Who is the man that would risk his neck for his brother, man? Wright! Can you dig it? Ned and Caroline sure can. This week, the hosts take a look at Jeffrey Wright's iconic turn as Peoples Hernandez in John Singleton's 2000 action crime thriller, Shaft. They chat about what Wright brings to the larger-than-life villain role as well as how this legacy sequel stacks up against the 1971 original. Plus they revisit early Role Calling star Christian Bale in his illustrious era of playing murderous...

Before Jeffrey Wright became Hollywood's go-to character actor, he had his breakout leading man turn in the 1996 indie biopic, Basquiat. So this week, Ned and Caroline journey into the world of neo-expressionist art with special guest Joolz of The Pod Has Been Cast. From David Bowie as Andy Warhol to the director's self-insert character, there's a lot to unpack. And the trio wade through it all while celebrating Wright's mesmerizing turn as Jean-Michel Basquiat himself. You can follow Joolz...

The name's Wright, Jeffrey Wright. And even if you don't recognize him by that moniker, you almost certainly know his face. This week, Ned and Caroline kick off their new miniseries on one of the best character actors around. And they're joined by special guest Joe Cunningham of the Cinematic Universe podcast to look at Wright's brand new big screen project: No Time To Die. Wright's small but memorable role as Felix Leiter is one of the cornerstones of the Daniel Craig era of Bond. And Ned,...

James Dean may have only starred in three films, but one of them was a full-on epic. This week Caroline and Ned welcome pop culture critic Roxana Hadadi to talk about Giant, the last (and longest) film Dean ever made. The trio discuss what makes this iconic 1956 American epic so special, how it looks from the eyes of 2021, and what it's like to watch the teen idol age into an old man onscreen. Plus they chat about some behind-the-scenes gossip and share their parting thoughts on Dean's place...

Stanislavski! Strasberg! Stella! This week, Caroline and Ned go deep on the history of method acting as they look at James Dean's leading man debut in Elia Kazan's 1955 family drama, East of Eden. The hosts explore what it means to be an "actor's director," share some of their own experiences with acting and directing, and try to figure out why this movie is so goddamn stressful. As mentioned in the episode, you can watch James Dean act opposite Ronald Reagan in the 1954 TV drama " The...

Role Calling takes a swerve into the 1950s this week, as Caroline and Ned kick off their brand new series on James Dean. The Hollywood legend and famed method actor only made three movies before his untimely death at the age of 24. And this series will cover them all, starting with his iconic turn as Jim Stark in 1955's Rebel Without A Cause. It's a conversation for fans and novices alike as the hosts dig into Dean's biography, talk through the film's unique plot structure, and share their...

Our Jamie Lee Curtis series comes full circle right back to Haddonfield, Illinois—where the prison system really needs to stop trying to transfer Michael Meyers on October 30th. Ned and Caroline welcome horror aficionado Brian Muldoon of the Happy Harvest Horror Show to discuss Jamie Lee Curtis' much-hyped return as Laurie Strode in 2018's Halloween. The trio also chat about the Halloween franchise as a whole, whether or not slashers are scary, and what they hope to see from JLC in the...

For those who came of age in the early 2000s, Freaky Friday was *the* introduction to Jamie Lee Curtis. And Ned and Caroline are thrilled to welcome special guest Pernell Vandyke Myers to take a nostalgic walk down memory lane to the era of pop punk and Chad Michael Murray. From Jamie's stellar performance as a teenager to the Lindsay Lohan of it all, the trio take a look at what holds up and what doesn't about this 2003 classic. You can follow Pernell on Twitter (twitter.com/PernellVan)...

True Lies is a nostalgic favorite and the first film with a budget over $100 million, but how does it hold up today? Ned and Caroline spend this entire episode debating that very question! From its great action scenes to its troubling racism and sexism to that infamous striptease, the co-hosts try to weigh the good against the bad in this action-comedy classic. Plus they psychoanalyze James Cameron, praise the range of Jamie Lee Curtis, and deliver some terrible Arnold Schwarzenegger...

After bursting onto the scene as a 1970s Scream Queen, Jamie Lee Curtis remade herself as a 1980s comedy star. And this week, Ned and Caroline welcome special guest Walls Trimble to discuss the beloved 1988 slapstick heist, A Fish Called Wanda. The trio chat pink mohair sweaters, Kevin Kline's fearless performance, and how Jamie might just steal this movie from her co-stars. You can follow Walls on Instagram (instagram.com/trimblenator) and listen to her podcast I Have A Question With...

Ned hops back into the hosting chair this week to kick off Role Calling's brand new miniseries on the films of Jamie Lee Curtis. Hollywood royalty from the moment she was born, Jamie officially started her reign as a Scream Queen in her breakout debut in John Carpenter's iconic 1978 slasher flick, Halloween. And Ned and Caroline bring two very different horror movie perspectives as they look back on the film that helped revolutionize the genre. Our theme music was created by Patrick Budde,...

The Summer of Dev is finally here! This week, Caroline and Ned try to make sense of David Lowery's transfixingly ambiguous medieval epic The Green Knight. Plus they share some final thoughts on Dev's career, introduce the star of their next retrospective series, and ponder "What does the fox say?" Our theme music was created by Patrick Budde, and our logo was designed by Nick Wanserski. You can get in touch on Twitter (twitter.com/rolecalling) or email us at [email protected].

Released mid-pandemic, The Personal History of David Copperfield got a little lost in the shuffle last year. But Caroline and Ned are here to tell you why Armando Iannucci's whimsical Dickens adaptation is worth seeking out! Plus they look at how casting Dev Patel as an icon of British literature just might be the key to unlocking his full range of skills as an actor—which is hopefully good news for the upcoming Green Knight. Our theme music was created by Patrick Budde, and our logo was...

Eight years after Slumdog Millionaire introduced Dev Patel to the world, Lion finally made him an Oscar-nominated leading man. Caroline and Ned are joined by special guest Adarsh Shah to break down this incredibly moving 2016 family drama that changed the entire course of Dev’s career.  [Just a heads up that Lion includes themes of potential sexual abuse and human trafficking, and we briefly discuss those topics in the episode as well.] You can follow Adarsh on Instagram...

How did Dev Patel follow up his one-in-a-million breakthrough debut in Slumdog Millionaire? By starring in one of the most hated movies of all time! This week, Caroline and Ned reluctantly dive into the world of M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, and try to figure out what went wrong with this disastrous adaption of a beloved animated series. You can watch Dev talk about his experience on The Last Airbender as part of a 2016 Hollywood Reporter roundtable (youtu.be/YyQGKSzYqBg). Also...

The era of Dev Patel is here! And Caroline and Ned are thrilled to be joined by special guest Manish Mathur to kick off this brand new miniseries. The trio travel back to the halcyon days of 2008 to look at Dev's breakthrough debut in Slumdog Millionaire. And they attempt to figure out how this movie has aged, and the career path it set up (or didn't) for dear Dev. You can follow Manish Mathur on Twitter (twitter.com/TheManish89) and read his wonderful writing about Mira Nair’s Salaam...

As you look at the fireworks light up the night sky this Fourth of July weekend, enjoy this special bonus episode on In The Heights! Ned and Caroline take a break from their usual actor-focus to indulge their deepest theater kid impulses. And they're thrilled to be joined by their friend Alejandro Tey to take a deep dive into what works and what doesn't about Jon M. Chu's 2021 big screen adaption of Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2008 Broadway musical. Just a heads up that this episode includes a...

Whether you call it Edge of Tomorrow or Live Die Repeat, either way this sci-fi action flick rules! And Ned and Caroline are thrilled to be joined by special guest Emily Marso to breakdown why. The trio chat time loops, Tom Cruise, and the throwback feminism of 2014. Plus they wrap up Role Calling's Emily Blunt retrospective series with some final thoughts on her curiously hard-to-pin-down career. You can follow Emily Marso on Instagram (instagram.com/missmarso) and Twitter...

Mary Poppins Returns was fairly swiftly forgotten after its 2018 release, but what this podcast presupposes is... maybe it's kind of great? But don't just take Ned and Caroline's word for it! Midway through this episode, Ned phones up his 5- and 8-year-old cousins to get their take on this modern Disney musical. Beyond that, Ned and Caroline discuss how this 54-years-later sequel compares to the original, try not to cry over Ben Whishaw's performance, and dig into the Lin-Manuel Miranda of it...

Things take a turn for the morally ambiguous this week, as Ned and Caroline wade into the dark waters of Sicario. The 2015 Denis Villeneuve thriller stars Emily Blunt as a principled FBI agent who gets roped into some shady dealings for the U.S. government. It's easily the heaviest film the podcast has covered yet, and Ned and Caroline parse what to make of its suspenseful look at the Mexican drug war. Plus they sing the praises of Blunt's impressively restrained performance, and debate what...

This week on Role Calling, it's A Quiet Place two-fer! In the first half of the episode, Ned and Caroline chat all about Emily Blunt's excellent performance alongside her real-life husband John Krasinski in 2018's A Quiet Place. And then in the second half, the hosts share the special in-person conversation they recorded right after seeing A Quiet Place Part II together. That's right, movie theaters are back, baby! But is it worth going to see A Quiet Place Part II in one? Or are you better...

Gird your loins, it's a brand new era for Role Calling! Ned is in the hosting chair this week as Role Calling kicks off our Emily Blunt retrospective series. The beloved British actress memorably burst onto the scene in the iconic 2006 workplace comedy, The Devil Wears Prada. So Ned and Caroline take a look at what makes her scene-stealing performance so good, as well as how this movie holds up today. Plus they chat about what role Emily was originally auditioning for when she got Devil Wears...

Are you watching closely? In the final episode of their Christian Bale retrospective series, Caroline and Ned dive into one of their favorites: Christopher Nolan's 2006 dueling magician drama, The Prestige. A movie that might just inadvertently sum up Christian Bale's entire movie star persona. But what makes The Prestige so great? How do its many twists hold up on a rewatch? And how did Christian prepare for a role that has a whole lot going on beneath the surface? Ned and Caroline dive into...

From Batman to BAFTAs, Christian Bale has grown into one of our most acclaimed actors. And this week, Ned and Caroline look at the movie that won him his Oscar: The 2010 David O. Russell boxing drama, The Fighter. But the hosts don't actually have that much to say about the movie itself, so they mostly try to dig into Christian's acting process instead! Just what does it mean to be a method actor? And is Christian actually one? Plus some thoughts on how Christian's movie star persona has...

This week, Caroline and Ned tackle the movie that made Christian Bale a household name: His starring turn as Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan's 2005 dark and gritty reboot, Batman Begins. The hosts explore the long history of the Batman franchise, try to figure out why Nolan's re-imagining hit so big, and dig into what Bale brings to the role. How does his Bruce Wayne stack up to previous incarnations? What do the hosts think of Bale's infamous Batman voice? And just where were the other...