Off Camera with Sam Jones

If there's one thing Christina Hendricks thought she would never be, it's a professional actor. It took years for her to realize that getting paid to be an actor was an actual thing ("I don't know how it passed me by. I was a real bozo."). But if there's one thing Christina always wanted to be, it's an artist. And a suffering one at that.

Ever since she saw 1980's Fame, Christina was sold on a life in the arts. As she says, "I wanted to be a suffering artist when I was like nine. There was something very romantic and passionate about that idea to me. It was about reaching beauty, and there was something about that that swept me off my feet." It helped that she grew up in a place like Twin Falls, Idaho—which may have been a small town, but the community really cared about the arts.

Christina got a rude awakening at 13 years old when her family moved to Virginia. Starting in a brand new environment for high school is hard enough, but realizing that the thing you love, the thing your old town took so much pride in, is "100% not cool" must have been devastating. Luckily for Christina, embracing her individuality was much more appealing than conforming to what was "cool" as evidenced by her black lipstick, fishnets, and combat boots.

That independent spirit is what led Christina to start modeling after high school and later, to pursue a career in acting, once she realized that was something she could do, of course. For eight years, Christina played Joan Holloway in the critically-acclaimed AMC series Mad Men. The show was a pioneer for hour-long dramas on cable television, and Christina's excited to bring some of that pioneering to NBC's Good Girls, an unexpectedly nuanced, dark, and interesting network show.

Christina joins Off Camera to discuss why her dad's such a tough audience, how she once lost feeling in her hands and feet on stage, how she dealt with bullying in high school, and why she really wants to see another Björk in a swan suit.

"I will never do a sitcom. Never. You hear that universe?”

That's what Josh Radnor said to himself after some early rejections in Los Angeles. Little did he know that a few years later, he'd star in How I Met Your Mother, one of the most successful sitcoms in the history of television.

Josh learned quickly that fame isn't all it's cracked up to be. The more successful the show got, the unhappier he became. But as Josh says, "The gift of my discontent with fame was that it punctured the illusion that a hit show would save my life, and it actually made me get very serious about what matters."  

Josh's course correction included writing and directing two films, Happythankyoumoreplease and Liberal Arts, and starting his own band, Radnor & Lee, with Australian musician Ben Lee. Oh, and he’s back on television too, playing the lead in Jason Katims’ new show Rise. Josh has noticed his life imitating his art in the hour long drama series on NBC, as he finds himself the veteran among a cast mostly made up of high school age students, whom he mentors both on and off screen.

Josh joins Off Camera to explain why every creative life requires taking risks, why mistakes are always welcome at Radnor & Lee shows, and why he would make a pretty good defense attorney.

Mae Whitman started her career in tears. As a two-year-old, Mae accompanied her mother, a successful voice actress, to one of her auditions which was cut short when Mae burst into the room crying. The casting folks were sold and said, “Hey, she’s really cute. Does she want to be in a commercial?” Within a few years, Mae had landed a role in the blockbuster action film Independence Day and was witnessing the magic of moviemaking for herself. Though she had an early start as an actor, her life wasn’t always easy. In high school, Mae was bullied, and eating lunch in the bathroom seemed like the best way to escape the incessant criticism and gossip. As Mae says, “It was truly a challenge to be in this adult world of acting, and then enter back into the world of school, stress, and kid stuff.” For someone who had such a tough time at school, it’s ironic that even a decade post-graduation, Mae Whitman still found herself in cinematic high school, often playing the well-adjusted teenager with the weight of the world on her shoulders in projects like Parenthood and The DUFF. As great as she was in these roles, it is refreshing to now see Mae take on adulthood, motherhood, (and burglary) in NBC’s new series Good Girls. What’s it like to finally act her age? Mae fills us in. Join my Off Camera conversation with Mae as we discuss why she’s stalking Taylor Kitsch (a.k.a. Tim Riggins of Friday Night Lights), how a career in acting is really a test of endurance, and why she fears she might be a “secret monster.”

We all know that adolescence is rife with tumultuous changes, puberty, pimples and braces, but those are also our formative years, and our artistic identities begin to take shape. And no one I know took more of a left turn, post-orthodontist, than Zach Woods. You see, Zach really wanted to be a jazz musician, and as a highly motivated kid, he would force himself to practice trumpet for hours a day with a “spartan-like, self-inflicted discipline” (complete with a fedora!). But things changed when Zach got braces. Unable to practice, he reluctantly let go of his dream to become the next Miles Davis and instead filled his newfound free time with an improv class at Upright Citizens Brigade in New York City. Surprisingly, for someone who was so rigid in his approach to the arts, Zach was drawn to the high-wire nature of improv comedy. As he says, “The threat of humiliation is so present in the moment that you can’t look ahead or back. It’s like a weird terror based form of meditation.” But discomfort is the price of doing something worthwhile, and Zach quickly rose up the ladder at UCB. By the time he was in college at NYU’s Tisch School, he was teaching improv to adults twice his age. These days, Zach is known for his television roles like the motherly Jared Dunn in Silicon Valley and the duplicitous Gabe in The Office, but he is still considered a master improviser by those who work with him, like Silicon Valley creator Mike Judge and fellow “terror meditators” Thomas Middleditch, Kumail Nanjiani, and Martin Starr. This unlikely troupe of comedic actors have created a unique bond on Silicon Valley, propelling the show to five successful seasons and counting, despite being, in Zach’s words, “a lot worse looking than their stand-ins.” Zach joins Off Camera to discuss the strange characters who influenced his childhood, why Jared is a bit more like Zach than he would like to admit, how it’s possible that he was cursed by his Wiccan piano teacher, and why he starts everyday with a "death prayer."

John Goodman wasn’t always the imposing presence he is today, but he’s always had his charisma. As an eighth grader in Missouri, John charmed the “hard guys” in school with a spot-on Gomer Pyle impression so they would protect him. As he explains, “I was a little fat kid. I had the glasses with the tape in the middle. I was nerdy, man.” Heavily influenced by Marlon Brando and captivated by the language of Shakespeare, John discovered his dream to become an actor and left the Midwest to make it happen. After a stint as Thomas Jefferson in a dinner theater rendition of 1776, John found commercial success in New York City, but his career really took off when Roseanne came along in the late ‘80s. He’s also been a fixture in Coen brothers’ movies (Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski, and more), bringing his characteristic physicality to roles that simmer with an explosive energy. Exhibit A—screaming obscenities and beating the bejesus out of a Corvette with a crow bar in The Big Lebowski. That on-screen volatility was also present in John’s off-screen life. Decades of heavy drinking forced John to confront his demons, and as a self-described “egomaniac with an inferiority complex,” he has come out the other side with humility, grace, and an endearingly self-deprecating sense of humor. His perspective on his life and career is downright fascinating. John brings candor and wit to our Off Camera conversation. We discuss why “everything is on the page” with the Coen brothers, how Roseanne came back after a 21-year hiatus, why John looked for trouble in Central Park, and how the movie Animal House was a terrible influence on him.

Dan Stevens rose to fame in the popular British period drama Downton Abbey. And don’t say you didn’t get a little weepy when good old Matthew Crawley met his untimely death due to a lack of seatbelts and a desire to leave British costume drama behind. Dan had this crazy idea to move to America and test his mettle in roles and environs as far from Highclere Castle as possible. You might think he was mad for leaving a show at the height of its popularity, but Dan’s pretty comfortable with madness. As he explains, “Filmmaking is an exercise in collective madness; it’s one mad person saying, ‘I have this mad idea. What do you think?’ When you find another mad person who thinks you’re maybe not so mad, it’s the most beautiful thing in the world.” An appetite for expanding his oeuvre has led Dan to team up with fellow madman Noah Hawley as the lead in his mind-boggling television show Legion, very loosely based on the Marvel comic book series of the same name. Dan plays David Haller, a seemingly schizophrenic mutant whose mind has been hijacked by a disturbing and hilarious parasite, played by a maniacal Aubrey Plaza. And if that sounds confusing, you don’t know the half of it. Dan joins Off Camera to discuss what he loves about the uncertainty of Legion, how he found his voice for Beauty and the Beast, why you might catch him at the local deli taking a new accent out for a spin, and why we must hold on to our invisible wrist watches.

As a high school kid growing up in Oklahoma, Bill Hader received a progress report from his French teacher that had remarkable foresight: “Bill is very funny in class. He’ll probably be on Saturday Night Live one day. He has a 37% in class though. He will not be speaking French.” Bill had a natural gift for doing voices and impressions, and years later, he would indeed join SNL. For eight years, he brought memorable characters to life, including fan-favorites like his exasperated Vincent Price, the lecherous Italian Vinny Veducci, and Weekend Update correspondent Stefon. As one of the most talented cast members on the show, it’s hard to believe Bill when he tells me that it was never his dream to be on Saturday Night Live. After his eight-year stint on SNL and roles in a number of films (The Skeleton Twins, Trainwreck, Inside Out), Bill’s finally realizing his dream with Barry, his upcoming HBO show about a hitman who really wants to be an actor. Bill directs, writes, and stars in the show, and because he favors truthfulness over funny gags, it’s one of the most unique shows on television: “In comedy, it’s so easy to come up with gags and little bits. It’s a lot harder to make a person’s emotional journey make sense.” Bill Hader joins Off Camera to discuss storytelling in Barry, struggling with anxiety on SNL, why he waited so long to pursue his dream to become a filmmaker, and why everyone in town thought he was on drugs in high school.

When Andie MacDowell was a curious and wide-eyed 8-year-old, a trip to the university theater with her mother planted a seed. The adults on stage were playing make believe, her most favorite game in the world, and she was mesmerized. Add a penchant for prank calls and some improv with unsuspecting barkeeps, and the seed that was planted would later grow into her passion for acting. And Andie is nothing if not passionate. Over 30 years in the industry and she’s still chomping at the bit to stretch and grow despite how challenging it can be for women to find roles of substance. As a model, Andie was often held to an impossible standard of perfection, but she knows her success transcends what people see on the surface: “I’ve always known the real reason people would connect with me would not be for the way I looked, but for how I made them feel.” That is exactly why she feels so rewarded by her most psychologically complex character to date in the film Love After Love. In the role of Suzanne, a codependent matriarch who loses her husband, Andie straddles the line between strength and despair beautifully. “I was starving for this role,” Andie declares. When I asked her why, the conversation got interesting really fast. Andie joins Off Camera to discuss why her role in Love After Love is her most interesting since Sex, Lies, and Videotape, how to move past gender inequality in Hollywood, why her childhood struggles have made her a better mom, and how to properly cook a steak (in butter, of course!).

Jason Katims, like many kids growing up on the east coast in the early 80’s, wanted to be Bruce Springsteen. But with some encouragement from an English teacher, Jason discovered that he was a born storyteller, if not quite not born to run. So instead he became Jason Katims—writer and producer of some of the most successful dramatic shows on television. From Friday Night Lights, to Parenthood, and now, to Rise, Jason’s been creating characters and stories that resonate in powerful and often tearful ways. The key to Jason’s writing is that he creates characters who are “always putting their best foot forward,” fighting against others’ expectations, and reflecting back to us our own humanity. Some writers say the key is to create “flawed characters,” but Jason sees it differently: “They’re not flawed characters—they’re people, and most people are striving to be the best version of themselves, even if they fail a good portion of the time.” Jason had to overcome high expectations when he took on Friday Night Lights and was met with a phalanx of executives and agents who questioned his ability to build upon the success of Peter Berg’s feature film and subsequent pilot. The pressure he was under gave him insight into the character of Coach Taylor (played by Kyle Chandler), and helped him find a way in - a process he has tried to replicate ever since. When I spoke with Jason, it became clear how real these characters are to him, which begins to explain the emotional attachment viewers, myself included, have with his shows. Jason joins Off Camera to discuss how he is revolutionizing the way stories are told in ensemble drama series, why Parenthood was his most personal project to date, and why wanted to tell the story of a small town drama teacher who has a unique gift in his newest show, Rise.

Taylor Kitsch has come a long way from cleaning the toilets on Buntzen Lake in British Colombia, and if it weren't for a knee injury that ended his dream of becoming a professional hockey player, he might never have graced our screens as the beloved Tim Riggins in Friday Night Lights. Despite not having a backup plan post-hockey, Taylor found his way into an acting class in NYC that changed his life—after his tough, no-nonsense acting teacher forced him to ditch the cocky attitude. It was through that process that Taylor discovered his love for acting and an appreciation for self-exploration. His acting career took off after an explosive audition with Peter Berg that earned him a role in Friday Night Lights, but Taylor acknowledges that success only comes with hard work and sacrifice: "Just like when I was playing hockey—I was never the first line guy. I'm always grinding, always fighting." Taylor brought that work ethic to his most recent role as cult leader David Koresh in Waco, and the preparation was rigorous. In the months prior to filming, Taylor spent his time memorizing scripture, learning to sing and play guitar, and losing 30 pounds. He likes to dive deep and set the bar high, and his subsequent transformation is nothing short of astonishing. Taylor joins Off Camera to discuss the lengths he'll go to prepare for a role, why Friday Night Lights was so unique, why he almost dropped out of Waco, and also reveals just how many snakes there were on that plane!