Killer Casting Lisa Zambetti, Dean Laffan

Yes Chef!  Adam Shapiro from “The Bear” is HERE! 
The hilarious actor (and pretzel king) Adam Shapiro is here! Well, not just here on Killer Casting, he was there at UCLA to speak with Lisa and her amazing senior acting students about his prolific career in film ("She Said", "Mank", "Steve Jobs",  television ("Never Have I Ever", "The Continental", "The Affair") and theatre. 
Lisa asks Adam the secrets to his success, what his approach to “branding” is, and they tangent into a million other topics. Adam talks about working with director David Fincher (Lisa promptly faints), how he landed his role in the Broadway musical “Waitress”, and how Henry Winkler gave him the best advice of his career. Do not miss this great interview. 
 
Find out more about Adam’s acting here where you can see his reel:
http://shappy.net
 
Order Adam’s yummy pretzels here:
https://www.shappypretzel.com
https://www.instagram.com/shappypretzel/
 
Find out more about IAMA Theatre Company here:
 
https://www.iamatheatre.com
 
Follow Adam on his socials.
https://www.instagram.com/shappyshaps/

The Netflix series “Baby Reindeer” written by Scottish comedian Richard Gadd based on the true story of a period in his life when he was stalked by a woman whom he gave a free cup of tea while working as a bartender in London, has been burning itself into the eyeballs and psyches of millions of people. Lisa was fascinated by the hit show’s unflinching honesty, style, structure and incredible performances by both Gadd and Jessica Gunning. Joining Lisa and Dean to break it all down is another incredible actor, David Rysdahl. You may remember David from this season’s “Fargo”, playing sweet “Wayne” the husband of Juno Temple’s “Dot”. His other credits include “Oppenheimer”, “Black Mirror” and he is currently shooting Noah Hawley’s new “Alien” series in Bangkok. 
David shares his reaction to “Baby Reindeer” and the aspects of Gadd’s character “Donny Dunn” that he identifies with. David performed for years in New York as a clown and was part of the “alt” comedy scene. We talk about Hollywood predators, the insecurities of fame…and so much more. Join us for the conversation.
You can read Dawn Glen’s insightful article about “Baby Reindeer” here:https://www.thecustardtv.com/netflixs-baby-reindeer-is-an-unflinching-look-at-abuse/
If you or someone you care about needs support contact
In the U.S.
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) National Sexual Assault Hotline
https://www.rainn.org/resources
In the U.K.
https://www.wearesurvivors.org.uk
In Australia
https://www.samsn.org.au
Stalking Safety Planning resource:
https://www.thehotline.org/resources/stalking-safety-planning/#:~:text=Help%20create%20a%20stalking%20safety%20plan&text=We%20are%20here%20to%20support,or%20chat%20at%20thehotline.org.
Stalking Prevention Awareness
https://www.stalkingawareness.org/contact/
Here are some of David’s favorite organization doing great work to help save the environment. Please check out https://www.urbanoceanlab.org/sandy-community-resilience
https://www.greenwave.org

If you watched this year's Superbowl, chances are you (and 123 million people) saw my guest Tony Robinette in the Dunkin Donuts commerical starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, and a slew of other cameos. That high profile spot capped off an incredible year of work for Tony, who has defied all odds to become one of the busiest actors in Hollywood (who you may not have heard of...yet). Despite two entertainment industry strikes, in 2023 Tony booked several TV shows including Ryan Murphy's Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, NCIS, Tacoma FD, Waco: The Aftermath and Nightcourt. In those projects, Tony toggled between boisterous comic performances to heart breaking dramatic characters. How did he do it? Join our conversation to find out how Tony got his start, how he stays so busy, how he keeps a positive mindset and how he juggles not one but five (?) agents! Tony also takes us behind the scenes of that crazy DD commercial! 
 
Want more Tony? You can watch his work here
https://www.tonyrobinette.com
Follow him here
https://www.instagram.com/thetonyrobinette/
And get coached by Tony here:
https://www.workingactorscoach.com
 

📍Well look who took time out of his busy schedule coaching A-List actors like🤩 Bradley Cooper, Michelle Williams, Kerry Washington, Brad Pitt, Salma Hayek and Austin Butler to sit down with Lisa and talk about the craft of acting, 🎭 the Oscars 🏆and also the new edition of his book 📖 “Fine on Acting: A Vision of the Craft”, none other than legendary acting teacher Howard Fine!  Howard and Lisa gab about all kinds of things that are on their minds these days about process, technique, and elements that help make actors better at their art. Howard gives all kinds of nuggets of wisdom and shares stories about working with A-list actors on their award-winning performances.
You can get a copy of Howard’s book here. It is truly a must have resource for any actor or any acting teacher. https://amzn.to/4a2xOUN
Want to study with Howard or his master teachers? Check out his programs here: https://www.howardfine.com
#acting #actors #actingclass #actingcoach #oscarwinningperformance #hollywood #craftofacting #actingtechnique 

Sometimes Lisa needs to remind herself why she ever wanted to do casting in the first place and it is because of incredible casting directors like her mentor Emily Schweber 💕who exposed her to artists like the filmmaker Andrea Pallaoro. Both Emily and Andrea are her guests today to talk about a very special project. Lisa assisted Emily on casting Andrea’s first film the evocative award-winning “Medeas” starring Catalina Sandino Moreno…and now years later comes Andrea’s third film, also cast by Emily that is getting all kinds of acclaim, “Monica” starring Trace Lysette, Patricia Clarkson, (both giving 🏆Oscar worthy performances) Emily Browning, Josh Close and Adriana Barraza. 
🌸“Monica” is an intimate story of a woman who returns home to care for her dying mother. A mother who due to a terminal illness, the passage of time, and other factors, doesn’t recognize her own child. Or does she? It is a film so universal that many people can relate to it — the fractures that split up a family, abandonment, healing old wounds, coping with the end of life, finding your way back to your past…and yet the film also is a very very unique look of the journey of a very particular woman. 
Andrea’s filming style is extremely distinct in its nuance, pacing, and framing. You are not going to see a standard two-shot, or easy transitions between scenes. He lets the audience sit with the people in this world, in their silent thoughts, in their private moments, uninterrupted. 
Emily and Andrea tell Lisa about the challenges of casting “Monica” and how they want the audience to experience the film, its revelations and ultimately the redemption of the characters. 
You can find “Monica” on Hulu, AMC, and many other streaming platforms. 

Lisa woke up this morning realizing she is WAY behind on her Oscar nomination watching! Like, she has only seen “Barbie”. So to psych herself up to watch all the rest of these performances for all the Best Acting awards at least, Lisa sits down with Oscar savant Paul Sullivan, who has seen EVERY best picture nominee since 1943, to discuss the task she has ahead of her. Paul gives Lisa a little preview on what he thinks of all the films this year, and weighs in on all the performances (and he may or may not do a few impressions)…Paul also takes us down the rabbit hole of past Academy Award winners and compares them to this year’s hopefuls . (btw, humble brag, Lisa cast nominee Colman Domingo in a film years ago, so she is already rooting for him without seeing him in “Rustin” yet, is that wrong?). Will Lisa be able to set aside her existential angst about these award shows in general before the big ceremony? Tune in to our pre-game chat to find out. (Note, yes, you will hear the moment that their dog Eleanor knocks over a big flower pot in the yard and gets a snootful of mud, we didn’t have the energy to edit that out).