My Interview With Lily Tomlin

Yeah, I talked to Lily Tomlin. I actually hung out with her. It was kind of amazing. I made her cry -- not on purpose -- and I just let her tell me a bunch of stories. It was terrific. The reason for our meeting was to interview her for Backstage because she's getting the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. She made me laugh a lot. She told me about working with Robert Altman. She's the best. Here's the piece.

My Interview With Derek Hough

As I may have said before, one of the things I most like about profiling actors for Backstage is that it puts me into the orbit of performers I wouldn't normally meet when I write about music and movies. For example, I was aware of Derek Hough because of Dancing With the Stars, but I can't say I had any opinion of the guy before sitting down with him at the Universal lot more than a month ago. I found him quite engaging: We talked about his career and his forthcoming Hairspray Live! Hope you enjoy my cover story.

(P.S. It's worth noting that this piece was written and finished before Hough announced he was leaving Dancing. But I wondered if something was up: He obliquely mentioned he was looking for new challenges. "I do feel like I’m reaching the end of a certain chapter in my life," he told me. "Or at least an elongated pause ... into some new adventures and some new opportunities. I think when you feel like you’ve done as much as you can do in a certain space -- when you actually look at a room and you go, 'I feel like I’ve done everything in this room I can creatively' -- you start to go, 'OK, I need a new space to create in.' ... It’s definitely a little scary, but it’s also exciting. I think it's important to live at the edge of your comfort zone. There's a great expression, which I really love, which is 'Passion lies at the edge of uncertainty.' I think that when you’re sort of uncertain about something, there has to be a passion. When you know how it’s gonna play out, it starts to become a little bit arbitrary.")

My Interview With Emma Stone

If I was a betting man, I'd say place good money on Emma Stone winning Best Actress for La La Land. For Backstage, I spoke with the actress, who couldn't have been lovelier. We talked about her movie, the pain of auditioning and her current obsession with TED Talks. Also worth noting: This interview was conducted and written before Election Day. She was nervous about the outcome, and so was I. I hope she's doing OK. Here's my profile of Ms. Stone.

My Interview With Michiel Huisman

Slowly but surely, I'm working my way through the cast of The Invitation, interviewing each of them one by one. I spoke with Emayatzy Corinealdi in March, and now I've talked to Michiel Huisman, who's one of the stars of the forthcoming miniseries Harley and the Davidsons. We chatted about music, luck and fortune tellers. I had a fun time, and you can read my profile in Backstage.

My Interview With Emayatzy Corinealdi

Making her breakthrough with the terrific Middle of Nowhere, Emayatzy Corinealdi is back with Miles Ahead, where she plays the muse and love interest of a tempestuous Miles Davis (Don Cheadle, who also directed). For Backstage, we talked about faith, getting into fistfights and why she writes a self-evaluation every six months. She was delightful. You can read the whole thing here.

My Interview With Will Smith

I tend not to bore you with my personal life, but I wanted to share this tidbit. On the day I was set to interview Will Smith, I was in the midst of a profound funk: nothing major, just the usual accumulation of nonsense that can leave one feeling generally bummed. Within a minute of sitting down with Smith, that all evaporated -- and it triggered a thought that I knew was going to be the opening sentence in my profile of him. For Backstage, I chatted with the ebullient star of Concussion about his hiatus from acting, how his life has changed since returning, and why he loves being famous. (Smith is, by the way, the first celebrity I've ever met who actually told me, "I love being famous." And why not? He wears it well.) You can read my piece here.

My Interview With Ellen Page

I had a great time hanging out with Ellen Page to talk about her new movie, Freeheld, which opens Friday. She and I discussed her Canadian upbringing, why she prefers muted performances, and how life has been for her since she came out February of last year. Plus, we talk a little surfing. My cover story is live over at Backstage.

My Interview With Queen Latifah

She's won a Grammy, she's been nominated for an Oscar, she's hosted talk shows and award shows. She's Queen Latifah, and on May 16 she'll be starring in the Bessie Smith biopic Bessie on HBO. For Backstage, I chatted with the multi-threat talent, discussing fear, hip-hop and the rewards of being a Renaissance woman. I hope you enjoy.

Juliette Binoche Speaks

Back in October when I was at the Beirut Film Festival, Juliette Binoche gave a talk to students and aspiring filmmakers in which she looked back at her career. With her new film, Clouds of Sils Maria, now out, I present a few highlights of her chat over at Backstage.

My Interview With Caitriona Balfe

One of the perks of my job is having the excuse to dive into different pieces of art I might not have had a chance to sample otherwise. I had quite loved the reboot of Battlestar Galactica -- the first few seasons, anyway -- and I was curious how Ronald D. Moore's new show, Outlander, was. Well, I got a chance to catch up on the series when Backstage asked me to interview its star, Caitriona Balfe.

Like Battlestar, Outlander is a genre show that transcends the potentially tacky elements of its genre, proving to be smarter, more moving and more intriguing than you might expect. So it was a pleasure to sit down with Balfe and talk about the show, her career, and what her life was like when she was a successful model desperately hoping to return to her real love: acting. You can read my interview here.

(Photo: Luc-Richard Elie for Backstage.)

My Interview With Randall Park

I couldn't have had a better time hanging out with Randall Park. The star of ABC's Fresh Off the Boat, he was in the news a lot last year because he played Kim Jong-un in The Interview, which made his life surreal for a bit. We talked about all that -- plus, why he loves MF Doom, one of the best undergrounds MCs out there. My piece is now live at Backstage.

My Interview With Charlie Day

Charlie Day, one of the stars of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (and Horrible Bosses and The Lego Movie), was a lot of fun to interview. For Backstage, we chatted about his long-running show, how he gets "into character" to play Charlie Kelly, and why he's still doing the sitcom after 10 years (with more years to go). That's just part of our conversation -- I had a blast with this one. Hope you enjoy.

My Interview With Krysten Ritter

For Backstage, I sat down with Krysten Ritter, one of the stars of Big Eyes. We talked about the movie, being a longtime Tim Burton fan, and why auditions and talk shows make her nervous. You can read the whole interview here.

My Interview With Matt Lauria

For Backstage, I profiled Matt Lauria, the go-to character actor who's been on Friday Night Lights and Parenthood. His latest endeavor is Kingdom, the gripping DirecTV MMA drama. We sat down to discuss the merits of having a thin skin and being endlessly self-deprecating. I enjoyed our talk, and I hope you do, too.

My Interview With Luke Wilson

I had a very enjoyable time chatting with Luke Wilson, who's costarring in The Skeleton Twins. We talked about that, but we also discussed the end of Enlightened, how Bottle Rocket's shaky beginnings scarred him and whether or not he has a game plan for life. My cover story for Backstage can be read right here.

My Interview With Eva Longoria

Last month, I sat down with Eva Longoria to talk about her new movie, Frontera, and the many, many things she's involved with, everything from philanthropy to directing. She's an impressive woman, no doubt. You can read my Backstage cover story here.

My Interview With Richard Linklater

Back in mid-June, I spoke with Richard Linklater during the height of the Boyhood promotion. (He had photo shoots and interviews morning until night that day.) The time between speaking with him and writing the cover story for Backstage allowed me an opportunity to reflect on the movie and our talk -- plus, it gave me a chance to make sure I didn't just repeat everything he said in every other interview. I'm grateful: I'm pleased with how this piece turned out and the topics it covers. I hope you enjoy, too.

My Interview With Frank Grillo

Frank Grillo has been making a name for himself lately thanks to scene-stealing roles in Warrior and The Grey. (He was also Crossbones in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.) Now, he faces the spotlight as the lead in The Purge: Anarchy. I chatted with the very charming, very winning actor for Backstage. You can read the piece here. And, as an added bonus, here's a segment from my draft that got trimmed a little during the final edit. I thought the full text was revealing of Grillo's personality....

Because of Grillo’s love of boxing and his penchant for macho roles, I wondered where the vulnerability he brings to these men came from. (His character’s final scene in “The Grey” is one of the most moving death scenes in recent cinema, touching on tricky emotional terrain about manhood and friendship that most guy’s-guy movies are too scared to visit.) “What I look for in a role is the physical,” he says. “But what’s the journey emotionally? Can I take this person who is this archetypal tough guy and find the beauty?” Even as a boy, he wasn’t embarrassed by emotion. “I come from an Italian family,” he reminds me. “We are emotional all the time, every day, all day. You and I now are friends forever—that’s how I am. When we leave this interview, I will hug you and wish you safety.”

For the record, we did, in fact, hug when we said goodbye. I may have initiated the hug, though.

My Interview With Michael Pena

I had a great time talking to Michael Pena, the star of End of Watch and the forthcoming Cesar Chavez. I profiled him for Backstage, and we chatted about playing Chavez, his technique to become a sharper comedic actor, and how high school wrestling made him a better performer. You can read all about it here. (And if you're thirsting for an extra excerpt from our talk, then go right here.)

My Interview With James Wolk

I had a really nice time talking to the perfectly amiable James Wolk, one of the stars of Mad Men and The Crazy Ones. For Backstage, we chatted about how his high school and college theater training prepared him for life as an actor. You can read all about it here. (And if you're looking for an extra excerpt from our talk, proceed here at once.)