Michael Fassbender Archives

029 Scoot McNairy on That One Audition with Alyshia Ochse

October 27, 2020

S2 029: Scoot McNairy

S2 029: Scoot McNairy https://alyshiaochse.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/mcnairy-scoot.jpg 1348 899 Alyshia Ochse Alyshia Ochse //alyshiaochse.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/TOA-Logo-2x.png October 27, 2020 October 26, 2020

Lessons Over Time

Scoot McNairy is an award winning actor and producer.
McNairy just wrapped a supporting role in John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place 2 as well as a supporting role in Andrew Dominik’s Blonde. In television he just starred opposite Anna Kendrick in the new HBOMax series Love Life.

Other recent projects include the second season of Narcos: Mexico – his character was introduced in the last episode of season one after narrating the entire season; as well as the third season of the hit HBO series True Detective opposite Mahershala Ali. Prior to this, he shot a supporting role in the Nicole Kidman film Destroyer, directed by Karyn Kusama.

Scoot’s critically acclaimed AMC series Halt and Catch Fire came to an end in 2017 after four seasons. That year he also guest starred in the opening episode of the third season of FX’s Fargo, directed by Noah Hawley.

Previous films includeThe Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter, directed by Jody Hill and starring Danny McBride and Josh Brolin; Sleepless, opposite Jamie Foxx and Michelle Monaghan; the lead opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Aftermath, directed by Elliott Lester and produced by Darren Aronofsky; and Scoot also reteamed with David Michod for Netflix’s War Machine, starring Brad Pitt.

Named one of Variety’s “10 Actors to Watch” in 2012, McNairy’s other films as actor include Zack Snyder’s globally anticipated Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice; David Gordon Green’s Our Brand is Crisis, in which he starred opposite Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton; Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly, in which he was the lead opposite Brad Pitt, and for which he was honored as a Breakthrough Performer at the Hamptons International Film Festival; David Fincher’s Gone Girl, opposite Ben Affleck; Kevin
MacDonald’s Black Sea opposite Jude Law; Jaume Collet-Serra’s hit Non-Stop, opposite Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore; Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank opposite Michael Fasbender and Maggie Gyllenhaal ; David Michod’s The Rover opposite Guy Pearce and Rob Pattinson; Lynn Shelton’s Touchy Feely opposite Ellen Page; Megan Griffiths’ The Off Hours; Terry Zwigoff’s Art School Confidential; and, also for Focus Features, Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land opposite Matt Damon and Frances McDormand.

He was a Best Actor nominee at the 2010 British Independent Film Awards for his performance in the acclaimed independent

film Monsters, written and directed by Gareth Edwards. The year prior, In Search of a Midnight Kiss, which McNairy both starred in and produced, was honored with the John Cassavetes Award [the Best Feature Made For Under $500,000] at the Independent Spirit Awards. The movie was written and directed by Alex Holdridge.

He shared a Screen Actors Guild Award with his fellow actors from the ensembles of Ben Affleck’s Argo and Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave when they were voted Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture; in addition to many other honors, both films went on to win Academy Award for Best Picture in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

On the production side, McNairy has formed The Group Films with John Pierce and they are currently in production on McNairy’s directorial debut. Their film Frank and Cindy, starring Rene Russo and Oliver Platt, premiered at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival. The film is now available on Netflix and iTunes. The company’s previous productions include James Cox’s Straight A’s, starring Ryan Phillippe, Anna Paquin, and Luke Wilson. Separately, McNairy recently reteamed with Gareth Edwards, as executive producers of Tom Green’s Monsters: Dark Continent, the sequel to Monsters.

Resources

QUOTES:

“A pivotal point for me was when my pops asked me ‘what’s the one job you could have, and you’d wake up every morning, and just jump out of bed because you wanted to go to work so bad?’ I thought… I’d love to hold a wire or an electrical cable on a movie set.”

“I learned to audition through the commercial process. You have 30 secs to get these people to want to hang out with you for entire day.”

“After you’ve been doing this awhile, it is the same relationships bringing you back.”

VIDEOS:

Credits:

WRITER: Lizzy Dalla Betta
SOUND DESIGN: Zachary Jameson
WEBSITE & GRAPHICS: Chase Jennings
ASSISTANT: Elle Powell
SOCIAL OUTREACH: Bebe Katsenes

February 6, 2018

030: Samm Levine

030: Samm Levine https://alyshiaochse.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/1.jpg 1500 1000 Alyshia Ochse Alyshia Ochse //alyshiaochse.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/TOA-Logo-2x.png February 6, 2018 August 12, 2019

Samm Levine’s first breakout role was as a member of the “geek” half of the short lived cult hit, Freaks and Geeks. The following year, he rejoined “Freaks and Geeks” producer, Judd Apatow, for another widely praised coming of age series, Undeclared. That same year, Samm made his feature debut in the raucous teen spoof, Not Another Teen Movie.

Since then, he has appeared in over 60 films and television shows, including the Oscar winning Quentin Tarantino epic, Inglourious Basterds, and in many memorable roles on beloved programs such as Entourage, Modern Family, NCIS and How I Met Your Mother. In addition to his growing catalog of television appearances, Samm is also known for roles in many cult features, including the Broken Lizard comedy, Club Dread, the sci-fi thriller, Pulse, and acclaimed indie comedies, Drones and IFC’s Made for Each Other

Samm has also served as co-host and producer to Kevin Pollak’s renowned celebrity talk show, Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show, since its inception in 2009 – a role he came into after his interview as a guest on the first episode.

Tune into our Interview on iTunes HERE

Resources

QUOTES:

“Always say sure, you never know where the project may go.”

“Sixteen year journey to finally get Arty on camera with my face.”

“I memorized every single word of Platypus Man at 11 years old.”

“All my fellow classmates asked me to MC their Bar and Batmitza.”

“One Barmitzpha, Lisa Kudrow asked if I was a professional standup when I was 12. She encouraged me to become an actor.”

“Mom, Lisa Kudrow from friends said I should be a professional comedian.”

“I said yes to everything right away.”

“What got me into the room for Freaks and Geeks is that Judd was specifically looking for unknowns.”

“My Mom suggested that I do the William Shatner impression during my Freaks and Geeks audition.”

“Judd put me on the callback list for Freaks and Geeks solely so that Paul Feig have a laugh at my William Shatner impression.”

“I’m insane, what kid does stand up at 12?”

“I learned how set acting worked on Freaks and Geeks.”

“Secret to success in Hollywood is a short memory.” Ingrid Bermund “I have found that to be remarkably true” | CLICK TO TWEET

“Acting is like solving a math problem. As long as the end result is the same, you are never going to be asked to show your work.” | CLICK TO TWEET

“I love the opportunity to do drama.”

“I knew from Judd that Quentin was a Freaks and Geeks fan.”

“Reservior Dogs was a very important film in shaping my view of filmmaking, acting and adulthood.”

“When Quentin makes movies, he is a kid in a candy store.”

“When you read for Quentin, you don’t read for him, you read with him.”

“Before I left the audition, I swollowed my pride and said to him working with you is one of the most important things that I would like to accomplish in my life. There is no pride here, if I can be an extra and carry I gun. I will do it.”

“I was not going to walk out of my audition with Quentin without leaving everything on the table.”

“I still think working with Quentin was a dream.”

“The bulk of what I shot ended up on the cutting room floor.”

“This is a business and the last 10 years after the writing strike, network and studios do not like taking risks.”

“My issue is with the business model of the studio system.”

“I’m Poppy is the strangest thing I’ve ever done. It is decidedly odd.”

“I got away with a lot when I was doing stand up as a teenager because there was an element of strange to it.”

“Luck is what happens when opportunity meets preparation.” | CLICK TO TWEET

“I’m also producing now because I was getting really frustrated from wonderful scripts not getting made.”

“Outside of any acting talent I possess the great skill is the amount of contacts I’ve made over the years.”

“The first few jobs you do as an actor might not be that great but you are doing them to build a resume.”

“Producing has given me a greater appreciation for how easy actors have it.”

Michael Fassbender

S2 029: Scoot McNairy