Asa Butterfield is a British actor who may be best known for starring as Otis Milburn in the worldwide phenomenon "Sex Education," for Netflix, and Hugo Gabret in Martin Scorsese's "Hugo." He first received critical acclaim, as a pre-teen, for his work in "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," a film adaptation of John Bayne's novel by the same name. Now he has taken on his bravest role yet, Solomon Jackson in Oscar Boyson's "Our Hero, Balthazar," a coming-of-age story that defies all conventions with pitch-black humor and daring, timely storytelling. On this episode, he describes what it took to skirt the line of "unlikeable" with that character while still reaching for relatability. He talks about his love for accents and why he takes them very seriously, how working with Scorsese made his love for movies grow, what recently made him want to get on the stage for the first time and why he enjoyed the frightening challenge, plus much more!

"Our Hero, Balthazar" is in select theaters now.

Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.

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Jordan Hull is an actress, writer, and producer based in New York City. She won a LADCC Award for her performance as Clare in the world premiere of "Poor Clare" by Chiara Atik at the Echo Theater Company. Her screen credits include "The L Word: Generation Q" and "Hustle," alongside Adam Sandler, Queen Latifah, and Robert DuVall. She produced and starred in the Tribeca Festival-winning audio drama "Red for Revolution." Upcoming, she just wrapped production on "Caity," directed by Lindsay Calleran and "The Plan," directed by Jess Barr, premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in February. On this episode she talks about being unfazed by the "entire movie is one-shot" aspect of Barr's film, and how improvisation was used to create authenticity. She talks about why she hates reading scripts to herself, what it means to be the "curator of [her] own experience" that she wants to have with the character, why she's obsessed with career trajectories, loves to be surprised, and much more.

Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.

Subscribe to Back To One on Substack

Follow Back To One on Instagram

Matthew Shear is a filmmaker and actor based in New York. He starred in Noah Baumbach's "Mistress America," as well as the limited series "The Alienist." His other credits include Baumbach's "The Meyerowitz Stories," M. Night Shyamalan's "Old," and Nathan Silver's "Between the Temples." He makes his debut feature as a writer/director with "Fantasy Life," (opening on March 27th) which he stars in opposite Amanda Peet, Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, and Bob Balaban. It world premiered at SXSW '25 and won the Narrative Feature Audience Award. On this episode he talks about writing that script, never thinking he'd star in it, nor direct it, and what had to change to make him see those possibilities. He explains why he wanted to tell a story about "mental health embedded in a normal world," why The Barrow Group suited him well in his younger days, how he learned to "not get in the way" of the scene, and much more.

Back To One is the in-depth, no-nonsense, actors-on-acting podcast. In each episode, host Peter Rinaldi invites one working actor to do a deep dive into their unique process, psychology, and approach to the craft.

Subscribe to Back To One on Substack

Follow Back To One on Instagram