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", "T…

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 unflinch…

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 (…

📍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…

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 A…

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 IS awake ! ... and so are we! Well folks it is time for all one-eyed polar bears to make their way off to that ice cave for a big long snooze, because Issa, Jodie, Kali, Finn and team … including Fiona ( I gut coyotes and polish my rifles on New Year’s Eve for fun) Shaw are delivering us from the darkness of our wildest conspiracy theories, int…

Well that was unexpected ! Issa and crew certainly delivered a shock ending. Farewell Hank ... thanks for the cool tune on the way out. Lisa and Dean cover off on all the aspects you'd imagine ... and some you wont expect. Peter and Liz have worst New Year’s Eve ever (though it must be said, it was even worse for Hank and Heiss. We're still being k…

QUESTIONS: Are Rose, Liz and Eve actually seeing these ghosts or is it a mental illness ? Is it Danvers or Navarro that executes William Wheeler ? Has Hank accepted his inner Catfish? Will Liz and Ted find an even MORE uncomfortable ways to have sex ? Where do all these tropical oranges come from in the Arctic tundra ? Can Peter find even more ways…

LEAH MCKENDRICK - WRITER, DIRECTOR AND STAR OF THE NEW LIONSGATE MOVIE “SCRAMBLED”. One day you are an actress in Los Angeles, grinding away, trying to get that first TV co-star credit, fast forward through some bloody, sweaty and tearful years and BOOM you are STARRING in a feature film for Lionsgate that you WROTE and also DIRECTED. Please welcom…

Lisa and Dean delve into the depths and profundity ofTrue Detective: Night Episode 3. How is Kali Reis in her third only role SMASHING it, up against the legend that is Jodie Foster ? Peter wants to know ‘Who is Mrs. Robinson ?” (Snicker) WT ACTUAL F is going on with Liz and Eve at William Wheeler's crummy, homicidal shack ? When Navarro slips on t…

We all know how much Dean likes to run his mouth and be a smarty pants, especially with all the minutiae that he jazzes on joining dots hither and yon. There was SO much to unpack in Episode 2 that even though we spent an hour with the legend Joel Montgrand, we still couldn’t cover all the twists and turns in that episode. So if you don’t dig the d…

You knew that Lisa and Dean were already VERY excited about True Detective: Night Country … but today that excitement was ramped up to level infinity because we are joined in the pod today by one of those actors who despite their role being nominally a recurring co-star, they simply steal your eyeballs in every scene they are in. And don’t take our…

Aaaaaaaand that’s a wrap folks ! To breakdown the operatic finale of Fargo Season 5, Lisa and Dean are ecstatic to be joined by the man, the myth, the legend himself, renowned acting coach/teacher Terry Knickerbocker. From his incredible Brooklyn based studio, Terry has worked with actors from beginners, all the way to Hollywood A-Listers such as; …

Lace your snow boots up nice and tight, snuggle into that down parka and scrunch your hat on good and proper because Lisa and Dean are leading you into their recap of the first episode of the much awaited fourth season of True Detective. After three series by Nic Pizzolatto, new Showrunner Issa Lopez has some big boots to fill ... can she do it? Wh…

Lisa is thrilled to be joined by three wonderful actors who you need to know about! Carey Cox recurs on “The Handmaid’s Tale” as Rose Blaine, Joseph Kibler has acted on shows like “Criminal Minds” “Good Trouble” “Chicago Med” and Leah Rachel is model, dancer, actress performing all over London on both stage and screen. What do these three artists h…

Here we are in the penultimate episode of the season and the forces are amassing for the big showdown. Tillman’s lost his mojo and maybe his mind as all the chess pieces make their final moves. Lisa and Dean break it all down. One of us thinks the tension is delicious, one of us thinks the episode may have lost the plot in some key moments. Join us…

FARGO SEASON 5 - EPISODE 8 “Blanket” Recap TRIGGER WARNING: Due to the graphic depiction of domestic violence and coercive control in Episode 8, our discussion contains equally graphic descriptions that may be upsetting. Please exercise caution when listening. Lisa and Dean react to this traumatizing and powerful episode which delivers the confront…

Just in the St. Nick of time! Whilst we are still enjoying our “twixtmas” haze on the couch lounging around scrolling for something fun to watch with family and friends before the New Year is upon us and we are back from holiday break (if you were lucky enough to have one!) here is THE DEAN’S LIST of holiday movies to enjoy before all is said and d…

Life is a dream, well at least for Dot much of this episode IS which causes Lisa and Dean to have MANY thoughts about the story telling conventions that Fargo Season 5, Episode 7 is putting us through. We are on the road with Dot (Juno Temple) as she desperately searches for the one person she thinks can help her stop Sheriff Tillman (Jon Hamm) , t…

AGENT JOAQUIN is in the house! Joining Lisa to breakdown Fargo Season 5 Episode 6 “The Tender Trap” is none other than actor Nick Gomez who recurs as FBI Agent Joaquin this season and who got a front row seat up close and personal in the Jon Hamm in the Hot tub scene. Before we dive into this episode, Lisa talks about casting Nick on Criminal Minds…

("The Tiger" aka The Power Suit Episode) Helping them cover Fargo Season 5, Episode 5, Lisa & Dean are thrilled to be joined by special guest Scott Winant, a two-time Emmy award-winning director and producer who has worked on high-profile shows like Breaking Bad, True Blood, Yellowjackets and …Season 1 of FARGO! (How many people get to say they’ve …

Hosts Lisa Zambetti and Dean Laffan dive into 'Insolubilia’. Dot’s confrontation with Gator goes down pretty much as expected, but how is she going to explain her way out of a burned down house, an electrocuted husband and a pesky State Trooper who is convinced she is the gas station ninja angel who saved his life? And how did she get Wayne and Sco…

Cheese Puffs, a 44 Magnum and The Yellow Sweater Before we delve into the third episode of Fargo Season 5 first we side bar into a review of the latest David Fincher movie “The Killer” starring a very enigmatic Michael Fassbender playing a rather bungling hired assassin. Then we get on to analyzing this (in Dean’s words) audacious episode 3 where w…

Reviewing Fargo Season 5 Episode 2: Hamm in a Hottub Lisa and Dean dive into the second episode of Fargo's Fifth season dissecting the big entrance of Jon Hamm's character, the powerful Sheriff Roy Tillman who rules his North Dakota county with an iron fist. Lots of great revelations in this episode as the true identity of Juno Temple’s “Dot” is un…

Hosts Lisa Zambetti and Dean Laffan reunite for a review of the opening episode of Fargo's fifth season now streaming on FX Hulu. They discuss the key characters, the various plot directions and themes, providing deep insights into the roles, potential narrative direction and analyzing the alignment with the original Fargo movie. They also talk abo…

“Miranda’s Victim” is a new feature film thoughtfully directed by Michelle Danner with a heavy hitting cast starring Abigail Breslin, Mireille Enos, Emily VanCamp, Ryan Phillippe, Luke Wilson, Andy Garcia, Donald Sutherland and Kyle MacLachlan. If you’ve watched any crime show, chances are you’ve heard the Miranda warning which starts “You have the…

Today we get to interview the incredible actor Kurt Yaeger who has been in more tv shows and films than we can name including a recur in Sons Of Anarchy, all the NCIS franchises, Another Life, Shameless,…and who is also an actor with a disability. Kurt is a unique performer because sometimes the roles he takes feature his below the knee amputation …

Lisa sits down with an absolute icon in the casting world. Love The West Wing? E.R.? Shameless? Southland? Well then you have loved the work of the wonderful, inspiring John Frank Levey who put some of the most amazing actors into some of the most iconic tv shows in history. John’s new book “Right for the Role” dives deep into his career, sharing h…

Joining Lisa today are two veteran television writer/producers Ted Sullivan (Riverdale, Star Trek Discovery, Supergirl, Revenge, Rizzoli & Isles, Law and Order Criminal Intent) and Elizabeth Benjamin (Dead to Me, The Flight Attendant, Bridgerton, 13 Reasons Why). Lisa asks them about the current Writer’s Guild of America strike which is impacting a…

And now for something completely different, love The Great British Baking Show but deplore The Kardashians? Hate/watch The Bachelor but ride or die with Dr. Pol? Project Runway, Top Chef, Selling Beverly Hills and Indian Matchmaking are shows that gave Lisa an insane amount of joy. Today, Lisa pivots to talking to her esteemed colleagues in the REA…

Lisa's love-hate relationship with Oscar reaches another year. This time we focus on the Best Actress race. So yes we cover Michelle, Michelle, Cate, Andrea and Ana, but we range far and wide as Lisa and Dean are joined by Oscars uber-nerd Paul Sullivan who brings his unique encyclopaedic brain to the party. And of course we close out with our own …

Today Lisa is in the kitchen banging around making blueberry pancakes in the background while Paul tells her what he thinks about Baz Luhrman’s “Elvis” movie and how Austin Butler’s performance compares with the real thing. Do we think he will win the Oscar? Listen and find out. The conversation takes some wacky turns along the way. We talk Monty P…

Happy 2023 from Killer Casting! Today Lisa has a special drop for the podcast. It is a little gift or offering for you if you can use it, especially if you are an actor. January kicks off a New Year but it also kicks off something else for our industry called “pilot season”. This time of year can be extremely exciting but also extremely stressful. …

In light of the recent episode we recorded on the extraordinary Universal film “She Said” Lisa and Dean are honored to be joined by none other than Rowena Chiu who’s story about being assaulted by Harvey Weinstein is depicted in the movie. We are also joined by the two fantastic actresses Ashley Chiu and Angela Yeoh who both played Rowena (one as h…

When Lisa went to the special private screening that Universal held for the film “She Said”, there was not a dry eye in the house when the lights came up. The audience was moved by the story of how two determined female reporters for The New York Times (played flawlessly by Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan) finally got victims to go on the record about…

Lisa and Dean sit down with phenomenal actors Marilee Talkington and James Immekus to talk about Access for Actors with Disabilities. Both have had incredible careers in television, film and theatre. But it has not been an easy road. Both Marilee and James are actors with low vision (also referred to as visually impaired) who each have remarkable s…

American Murderer, the new film written and directed by Matthew Gentile, stars Tom Pelphery, Ryan Phillippe, Idina Menzel, Paul Schneider, Kevin Corrigan, Shantel VanSantern and Jacki Weaver. Matthew talks with Lisa and Dean about the shocking true story that it is based on, why Matthew cast Tom in the lead role of a real murderer / con man who is …

Beautiful, breathy, kittenish, dizzy, bombshell, blonde. So many words can describe Marilyn Monroe and never really capture who she was…or who we think she was. Was she a spoiled, vain, ambitious starlet who played men as easily as she did the ukulele in “Some Like It Hot”? Or a sad, traumatized victim, ever needy, ever wanting for approval, never …

When news broke that actor James Franco had been cast as Fidel Castro in the indie film "Alina of Cuba", a lot of people had A LOT to say about it. Some people (like actor John Leguizamo) were appalled, and some (comedian Bill Maher) were appalled that people were appalled. So why is authentic representation in film and television so important to s…

“The Bear” is so authentic in its depiction of the dysfunctions of the restaurant industry, Lisa and Brian (both former servers) had PTSD watching it. But watch it they did! We have a lot to say about the acting, story and soul of this wonderful FX/Hulu Original show. #InTheWeeds #jeremyallenwhite #beyondshameless #thebear #huluoriginals #fx…

We got a show ya can't refuse...all about THE OFFER series streaming on Paramount +, the behind the scenes take on the making of The Godfather movie. Some iconic characters come to life brilliantly in the show, despite some fast and loose re-telling of the facts. Our good friend Patrick Gallo is a delight as Mario Puzzo, Matthew Goode wears the Rob…

Lisa, Dean, Matt and Mj resume their coverage of the brilliant Apple TV+ production Severance. Soak it up peeps ! Meanwhile, here are some links to help you binge on yet more goodies, now that the series finale has aired. In a marketing masterstroke, Apple Books have released a faux expose book by a fictional woman named Margaret “Peg” Kincaid. The…

What show has been mesmerizing Lisa and leading her to an existential crisis? Why the Apple TV series "Severance" developed by Ben Stiller and starring a full on flex of a cast making major pivots in what you have ever seen them do before. Lisa and Dean wrestle the mic from each other to extol the crap out of the microscopic details of this show. J…

Our episodes come to you courtesy of our friends at Plantiva. Learn more at http://www.plantiva.com/killercasting and use the promo code KC25 to get 25% off your next order ! ***************** This week Lisa is joined by eclectic actor Edward Hong, who has carved out quite a career in tv, film, stage, commercials and especially voice overs! Eddy’s …

Our episodes come to you courtesy of our friends at Plantiva. Learn more at http://www.plantiva.com/killercasting and use the promo code KC25 to get 25% off your next order ! ***************** Lisa Zambetti: Lisa is back gabbing with Edward Hong…talking about so called “cancel” culture and how complicated it is for us emotionally as fans when our h…

This episode comes to you today with thanks to our new friends at Plantiva. Learn more at http://www.plantiva.com/killercasting and use the promo code KC25 to get 25% off your next order ! ***************** The idiot savant team are back! Dean and Paul are flying solo (well that doesn’t actually make sense does it ?) Let’s just say without Capt. Li…

Everyone is weighing on the confrontation at the 2022 Oscar ceremony between Will Smith and Chris Rock. While we wish we could focus on the winners (and we will), today seemed like a good time to get some perspective and context about the dramatic, confusing and shocking incident from other people who work in Hollywood. Joining Dean and Lisa to dec…

This episode comes to you today with thanks to our new friends at Plantiva. Learn more at http://www.plantiva.com/killercasting and use the promo code KC25 to get 25% off your next order ! ***************** Well folks, here is our third installment of our Oscar 2022 coverage. We've wrung our hands, pulled our hair, paced up and down...but we think …

This episode comes to you today with thanks to our new friends at Plantiva. Learn more at http://www.plantiva.com/killercasting and use the promo code KC25 to get 25% off your next order ! ***************** Lisa, Dean and Paul continue their casting review of all the Best Picture nominees, counting down to the winner of the "Zammy" (Excellence in C…