Jon Bernthal’s Guide to Making It as a Supporting Actor
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Your first screen roles were guest-star spots on TV procedurals like “CSI,” “Without a Trace” and two different “Law and Order” spinoffs. What do you remember about that time?
I remember being so wide-eyed and so naïve. One of the first TV sets I walked into, they told me to go to hair and makeup, and I didn’t know what hair and makeup was. So I just went into a trailer, and the lead of the show was changing in that trailer and she yelled, “Get out,” and threw a shoe right at my head. I had to do a scene with her that day!
It took a real long time for me to feel comfortable on-set. I remember Vincent D’Onofrio talked to me after a take when I did his show [“Law and Order: Criminal Intent”], and he said, “Hey, what you did there was pretty good.” Something like that can carry you through months of rejection. I always try to remember that with young actors, because the littlest thing can keep you going.
And what happens when you do break through and win the role you want?
So then you get the job, now you got to do it, right? I dropped 30 pounds for this part in “King Richard.” I started playing tennis. Right here in my town, Ojai, Calif., there’s a tennis academy a lot like Rick Macci’s called the World Tennis Center. I started training every day just to get to know the game, and then I started training in how to coach, how to run drills. There’s a vocabulary in coaching tennis. There’s a psychology to it, an intimacy in it.
I heard you even started coaching Kamea Medora, a Top 50 junior nationals player.
Going into that tennis center every day and then coaching Kamea in character, I’m sure it annoyed the hell out of her and it made her laugh, but I really believe that she really looked forward to our sessions together getting coached by this crazy actor dude. It was so much fun and I really felt like I could walk in on Day 1 of that shoot and know how to coach tennis.
The first thing Serena said to me is that her time with Rick Macci was the funnest time of her life because he had this pure and undeniable love for the game. Coaches are often portrayed in movies and TV as these taskmasters, but I’ve had coaches like this where they just love it. They’re just as tough, just as masculine — they just do it with a smile, and that’s really why I wanted to play this part so bad.
Sundance 2022 Movies: 12 Films You Don’t Want to Miss, From ‘Sharp Stick’ to ‘Jeen-Yuhs’
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After the Omicron variant threw a wrench in the Sundance in-person festival, 2022 will mark the second year in a row that Sundance Film Festival has gone all-virtual. But just because you won’t be waiting in line in the snowy mountains of Utah doesn’t mean you can’t see some great films. In fact, thanks to Sundance’s virtual platform, it’s easier than ever to catch all the movies you want to see.
Sundance 2022 boasts an impressive line-up of films, featuring big names like Jesse Eisenberg, Regina Hall, Lena Dunham, Sterling K. Brown, Amy Poehler, Tig Notaro, and more. There are also plenty of exciting newcomers, like twin sister filmmakers Adamma Ebo and Adanne Ebo. Though the day passes are sold out, you can still purchase individual tickets to select films. Just make a free account over at festival.sundance.org, browse the Sundance 2022 program, and add films that you find interesting to your “favorites” list. You can then buy tickets to your favorite films under “My Schedule.” Tickets cost $20. (Or, if you have a pass, you can then “reserve” a seat at a film premiere on your schedule if there are still seats available.)
The big movies with the big names are selling out fast, so don’t wait! To help you cut through the noise, Decider has compiled a list of 12 exciting movie highlights from the Sundance Film Festival 2022 lineup, listed by order of premiere date.
1 ‘When You’ve Finished Saving the World’ Director: Jesse Eisenberg
Cast: Finn Wolfhard, Julianne Moore
Premiere: Thursday, January 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET
Why we’re hyped: Opening the 2022 Sundance Film Festival is When You’ve Finished Saving the World, the directorial debut for actor Jesse Eisenberg, who also wrote the script and released an audio drama version of the story in 2020. The film promises a witty, heartfelt drama about the relationship between a mother (Julianne Moore) and her teenage son (Finn Wolfhard) who struggle to connect over a generational divide. Get tickets to When You Finish Saving the World
2 ‘Fresh’ Director: Mimi Cave
Cast: Sebastian Stan, Daisy Edgar-Jones
Premiere: Friday, January 21 at 1:55 a.m. ET
Why we’re hyped: Fresh, the feature debut from director Mimi Cave looks like too much fun. This romantic-comedy-horror film pairs Marvel’s Sebastian Stan and Normal People‘s Daisy Edgar-Jones together in an adorable meet-cute that soon goes sour when Edgar-Jones discovers that Stan’s character has some “unusual appetites.” The casting is spot-on, and we can’t wait to take a bite out of this one. Get tickets to Fresh
3 ‘Call Jane’ Director: Phyllis Nagy
Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Mara, Chris Messina, Wunmi Mosaku
Premiere: Friday, January 21 at 7:45 p.m. ET
Why we’re hyped: From the writer you brought you Carol comes another women-led period piece, this time about a 1960s housewife (Elizabeth Banks) in desperate search of medical help for a pregnancy that is endangering her life. Her only hope? A covert abortion network that went by the codename “Jane.” Will this be Banks’ shot at an Oscar? Get tickets to Call Jane
4 ‘Master’ Director: Mariama Diallo
Cast: Regina Hall, Zoe Renee, Talia Ryder, Amber Gray
Premiere: Friday, January 21 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Why we’re hyped: Regina Hall knows a thing or two about scary movies. That said, this psychological political horror movie from debut writer-director Mariama Diallo is a far cry from the Scary Movie franchise. Instead, Hall stars as a dean of students at a university with a haunted past. Hall, along with a Black teacher and Black student at the school, is confronted with the terrifying consequences of white supremacy. Get tickets to Master
5 ‘We Need to Talk About Cosby’ Director: W. Kamau Bell
Premiere: Saturday, January 22 at 12 p.m. ET
Why we’re hyped: This four-part documentary, helmed by stand-up comedian W. Kamau Bell, will premiere on Showtime next week, but if you’re not a subscriber or want a sneak peek, you can catch it at Sundance. Bell digs into difficult conversations with a variety of people who felt connected to Cosby off-screen and on, and how to reconcile the reality of Cosby’s vile crimes with his TV persona. Get tickets to We Need to Talk About Cosby
6 ‘Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’ Director: Sophie Hyde
Cast: Emma Thompson, Daryl McCormack
Premiere: Saturday, January 22 at 5 p.m. ET
Why we’re hyped: Hollywood has had a blindspot about older women and sexuality for far too long. That’s what’s so exciting about this new comedy from Sundance alum Sophie Hyde. The great Emma Thompson stars as a retired teacher in search of really, really good sex, and Daryl McCormack stars as the sex worker she hires to help her find it. What could go wrong? Get tickets to Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
7 ‘Sharp Stick’ Director: Lena Dunham
Cast: Kristine Froseth, Jon Bernthal, Scott Speedman, Taylour Paige, Lena Dunham
Premiere: Saturday, January 22 at 5 p.m. ET
Why we’re hyped: It’s been 11 years since Lena Dunham’s first and only feature film, Tiny Furniture. (Though she’s hardly been idle in that time, busy making the popular HBO series Girls.) But Dunham’s return to features promises to be something smack in her wheelhouse—a coming-of-age dramedy about a 26-year-old (Kristine Froseth) coming to terms with herself, her body, and sex. Get tickets to Sharp Stick
8 ‘Lucy and Desi’ Director: Amy Poehler
Cast: Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill, Bette Midler, Carol Burnett
Premiere: Saturday, January 22 at 11 p.m. ET
Why we’re hyped: Aaron Sorkin had his say on Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz last year with Amazon’s Being The Ricardos. Now it’s comedian Amy Poehler’s turn to re-examine two of the most famous sitcom stars of all time, this time as a documentary. Being a former sitcom star herself, and a longtime advocate of women in comedy, there’s no doubt Poehler will deliver a fascinating perspective. Get tickets to Lucy and Desi
9 ‘Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul’ Director: Adamma Ebo & Adanne Ebo
Cast: Regina Hall, Sterling K. Brown
Premiere: Sunday, January 23 at 1:45 p.m. ET
Why we’re hyped: It’s official—Sundance 2022 is all about Regina Hall. Her second movie for the festival is a satire of for-profit religion from an exciting new Nigerian-American sibling filmmaking duo, the Ebo twins, in their feature film debut. Hall stars as the first lady of a Southern Baptist megachurch dealing with a controversy caused by her husband, the pastor (Sterling K. Brown) in what looks like a hilarious, biting satire. Get tickets to Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul
10 ‘jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’ Director: Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chike Ozah
Premiere: Sunday, January 23 at 8 p.m. ET
Why we’re hyped: Two years ago, Sundance was all about Taylor Swift. Perhaps it’s fitting, then, that Kanye West—these days officially known as Ye—gets his turn. This three-part documentary series promises to reveal “the real Kanye West,” via footage shot over years by Chicago public access TV host Coodie, who first met Ye when he interviewed the up-and-coming hip hop producer in 1998. And, if you miss the series at Sundance, you can catch it on Netflix beginning February 16. Get tickets to Jeen-Yuhs
11 ‘Meet Me In the Bathroom’ Director: Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace
Premiere: Monday, January 24 at 1:55 a.m. ET
Why we’re hyped: It’s a big year for documentaries at Sundance. For rock nerds, perhaps the most exciting one is Meet Me In the Bathroom, featuring never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with bands like The Moldy Peaches, LCD Soundsystem, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Inspired by Lizzy Goodman’s book of the same name, this doc aims to capture a magical moment of alt-rock rebirth in a pre-9/11 New York City. Get tickets to Meet Me In the Bathroom
Lena Dunham Talks Professional Split from Girls Co-Showrunner Jenni Konner: ‘I Needed to Pause’
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Lena Dunham is opening up about her split from former producing partner Jenni Konner back in 2018.
After working on the hit HBO series Girls together, Dunham and Konner teamed up again for the channel’s comedy series Camping. Dunham left production mid-way through filming the first and only season to go to rehab for a benzodiazepines addiction, and she and Konner parted ways shortly after.
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Dunham, 35, reflected on the connection between her exit from rehab and the end of her professional relationship with Konner in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“I think my recovery played a part in the break with Jenni insofar as it showed me that I needed to pause and clear the slate,” she told the outlet. “I needed to almost start again and just hear my own voice.”
Lena Dunham Lena Dunham | Credit: ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty
She added that Camping, which received a mostly negative response from critics, “was a reminder to me that to make things that really were truthful to me, I needed to go back to a kind of quieter place.”
In 2018, Dunham and Konner released a joint statement announcing their decision to no longer work together.
“We have had one of the most significant relationships together in our adult lives and we respect each other’s choices,” the pair said. “While our interests are pulling us in different directions right now, we are excited about our current work and are firmly committed to the projects we have together. HBO has been our home for quite some time and we look forward to continuing there as we both move forward.”
Around the same time, Dunham had also recently undergone a hysterectomy to treat her endometriosis pain and broken up with boyfriend Jack Antonoff after more than five years together.
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In the THR interview, she said the whirlwind time, which was shortly after Girls came to an end, prompted her to retreat from the spotlight.
Lena Dunham Lena Dunham | Credit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty
“I just realized that the experience of Girls and my 20s was such an all-encompassing hurricane of both validation and derision that in order for me to keep that place of myself that loved to make art, that was what needed to happen,” she said.
Today, Dunham is newly married (she wed musician Luis Felber in September) and has a new movie, Sharp Stick, premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday.
She told THR that when COVID-19 pandemic hit, the increased isolation helped her dig deeper into her art.
RIP Gaspard Ulliel; Willem Dafoe’s Drip Season; 2022 Sundance Survey
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The French actor Gaspard Ulliel has died in a ski accident at the age of 37; Willem Dafoe is having his “drip season”; our 2022 Sundance Survey is here. All in today’s Movie News Rundown.
But First: Check back with us at noon PT/3 ET today for our brand-new cover — and cover story — reveal. We can’t say much except that it’s about the most-anticipated movie of 2022. This might also be a good time to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
RIP Gaspard Ulliel: The 37-year-old French actor who stars as Midnight Man in Marvel’s upcoming Moon Knight series died Wednesday following a ski accident in the Alps on Tuesday, according to French news agency AFP. His other film credits include Saint Laurent, It’s Only the End of The World, A Very Long Engagement, and La Princesse de Montpensier.
A Glimpse of Diana: Glamour UK has some behind-the-scenes photos of Elizabeth Debicki as Diana in Season 5 of The Crown, and the resemblance is quite strong. The outlet reports that filming for the new season is underway. They’ve got all the details, including who will play Diana’s love interests post-Charles, including Dodi Fayed. If you haven’t seen The Crown, what are you waiting for?
It’s ‘Willem Dafoe’s Drip Season’: That’s what it says here in the GQ profile on the iconic actor Willem Dafoe. Did you know he’s a huge hit among Gen-Z-ers on TikTok? They love his outfits, apparently. Plus, his IMDb page is popping off right now. In 2021, Dafoe appeared in Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter, Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, and he reprised his role as the Green Goblin in Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Sundance Survey: Every winter we survey Sundance moviemakers, in which we ask what kind of camera equipment they used, what the most expensive part of their budget was, how big their crew was, what their biggest lesson was, and, of course, what they did when they found out they made it into Sundance (Hint: lots of crying and champagne popping). From Master to Emergency to Cha Cha Real Smooth — Cooper Raiff’s much-anticipated follow-up to Shithouse — the survey is a collection of Sundance’s most buzzy titles. Check out the full 2022 Sundance Survey here.
Lena Dunham Speaks: The director of Sundance contender Sharp Stick — who is also featured in our above survey — opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about coming out of her post-Girls spiral, her new film, her new husband, and finding herself during the pandemic.
RIP Marty Roberts: The first half of Marty & Elayne, the famous lounge band that’s been playing the Dresden in Los Angeles’ Los Feliz neighborhood for the last 35 years, has died, according to Deadline. The upright bassist and drummer was 89.
Hollywood Loved Him: Marty & Elayne were featured in Jon Favreau’s 1996 movie Swingers, which was set in Los Feliz. Tom Petty also included them in the music video for “Yer So Bad,” and they had a cameo in an episode of Mr. Show. I’m so glad I saw them perform while they were still around, because they were awesome. Here’s the clip from Swingers:
Main image: Gaspard Ulliel stars as Yves Saint Laurent in Saint Laurent.
Lena Dunham reflects on drug addiction: ‘Getting off Klonopin was the hardest’
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Lena Dunham has reflected on her addiction to the anxiety drug Klonopin.
The screenwriter became increasingly dependent on the drug due to the stress she experienced while filming the last series of Girls, a time she described as being like a “50-car pileup”.
At the time, in 2017, she was facing fierce criticism for defending Girls writer/executive producer Murray Miller, whom actor Aurora Perrineau had accused of rape, which he denied. Dunham later apologised and admitted that she lied in an attempt to discredit Perrineau.
“Those images of me at the last Girls premiere, skinny and hollow-eyed, that was 100 per cent my appetite and my body just shutting down in response to that,” Dunham told The Hollywood Reporter.
In 2018, Dunham had a hysterectomy to relieve the pain of endometriosis, broke up with her longtime boyfriend Jack Antonoff, entered rehab for an addiction to benzodiazepines, and ended her creative partnership with Girls co-showrunner Jenni Konner.
“I’ve been through a lot of hard things in my adulthood. Getting off Klonopin was probably the hardest,” said the writer, who was first prescribed the drug at the age of 12.
Klonopin is a brand of benzodiazepines, which are a type of sedative medication. They slow down the body and brain’s functions. They can be used to help with anxiety and insomnia.
Lena Dunham (Getty Images for Friendly House)
Dunham is now sober from drugs and alcohol. “If I know that I’m a person who can go too far in a time of psychological stress, then why not eliminate that possibility?” she said.
Dunham’s new film, Sharp Stick, is about a young woman who has a hysterectomy aged 17. It will premiere virtually at Sundance on 22 January.
If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, you can seek confidential help and support 24-7 from Frank, by calling 0300 123 6600, texting 82111, sending an email or visiting their website here.
In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP.