard questions on Talk Easy (36:43). To close, a passage from Sam's debut episode with Don Cheadle (45:28) and a philosophy captured in his short film Sebastian (53:20).

Listen to our first conversation with Abbi Jacobson from 2022.

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To start, Sam sits with another week in American life, before returning to our timely conversation with Congressman Maxwell Frost (FL-10).

At the top, we discuss the five-year aftermath of the horrific shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida (10:29), his first two months in office as the first Gen-Z Congressman (12:10), and the legislature he’s fighting for to reduce gun violence (17:14). Then, we walk through his impassioned response to the Sandy Hook shooting (19:40), how it cemented his early commitment to politics (26:17), and embracing his Afro-Cuban identity as an adopted child (30:15).

On the back half, Frost reflects on his road to Congress (37:58), the connection he shares with his biological mother (41:00), the blend of grassroots organizing and policy-making he leads with today (49:22), and the progress he hopes to see in the years to come (57:40).

Original air date: February 26, 2023.

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This week, our guest is trailblazing filmmaker Lee Daniels.

At the top, we discuss his fifteen-year journey to the new Netflix film The Deliverance (5:00), Daniels’ relationship to spirituality (9:16), and his memories of directing theatre at eight-years-old (14:55). Then, we dive into the therapeutic quality of filmmaking (17:14), his work as a casting director at Warner Brothers in the 80s (19:48), and what it meant for Daniels to manage young performers like Morgan Freeman and Loretta Devine (23:38).

On the back-half, he unpacks the tumultuous process of making his award-winning film Precious (32:00), the projects that followed in The Paperboy and The Butler (39:30), the rise of Empire and his paradigm-shifting work in Hollywood (41:10), the peace that guided him to make his new film (46:10), and what motivates him to keep working (50:31).

Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at sf@talkeasypod.com.

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Since 1989 (Sex, Lies, and Videotape), filmmaker Steven Soderbergh has been a pioneering voice in American cinema. Part free-wheeling iconoclast, part exacting technician.

Today, we return to our conversation with the legendary artist. First, Soderbergh describes his process making No Sudden Move amid the pandemic (8:38), his ability to push past creative blocks (14:34), the importance of 1998’s Out of Sight (31:00), the seismic impact of his late mentor, Mike Nichols (27:28), and how a formative moviegoing memory (28:48) informed his ideas on the role of storytelling (32:43). Before we go– Steven speaks candidly on the future of movies (39:20) and his role in them (41:13).

This episode originally aired June 27th, 2021. To hear our latest talk with Sean Fennessey, listen here. Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at sf@talkeasypod.com.

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We’re so back at the movies… with head of content at The Ringer and co-host of The Big Picture, Sean Fennessey!

At the top, Sam and Sean discuss Sean Wang’s Dìdi (8:52), the father-daughter story at the heart of M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap (15:52), and why the documentaries Brats (19:39) and Faye (22:35) make the perfect weekend watch.

Then, they talk about the real-life story behind A24’s Sing Sing (27:45), what Borderlands reveals about post-strike Hollywood (29:57), the anticipation building around Sean Baker’s triumphant upcoming feature Anora (32:13), Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night (33:17), Joshua Oppenheimer’s apocalyptic musical film The End (35:49), and James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown (37:17).

On the back-half, we dive into Sean’s childhood in Long Island (43:37), his early writing at Ithaca College (44:15), working at Complex Magazine in the mid-aughts (53:00), his pivot to Grantland (1:02:10), launching The Ringer (1:15:50), his on-mic personality on The Big Picture (1:11:50), the future of his podcast(s) (1:18:31), and why he remains optimistic about the film industry (1:27:09).

This conversation was recorded at Spotify Studios. Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at sf@talkeasypod.com.

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