May 6, 2026 • 43 mins
This week on Pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon, we are diving deep into storytelling, humanity, survival and Madonna continuing to remind everyone she’s Madonna.
First, I talk with Oscar-nominated actor David Oyelowo about his powerful new film Newborn, the emotional reality of isolation and solitary confinement, why Selma somehow became even more relevant with time and why he intentionally chooses roles that scare him creatively. We also talk streaming, global storytelling and the responsibility art has to reflect the world around us.
Then Aaron Eckhart joins me to discuss his intense new film Deep Water, why every great movie is really about relationships, the psychology of human behavior and what makes acting feel truly real. Honestly, this conversation got way more philosophical than I expected - in the best possible way.
PLUS:
The lineup for the 2026 National Memorial Day Concert, Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter at Coachella, “Bring Your Love” dominating globally, Confessions 2 officially launching us into another Madonna era, and why trying to keep up with her at this point should qualify as cardio.
If you dig the show, subscribe, rate, and share - and tell your friend who's always stealing your streaming passwords.
📍 Watch now on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform
🎧 Subscribe for more celeb interviews, streaming picks and pop culture deep dives!
🗣️ Want to be featured on the show? 📱 Leave a voicemail here!
📧 Become a degenerate and join the newsletter to get exclusive content, interviews & more once a week! Subscribe here!
--------------------------
Kyle McMahon's Death, Grief & Other Sh*t We Don't Discuss is now streaming. Listen here!
--------------------------
Get all the Pop Culture Weekly podcast info you could want including extra content, uncut interviews, photos, videos & transcripts at Podcast.PopCultureWeekly.com
Read the latest at PopCultureWeekly.com
Get Social with Kyle on:
Kyle McMahon Facebook
Kyle McMahon Instagram
Kyle McMahon TikTok
Pop Culture Weekly YouTube
Kyle McMahon Website
First, I talk with Oscar-nominated actor David Oyelowo about his powerful new film Newborn, the emotional reality of isolation and solitary confinement, why Selma somehow became even more relevant with time and why he intentionally chooses roles that scare him creatively. We also talk streaming, global storytelling and the responsibility art has to reflect the world around us.
Then Aaron Eckhart joins me to discuss his intense new film Deep Water, why every great movie is really about relationships, the psychology of human behavior and what makes acting feel truly real. Honestly, this conversation got way more philosophical than I expected - in the best possible way.
PLUS:
The lineup for the 2026 National Memorial Day Concert, Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter at Coachella, “Bring Your Love” dominating globally, Confessions 2 officially launching us into another Madonna era, and why trying to keep up with her at this point should qualify as cardio.
If you dig the show, subscribe, rate, and share - and tell your friend who's always stealing your streaming passwords.
📍 Watch now on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform
🎧 Subscribe for more celeb interviews, streaming picks and pop culture deep dives!
🗣️ Want to be featured on the show? 📱 Leave a voicemail here!
📧 Become a degenerate and join the newsletter to get exclusive content, interviews & more once a week! Subscribe here!
--------------------------
Kyle McMahon's Death, Grief & Other Sh*t We Don't Discuss is now streaming. Listen here!
--------------------------
Get all the Pop Culture Weekly podcast info you could want including extra content, uncut interviews, photos, videos & transcripts at Podcast.PopCultureWeekly.com
Read the latest at PopCultureWeekly.com
Get Social with Kyle on:
Kyle McMahon Facebook
Kyle McMahon Instagram
Kyle McMahon TikTok
Pop Culture Weekly YouTube
Kyle McMahon Website
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In this episode of pop Culture Weekly, I talk with
Oscar nominated actor David Oya Wello and Aaron Eckhart.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Let's go.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Welcome to pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon from iHeartRadio
your pop culture news, views, reviews, and celebrity interviews on
all the movies, TV, music, and pop culture u Crab Weekly.
Here's Kyle McMahon.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Net No No, No, No.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Hello, and welcome to pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon,
the show where we celebrate pop culture, question our life choices,
and try to keep up with Madonna, which, honestly, at
this point it's a full time job. In this episode,
we've got a lot to talk about. We've got two
incredible interviews David oh Y Looo and Aaron Eckhart, and
(00:56):
they're talking about their brand new films. But first let's
talk about Madonna, because she's not just back, she's literally dominating.
As she tends to do. She's the top selling female
artist in history. Her brand new track bring Your Love,
which is the official first single off of her upcoming
album Confessions two, which comes out July third. That track
(01:18):
has already debuted at number one in forty eight countries
on iTunes.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Forty eight and it's been out like two.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Days as of this recording, and on Spotify nearly two
and a half million streams on day one. That's not
like just Madonna releasing her latest track. It's a takeover,
which is Madonna releasing her latest track. And because she's Madonna,
she had popped up last week at Coachella with Sabrina Carpenter.
(01:48):
They performed Vogue Like a Prayer and the new track,
the new single, bring Your Love Together, And that night,
after the Coachella performance, her buzz track I Feel So
Free started building crazy momentum as the first look at
Confessions two, which is a kind of spiritual sequel to
(02:11):
Confessions on a Dance Floor, which of course was a
huge culture defining moment in pop culture that came out
twenty years ago two thousand and five, so a little
over twenty years ago. And of course, you know, Hung
Up went to number one in forty six countries. Confessions
it sold has sold nearly twenty million albums. I mean,
(02:34):
you know everybody was doing Time Goes By and the
dance and you know that sample. Anyway, every little thing
now that stuck in my head. So anyway, yeah, we
are officially in a Madonna era again, and pop music
(02:57):
feels a little more alive because of it. So anyway,
go stream Bring Your Love with Sabrina Madonna and Sabrina
Carpenter such a good nineties house esque song, and I
think she makes it clear with I Feel So Free
and Bring Your Love that this isn't just a rehash
(03:18):
of Confessions on a dance floor.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Madonna doesn't do that. It's, you know, a spiritual sequel,
a sister album, if you will.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
So anyway, before like we get into everything, I gotta
say the National Memorial Day Concert, you know, that's on
PBS each year and I'm there every year covering it.
They have announced the lineup for the twenty twenty six
concert and.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
It is absolutely incredible.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
As always, Gary Sinise and Joe Montagna returned to host,
and then they'll have performances with Noah Wiley, Melissa Leo,
Andy Grammer, Jonathan Banks, Mickey Geiton, Amy Johnson, Alan Jackson,
Mary McCormick, Lara Osnez, Blessing Offer, and as always, the
(04:07):
Maestro Jack Everley, who will be conducting the National Symphony Orchestra.
This will air live on PBS May twenty fourth. It's
a Sunday at eight pm Eastern on PBS, streaming on
PBS's YouTube and socials as well. So it's always one
(04:28):
of those annual specials that like has me in tears.
You know, it really is truly a beautiful, touching tribute
to the brave men and women that you know put
their lives on the line for us, and so many
of their stories are untold and what National Memorial Day
Concert does is tells those stories.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
So lock it right here.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I'll have full coverage as always, and be sure to
tune in Sunday, May twenty fourth for the National Memorial
Day Concert.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
All right, we have got two amazing interviews.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
First up is David Oloo, an Academy Award nominated actor
whose career is built on powerful, layered performances and he's
someone who consistently brings depth and humanity to like everything
he touches. And I happened to co star with him
in a little Oscar nominated film called Selma, And by
(05:27):
co star, I mean I had one line that was then.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Cut, but you know, co star, and.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
David is talking about his brand new film Newborn, and
then later Aaron Eckhart joins us to talk about his
new film deep Water, and trust me, there's a lot
going on beneath the surface of this one. There's a
lot going on beneath the surface of this one. Get
(06:00):
it anyway? Before we dive in, just a quick heads up.
If you want to stay on top of everything happening
in movies, TV, music, and streaming, make sure you are
signed up for the pop Culture weekly newsletter.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Become a pop culture degenerate just like me.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Every week I'm breaking down everything coming out that weekend,
what's worth your time, what's not, and what you need
to be watching before everyone else is talking about it.
It's like your cheat code to never scrolling endlessly again.
So you can sign up right now at popculturewekly dot
com or click the link in the show notes. All right,
(06:39):
you ready, Let's get into it. David oh Yloo.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Is one of those actors who doesn't just play characters.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
He like fully inhabits them, from powerful historical figures to
deeply human complex roles. His performances all ways feel intentional
and they always feel grounded. And his new film, Newborn,
he's diving into something that feels very raw and very intimate.
(07:11):
It's the kind of story that explores identity, responsibility, community
and the responsibilities of the community for you know, our own,
and what it really means to step into a new
chapter of life. So in this conversation, we zoom out
talking about his journey so far, you know, in his career,
(07:32):
his philosophy on storytelling, and what continues to drive him
creatively he always chooses such incredible roles, and then we
zoom in on Newborn, what drew him to it, what
made it resonate with him, and why this role stands
out and is already incredible.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Body of work. Here he is, David, oh Yellow, how
are you?
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Thank you?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Nice to see it, Nice to see you.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
So, first of all, thank you for talking with me.
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
My pleasure.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
So a funny story, and you probably won't remember this,
but I was on a series of Oprah's Life class
shows and she completely changed my life. And miss A
Yanla was on there as well, And anyway, she got
me a gig with Huffington Post doing on her own section,
doing like self improvement for millennials. And then I got
(08:28):
this small part in Selma and so I went down, Yeah,
I went down to Atlanta and filmed for a couple
of days and I was supposed to be this like
senator and that in the scene, and you know, and
they had me with this other thing.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
I guess you were walking.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
This was like outside of a building, and I guess
it was outside of like the courthouse or wherever we were,
and you kept having to walk and kept having to walk,
and they had me as an extra like walking by
you or something and lighted right into you.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
And I was mortified. I'm like, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
And I said to Ava, you know, later, I was like,
you know, this is my big debut as a you know,
as an extra in this film, and you know, I've
like collided with the star.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
And she was like, he's fine, he's great, blah blah blah,
Like oh my god.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
But anyway, it was it was such a cool experience.
I'd obviously never done anything like that before. And then
they had asked me to go to Selma, you know,
when filming moved to Selma, and unfortunately with my schedule,
I couldn't do it. But it was just such a
cool and of all the movies in the world to
be able to be, you know, this tiny part of
that was so awesome, and and congratulations to you and
(09:45):
all all of its success and and really what it said,
you know.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Thank you, my goodness, thank you so much. Well, how
you feel about it is how I felt and continue
to feel about it, which is how did I get
to be involved with with this amazing thing myself?
Speaker 6 (10:08):
You know?
Speaker 5 (10:08):
And I hope that when we when we collided with
each other, I was kind to you.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Oh, you were amazing.
Speaker 5 (10:15):
Yeah, I wasn't dismissive or anything.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Not at all.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
Well we all have those moments, but yeah, I mean,
what a seminal moment in my life and in my career.
And as you say what the film went on to say,
and you know, at that point, Mike Brown hadn't been murdered.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
We hadn't.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
We didn't have all of that stuff happening. We didn't
have what went on to happen with the resurgence of
the Black Lives Matter movement. We didn't have all of
the division that the country has gone into. We didn't
have the degree to which the Voting Rights Act has
been attacked.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
So we didn't We thought we were making a period film.
We didn't.
Speaker 6 (10:55):
We didn't.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
We didn't realize we were making something that was going
to feel so contempt perraneous with what the country is
going through and was about to go through. And I
do think that is storytelling at its zenith, when it
can continue to shine a light and hold a mirror
to society, because unfortunately for us as humanity, we keep
(11:16):
on making the same mistakes, which is why I think
story is so important and impactful.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
And you know, and I think to your point, art
as a whole, you know, mirrors often what we go
through as a people, and good art does that even
you know, even more succinctly, I guess you could say,
(11:45):
and I think as storytellers, you know, people in the arts,
it is often I feel they feel a responsibility as
well to kind of, you know, to put that into
the world. That's why I always laugh when I hear,
you know, critics or whatever say you know, you're you're
an artist just sing or whatever, and it's like, have
you listened to art since the beginning of time or
(12:06):
looked at art since the beginning of time? It has
always reflected, you know, what's going on in the world. So,
you know, I love that. As storytellers we are you know,
storytellers are able to do that. So h And speaking
of Selma, you know you've gone from Selma to massive
studio films intimate dramas. Do you approach each role differently
(12:32):
from the standpoint of being David as an actor or
do you kind of have you know, a setup, if
you will, or a template of how you're going to
approach each role.
Speaker 5 (12:46):
I think you simply must treat each role on its
own merit and what it requires. It's a little bit
like making the mistake, or if you have a few kids,
treating them all the same way. They all have personalities,
they different needs, they all have different quirks, they all
have different gifts that are to be accentuated and weaknesses
(13:08):
that are to be bolstered. And so that's very much
the case with the roles I get to players. You
can imagine playing doctor King is a very specific thing
in terms of historical figure, that time, that period, the
size of the film, to a film like Newborn, which
you know, in terms of the specificity of what that
character is dealing with. Sometimes I feel the need to
(13:30):
stay in character the whole time. Sometimes that's not what's required.
In fact, the opposite is what is required because it's
more of an ensemble situation whereby you want to have
real tentacles to the other performers and really be bouncing
off their energy. So, you know, I think you need
to be alive to what every character requires, every director requires,
(13:52):
every cast requires. And you know, my privileged time in
the theater is has really taught me that because every
play requires a different muscle to be flexed. If you're
doing Shakespeare, that's one thing. If you're doing a one
man show, that's a different thing. If you're doing a musical,
that's a different thing. You know, So being able to
(14:14):
have that malleability is key.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
I love that and I can't wait to get into
Newborn with you. But if I may ask you a
few questions, zoomed out for a moment. You have portrayed
fictional people, you have portrayed real life figures. What do
you feel as an actor is or do you feel
as an actor there's one harder to get right or
(14:38):
one more complicated to.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Attack, if you will.
Speaker 5 (14:43):
In terms of characters, yes, I think there's a lot
of hazard around historical figures, obviously, because people have their
own preconceptions about who they were or are and depending
on what these people did.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
That either people who are greatly.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
Admired or loathed, and so that's always tricky. You have
to make peace with the fact that you're never going
to please everyone, but if you can please some, that's
job done in a sense. So that that has its
own very specific hazards. But you know, whether there's an
action movie or a comedy, or they all have their
(15:22):
thing that is gonna be the the hill to climb,
so to speak. But I would say there is a
very specific challenge that comes with roles like historical figures
or famous characters. You know, I've just played long John
Silver in a limited series of Treasure Island, and that,
(15:46):
of course is an iconic character with the parrot, with.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
The peg leg, with that story, it's it's a pirate story.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
So that genre is beloved, so you know, you walk
into a different kind of buzz saw with that. I
welcome and relish those challenges, but you just have to
accept that again. You know, people are going to come
with their varied opinions to those projects.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
And are you is David, you know, because I'm sure
this is a very individual, you know, situation, But are
you able to kind of separate that noise because it
seems like you're in a very good place, you know,
to be able to say, like, I know, I'm not
going to be able to please everybody all the time.
(16:32):
Are you able to separate that as you're going into
a role, like, Okay, this is going to be controversial
or okay, this is going to be you know whatever,
and kind of block that out as you're performing.
Speaker 5 (16:45):
I've gotten better at it out of necessity, you know.
I played Henry the six of the Royal Shakespeare Company
and played the King of England, and as you can imagine,
there were people who took Cambridge with that, you know,
being black and British as opposed to African American playing
doctor King. There are folks who have things to say
about that.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
You know.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
I think I'm the first black person to play long
John Silver. I'm sure there'll be people who need to
say about that. I can't control the noise, you know.
All I can control is the credibility of my performance
and the work I put into it. I don't take
roles that I don't think there is a legitimate reason
(17:28):
for me to either take it in terms of the
challenge it poses to me or whether I feel like
I can bring something to that role that hopefully is additive.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
So once I've made that choice.
Speaker 5 (17:41):
I have to just stick by the fact that my
work ethic and how successfully I achieve the role is
literally all I can do. You just have to sort
of walk away from the rest. I'm a human being,
I'm sensitive, I have an ego. So if I become
aware of a high level of criticism, of course, you
know it, it puts a dent in your day. But
(18:05):
at the end of the day, I've become better and
better at just, you know, controlling the things I can
and letting the go of the things I come.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
It's a great philosophy. You have been your body.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Of work, you know, so far it's screen and stage,
and and you've done such varied work.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Do you think that audiences today are more open to
different kinds of story storytelling?
Speaker 4 (18:36):
You know.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
One of the things I love about Newborn, which congratulations
by the way, it's an amazing film, is it is,
in my opinion, visually bold, you know. And I love
that because a different director, a different team, you know,
could have approached that story in a different way, and
I think it just complements the story so, well, do
(18:58):
you think audiences today are open to more different kinds
of you know, storytelling than they were maybe when you started.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Absolutely I do, and.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
I would attribute that to streaming and the fact that
you know, it used to be that something like Squid
Game would be a foreign TV show or Lupin would
be a foreign TV show. But when it has the
level of success it has in English speaking countries, that
just shows you that we are way more connected than
(19:33):
we are divided when it comes to storytelling. And in
the past, especially the studio system would have us believe
that a foreign film is niche despite it coming from
as popular as a country as India or China or
countries within Africa. But now that streaming has sort of
(19:56):
removed the geo fencing that has sort of been placed
there in the past. You see that my kids speak Japanese, Korean,
and French because of the shows they like to watch,
whether it be anime or k pop or you know,
(20:16):
or just the fact that you know, they did go
to a French school, but they they are truly global
in their mindset.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
That was not my upbringing. That was not the norm
when I was growing up.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
I mean, we literally went to Japan recently and my
kids were ordering food in Japanese. I couldn't get my
head around it, and I was like, and during the pandemic,
because they were watching so much anime, they said, well,
we want to learn Japanese. My wife and I were like, oh, okay, fine,
but that I guess. That's my point is that absolutely
the diversification of interests when it comes to the audience
(20:48):
is so present, and so that means you can be
bolder with your filmmaking because yes, you're not going to
please everyone, but you're going to please when when storytelling
becomes more good, You're going to please enough that will
gravitate towards what you do that will hopefully lead to
the kind of remuneration that means there is a degree
(21:09):
of success that you might not have had if your
film only came out in America or only came out
in the UK. Now you know, Newborn, after its theatrical run,
will be available globally, and that is definitely something that
was not the case for this kind of movie.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
When I first started.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
What was it about Newborn that you know you were like,
I need to I need to do this.
Speaker 5 (21:34):
I wasn't aware of how commonplace solitary confinement was in America.
I did not know that over eighty thousand men, women
and children are in solitary confinement today in America.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
And when you.
Speaker 5 (21:48):
Think about the fact that that is twenty three hours
a day in solitary, sometimes for years at a time.
You know, I shadowed a guy called Richard Rosario who
was wrongfully convicted of a crime commit for twenty years.
Seven of those were spent in solitary confinement, and you
know he has now had to deal with the fallout
of that ten years out of prison, awarded five million
(22:12):
dollars in compensation, but still dealing every day with the
fallout of that with his wife and kids.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
I spoke to a guy who was.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
In his late teens but had been in solitary confinement
for a year and a half at the age of fourteen.
Like one of my kids is fourteen, I couldn't even
begin to imagine what that must feel like.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
So shining a light on that was one of the
things I was keen to do.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
But also as a father, as a husband, as a brother,
all relationships that play out for Chris Newborn in the film,
I could relate to that. I could relate the desire
to reconnect with those things having been subjected to solitary confinement,
and so I felt, if I can relate to it,
hopefully an audience can relate to it. And I truly
(22:59):
believe that stories at their best are relatable despite the
fact that your protagonist might be going through something extraordinary.
And so the connectivity to the audience and awareness of
soltry confinement with the two components that I was interested in.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Was there something?
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Was there something not obvious to you as you were
you know, once you read the script and then you
went and you know, you're portraying newborn. Was there something
that wasn't obvious when you were reading it that became
obvious for you once you're in production, Something that was
almost like an aha that you hadn't seen on the page,
(23:42):
but as you brought him to life on screen, was
like Wow.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
I think when you think of solitary confinement or isolation,
for me anyway, I thought of that primarily as a
as something physical. I thought more literal, I mean a
tend by a sell that physical restraint is what I
initially initially was preoccupied by. What was surprising to me
(24:09):
is just how much you crawl into your own mind
and how much you exist there because think about it,
ten by eight cel lights on all the time, isolation,
no human interaction.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
The only place to go that is expansive is your mind.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
And if you're in your mind for long enough without
any human interaction, it becomes a very confusing, blurred, magnified,
paranoid place. And that's what I couldn't have anticipated is
just how vaster topography the mind can be when you're
(24:52):
subjected to that kind of isolation. And when I spoke
to Richard Rosario or Shaka Senkoor, who wrote a book
called Wrighting My Wrongs, who had also been incarcerated for
nineteen years in his case, on and off in sology
for seven years again, or a book by a guy
called Albert Woodfox who had endured over forty years in
(25:14):
solog you can only imagine how how complex a place
the mind is. And that's why ours is a psychological thriller,
because so much of it is about the complexity of
the mind in relation to isolation.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
And it, you know, I do think it has portrayed
that beautifully because it seems like, you know, on the page,
it would be a hard concept to kind of get
across on screen, but it was done expertly and that's
you know, I love that about it. Of course, what
do you hope that someone leaving the theater feels about
(25:58):
the film? What do you hope they take from it?
Speaker 5 (26:03):
Well, I've had the privilege now of watching the film
with a big audience, and you never know what the
effective film is going to have until you're literally in
that circumstance. And what I've been taken with this is
how moved people are by the film, because ultimately it's
a love story. It's about a man trying to reconnect
(26:24):
with his family, primarily his wife and son. And what
I am finding is that it's more relatable than I realized.
You know, you think about solitary confinement and isolation, and
thankfully for a lot of people, for most people, that
is not something they're going to be able to relate to,
(26:46):
but they will I imagine being able to relate to the
desire for connection trying to recover from isolation, because no
matter who you are, we have moments where we are lonely,
where we are dealing with feelings of isolation, whether it's
being misunderstood or literally isolated. Or still coming out of
the effects of the pandemic, whatever it may be. That
(27:09):
is a relatable circumstance. And you know, Richard Rosario reconnected
with his family and his kids after the fact and
he said love saved him. And essentially that's the core
theme of our film. And you know what I hope
is that that is what people are going to walk
(27:30):
away with.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
And finally, where, you know, looking back from your first
project to now Newborn, where does this fit in for
for you as an actor? You know, in your kind
of legacy thus far, if you will.
Speaker 5 (27:53):
Well, it's another opportunity to scare myself. You know, when
I read the script, I thought, well, I don't know
that I will be able to achieve this. I always,
unfortunately for me, gravitate towards those almost masochistically opportunities.
Speaker 4 (28:14):
You know.
Speaker 5 (28:15):
But I always try to find projects that simultaneously entertain
but also enlighten, and I.
Speaker 4 (28:24):
Feel this does that.
Speaker 5 (28:26):
So that's part of the continuum of what I try
to bring to the screen. But I have not played
a role like Chris Newborn before. I have not gone
on the journey that this film took me before. And
I'm always looking for ways to become a better actor,
and I think being outside of your comfort zone.
Speaker 4 (28:45):
You know, it's like being in the gym.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
There are muscles that if you don't exercise, will atrophy,
and if you do exercise.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
You become more strong in a holistic way.
Speaker 5 (28:59):
And you know, whatever this muscle is, I've now exercised.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
It and I feel like it will go into whatever
I do next.
Speaker 5 (29:07):
So it has ticked so many boxes for me, and
from a legacy standpoint, you know, I just want to
keep on building on these kind of stories and characters
that really really scare me and hopefully, you know, continue
to challenge my notion of what I can do. And
I guess that that will be the same effect it
(29:27):
hopefully has on the audience.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
It certainly did for me. David.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
I can't wait, you know, I can't wait for everybody
to see Newborn. And I thank you so much for
speaking with me and really going in depth in your
career and Newborn.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
I really appreciate you.
Speaker 5 (29:41):
Thanks, Kyle, I appreciate it, and I'm glad you bumped
into me all that time ago.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Yes, and you were you really were so nice because
you probably saw the shock on you know, on my face.
You were like you're good, You're good or whatever you said,
and I was like, thank you, Oh my god, I
appreciate it, David.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
Thank you all right.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
You take care you as well.
Speaker 6 (30:02):
David.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Oh yalloo.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
I love conversations like that because it's not just about
that film, it's about the human experience behind it. To me,
that's you know, you know me, Degenerates, that's where things
hit for me and for you obviously, or you wouldn't
be listening. All Right, We're gonna take a quick commercial
break to pay the bills. We will be back right
(30:27):
here in sixty with Aaron Eckhart talking about his new
film deep Water.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
See in sixty.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
All right, Degenerates, Welcome back to Pop Culture Weekly. Thank
you for supporting our sponsors, who of course support me
to support you.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
So now let's talk about Aaron Eckhart.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
You know him from everything blockbusters, dramas, thrillers, and he
always has like that intensity that just pulls you in.
And in his new film deep Water, that intensity is
front and center, both.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Above and below the surface.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
Deep Water is one of those stories where you know,
and I'm not being funny with this part, but what's
happening on the surface is not what's actually happening underneath
of the surface. And I was being funny about that earlier,
but in this sentence, I'm not. So we get into
all of that, the psychology of it, what drew him
to it, how he approaches a role like this, and yeah,
(31:30):
there's definitely stuff in here you're gonna want to hear
here he is Aaron Eckcutt.
Speaker 6 (31:38):
Yes, Kyle, Hi, how are you.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
I'm doing well. Thank you, Thank you for speaking with me.
I really appreciate it. So watching Deep Water, you know,
one of the things that really struck me is it
feels like, you know, as scary as it is to
me in many ways, I'm you know, one of my
I think my biggest fear is playing crash and the
second one might be sharks.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
So but ultimately, what this movie.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
Comes down to me for me anyway, is it's about
relationships and the strength of them and that emotional power.
When you were making this, what did you feel like
the story was really about underneath everything in relationships.
Speaker 6 (32:17):
I mean, it's that's what movies are about, human beings,
and we want to see other human beings in relationships.
What do you mean to somebody else, how do you
affect somebody else? How does this circumstance affect us all?
I mean, we're all exchanging energy every day, whether we're
conscious of it or not, and that could be good
energy or bad energy. We're all trying to manage ourselves
(32:41):
around each other. And that's what you want to see.
How much humanity do we have in this situation, how
that people handle the situation differently? And the heart of
the movie is the little girl and she lost her parents,
she's on her own own, who sacrifices herself themselves for her?
(33:04):
How do we get her through this journey? And she
represents the heart of the movie. And it's that relationship
that gives it is the motor And so it was
very important to me with the humanity and also with
Sir Ben Kingsley, you know him Zack biting himself us,
(33:29):
you know, trying to problem solve that situation, putting ourselves
at risk and all the other passengers as well as
the first responders. It's all about that exchange of energy.
So it was the most important thing.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
And you know, how do you approach playing someone who's
so internal but still still has that intensity kind of
underneath those demons that he's struggling with in the film.
Speaker 6 (33:59):
Well, well, I don't know, just I guess. Uh. You know,
first of all, you're given a script and so you
have obviously the words, but it's it's everything underneath that
that that counts. And it's just going through your own
life and substituting things and you know, being in the
moment and let it, let everything. You know. It's it's
(34:22):
it's interesting about people because they they don't want to
show you anything, but everybody shows you. They can't help it.
You know, you physically cannot help it. You have to
show people how you feel, whether it's through your your
your behavior, your movements, or whatever it is. And it's that,
you know. It was Jack Nicholson's he said, Uh, they'll
never forget, he said, he said, it's it's all about behavior.
(34:46):
This whole business is about behavior. It's yeah, it's about
script and it's about camera and lighting and blah blah blah.
That it's really what the audience wants.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
To see is behavior.
Speaker 6 (34:58):
Because we our little behavior machines. And that's why we
love the people watch. That's why we love to go
online and watch these scenarios or cops the show. You know,
how do people behave under these circumstances and always don't
surprise you? Yeah, you know. And that's the interesting thing
(35:22):
about the movies is because you're given a script and
so you think, well, might be my character would do this,
But then you watch a reality show and you're like,
that's not what they did. Yeah, it's something completely bizarre
and different, which was wonderful. And if you can do that,
I think Jack was one of the best at it,
if not the best ever. Behavior We remember that in
(35:46):
the audience is relaship. So that's the I think the
challenge in these in this particular circumstances.
Speaker 1 (35:51):
I love that and kind of building on that. Do
you think that most relationships are really about love or
is there a power? Uh? In ways that we may
not even recognize ourselves.
Speaker 6 (36:06):
I think that it is a higher you know, that's
an interesting question. Uh. If well, you know what, you know,
that's a huge that I can write a novel about that.
It's it maybe not love, Uh, it's about That's an
interesting question, it's about I think it has less do
(36:30):
its love and more to do its humanity in the
sense that we are human beings. When we're saving somewhere else,
we're saving ourselves. It's this desire, this and killing. By
the way, it's this. If we didn't have that, we
wouldn't have a civilization if because why would we care
about somebody else if it weren't directly reflected at us. Yeah,
(36:54):
we're always acting in our best interests, our self interests.
This is an interesting question about humanity because if you're
always acting in your self interest, why are you helping others? Well,
you're doing it because you're doing it as if you're
doing it to yourself or if somebody were to help you,
and in this particular case, because all you people are
(37:14):
doing in this movie is helping each other, right, Yeah,
And then you say, well, why are they doing that.
They're different, they're culturally they're different, or they don't speak
the same language, or they do blah blah blah. It
doesn't matter. It's all about humanity. It's all about this
thing that we're on, this rock, the spinning rock, and
how do we help each other do it? Otherwise we're incomplete,
(37:39):
just anarchy and nothing lessen. Yeah, and I think that
shit for me anyway.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
Okay, it is for you well, and you know, you
have played so many different kinds of roles, heroes, villains,
you know, kind of in the middle, and you keep
coming back to these really kind of complex layered characters.
What is it about those types of roles that you
(38:08):
know that attract you, that pull you in.
Speaker 6 (38:12):
They're they're they're an actor's challenge. You know, I'm an
actor and at the at the end of the day,
I'm an actor. That's it. That's what I'd love to do,
and that's what I chose to do, and fortunately I'm
able to do it. But when I read a script,
even if it is the actors genre, I'm not playing
the action. I can throw punches all day long. I
(38:33):
can shoot a gun or drive a car that anybody
can do that. Of course you're having people do that
for you. Yeah, And so really the actor's gold where
they're important is the behavior and the emotion and the drama.
And you know, you know movies is about movies are
(38:59):
or say in movies or the theater or whatever it is,
is about conflict. It's about crisis, and you know that
is what attracts me to it. How How can I
convince you that I'm going through this thing. How do
I under immersion? How do I how do I be
real under imaginary circumstances. That's the actor's baseline, and that's
(39:23):
what I've always been attracted to. If I watch Paccino
in uh, or if I watch you know, any of
the MI grades, right, why are they great? How do
they convince me that they're going through this? Look at
Rocky whatever it is that have influenced my life, and
that's always attracted me. And it's I think it was
(39:44):
Mickey Vork that said, if you have two real moments
in a movie, you win. You two have two actual,
real moments in a movie. It doesn't sound like a
big base of barometer, but uh, it's really difficult to
do under those amounts and those false circumstances. And that's
what compels me as an actor, is to try to
(40:05):
have real moments under imaginary circumstances. And it's what as
I say this, I'm thinking about me in drama class
in school when I was seventeen or fourteen or whatever
it is. It's the same question today that I was
battling with then. Wow, it hasn't been solved yet. When
(40:29):
you watch you, when you watch blend of breath blessing
in secrets and lies, and she comes up with this
realization that the person in front of her is her daughter,
and she has that moment where you see it in
her mindence. It's insane, it's exhilarating, it's the height of
the profession. Yeah. So that's a long way of saying
(40:49):
I have no idea what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
Well, finally, what do you hope people take away about
relationships or anything even beyond the story itself when they
when they you know, finish deep Water.
Speaker 6 (41:06):
At the end of the day, we're all taking care
of each other. At the end of the day, when
when you're in a crisis, what it's go mode. You
all are just taking care of each other. That's the
default position of a human being. That people are living
that right now.
Speaker 4 (41:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (41:28):
Yeah, so everything else disappears, you know, my car payment disappears,
my opinion on the architecture of that house, disappears everything,
and you're just literally down to the bones of of
really humanity of life. And that's what this movie is about.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
I love that, Aaron, I love the film. I can't
wait for everybody to see Deep Water. Thank you so much.
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (41:56):
Thank you very much. Nice talking with you.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
Nice talking with you. I have a great day.
Speaker 6 (42:00):
Thanks Tarnet.
Speaker 1 (42:06):
Trust me on this Deep Water is definitely one you
want to watch, and it's out right now, as is Newborn.
All Right, So that's gonna do it for this episode
of pop Culture Weekly. If you're not already, make sure
you're following, subscribe, doing all the things, because you know,
I got a lot more come in your way. I
love you, and that's what I do for you. You know,
(42:26):
somebody's got to do this hard work, and it's me.
I'll have more interviews, more deep dives, more pop culture chaos,
because clearly the universe refuses to slow down. And honestly,
would we wanted to, We wouldn't. We wouldn't want it to.
All Right, I'm Kyle McMahon, and until next time, stay obsessed,
stay curious, and try to keep up with Madonna. Good
(42:49):
luck with that one, all right, I'll see you next week.
Speaker 2 (42:52):
I love you, We thank you for listening to pop
Culture Weekly.
Speaker 3 (42:56):
Here all the latest at pop cultureweekly dot com.
Speaker 4 (43:04):
I have a conversion of lovel
In this episode of pop Culture Weekly, I talk with
Oscar nominated actor David Oya Wello and Aaron Eckhart.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Let's go.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Welcome to pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon from iHeartRadio
your pop culture news, views, reviews, and celebrity interviews on
all the movies, TV, music, and pop culture u Crab Weekly.
Here's Kyle McMahon.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Net No No, No, No.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Hello, and welcome to pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon,
the show where we celebrate pop culture, question our life choices,
and try to keep up with Madonna, which, honestly, at
this point it's a full time job. In this episode,
we've got a lot to talk about. We've got two
incredible interviews David oh Y Looo and Aaron Eckhart, and
(00:56):
they're talking about their brand new films. But first let's
talk about Madonna, because she's not just back, she's literally dominating.
As she tends to do. She's the top selling female
artist in history. Her brand new track bring Your Love,
which is the official first single off of her upcoming
album Confessions two, which comes out July third. That track
(01:18):
has already debuted at number one in forty eight countries
on iTunes.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Forty eight and it's been out like two.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
Days as of this recording, and on Spotify nearly two
and a half million streams on day one. That's not
like just Madonna releasing her latest track. It's a takeover,
which is Madonna releasing her latest track. And because she's Madonna,
she had popped up last week at Coachella with Sabrina Carpenter.
(01:48):
They performed Vogue Like a Prayer and the new track,
the new single, bring Your Love Together, And that night,
after the Coachella performance, her buzz track I Feel So
Free started building crazy momentum as the first look at
Confessions two, which is a kind of spiritual sequel to
(02:11):
Confessions on a Dance Floor, which of course was a
huge culture defining moment in pop culture that came out
twenty years ago two thousand and five, so a little
over twenty years ago. And of course, you know, Hung
Up went to number one in forty six countries. Confessions
it sold has sold nearly twenty million albums. I mean,
(02:34):
you know everybody was doing Time Goes By and the
dance and you know that sample. Anyway, every little thing
now that stuck in my head. So anyway, yeah, we
are officially in a Madonna era again, and pop music
(02:57):
feels a little more alive because of it. So anyway,
go stream Bring Your Love with Sabrina Madonna and Sabrina
Carpenter such a good nineties house esque song, and I
think she makes it clear with I Feel So Free
and Bring Your Love that this isn't just a rehash
(03:18):
of Confessions on a dance floor.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Madonna doesn't do that. It's, you know, a spiritual sequel,
a sister album, if you will.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
So anyway, before like we get into everything, I gotta
say the National Memorial Day Concert, you know, that's on
PBS each year and I'm there every year covering it.
They have announced the lineup for the twenty twenty six
concert and.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
It is absolutely incredible.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
As always, Gary Sinise and Joe Montagna returned to host,
and then they'll have performances with Noah Wiley, Melissa Leo,
Andy Grammer, Jonathan Banks, Mickey Geiton, Amy Johnson, Alan Jackson,
Mary McCormick, Lara Osnez, Blessing Offer, and as always, the
(04:07):
Maestro Jack Everley, who will be conducting the National Symphony Orchestra.
This will air live on PBS May twenty fourth. It's
a Sunday at eight pm Eastern on PBS, streaming on
PBS's YouTube and socials as well. So it's always one
(04:28):
of those annual specials that like has me in tears.
You know, it really is truly a beautiful, touching tribute
to the brave men and women that you know put
their lives on the line for us, and so many
of their stories are untold and what National Memorial Day
Concert does is tells those stories.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
So lock it right here.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I'll have full coverage as always, and be sure to
tune in Sunday, May twenty fourth for the National Memorial
Day Concert.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
All right, we have got two amazing interviews.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
First up is David Oloo, an Academy Award nominated actor
whose career is built on powerful, layered performances and he's
someone who consistently brings depth and humanity to like everything
he touches. And I happened to co star with him
in a little Oscar nominated film called Selma, And by
(05:27):
co star, I mean I had one line that was then.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Cut, but you know, co star, and.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
David is talking about his brand new film Newborn, and
then later Aaron Eckhart joins us to talk about his
new film deep Water, and trust me, there's a lot
going on beneath the surface of this one. There's a
lot going on beneath the surface of this one. Get
(06:00):
it anyway? Before we dive in, just a quick heads up.
If you want to stay on top of everything happening
in movies, TV, music, and streaming, make sure you are
signed up for the pop Culture weekly newsletter.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Become a pop culture degenerate just like me.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Every week I'm breaking down everything coming out that weekend,
what's worth your time, what's not, and what you need
to be watching before everyone else is talking about it.
It's like your cheat code to never scrolling endlessly again.
So you can sign up right now at popculturewekly dot
com or click the link in the show notes. All right,
(06:39):
you ready, Let's get into it. David oh Yloo.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Is one of those actors who doesn't just play characters.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
He like fully inhabits them, from powerful historical figures to
deeply human complex roles. His performances all ways feel intentional
and they always feel grounded. And his new film, Newborn,
he's diving into something that feels very raw and very intimate.
(07:11):
It's the kind of story that explores identity, responsibility, community
and the responsibilities of the community for you know, our own,
and what it really means to step into a new
chapter of life. So in this conversation, we zoom out
talking about his journey so far, you know, in his career,
(07:32):
his philosophy on storytelling, and what continues to drive him
creatively he always chooses such incredible roles, and then we
zoom in on Newborn, what drew him to it, what
made it resonate with him, and why this role stands
out and is already incredible.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Body of work. Here he is, David, oh Yellow, how
are you?
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Thank you?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Nice to see it, Nice to see you.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
So, first of all, thank you for talking with me.
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
My pleasure.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
So a funny story, and you probably won't remember this,
but I was on a series of Oprah's Life class
shows and she completely changed my life. And miss A
Yanla was on there as well, And anyway, she got
me a gig with Huffington Post doing on her own section,
doing like self improvement for millennials. And then I got
(08:28):
this small part in Selma and so I went down, Yeah,
I went down to Atlanta and filmed for a couple
of days and I was supposed to be this like
senator and that in the scene, and you know, and
they had me with this other thing.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
I guess you were walking.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
This was like outside of a building, and I guess
it was outside of like the courthouse or wherever we were,
and you kept having to walk and kept having to walk,
and they had me as an extra like walking by
you or something and lighted right into you.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
And I was mortified. I'm like, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
And I said to Ava, you know, later, I was like,
you know, this is my big debut as a you know,
as an extra in this film, and you know, I've
like collided with the star.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
And she was like, he's fine, he's great, blah blah blah,
Like oh my god.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
But anyway, it was it was such a cool experience.
I'd obviously never done anything like that before. And then
they had asked me to go to Selma, you know,
when filming moved to Selma, and unfortunately with my schedule,
I couldn't do it. But it was just such a
cool and of all the movies in the world to
be able to be, you know, this tiny part of
that was so awesome, and and congratulations to you and
(09:45):
all all of its success and and really what it said,
you know.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Thank you, my goodness, thank you so much. Well, how
you feel about it is how I felt and continue
to feel about it, which is how did I get
to be involved with with this amazing thing myself?
Speaker 6 (10:08):
You know?
Speaker 5 (10:08):
And I hope that when we when we collided with
each other, I was kind to you.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Oh, you were amazing.
Speaker 5 (10:15):
Yeah, I wasn't dismissive or anything.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
Not at all.
Speaker 5 (10:19):
Well we all have those moments, but yeah, I mean,
what a seminal moment in my life and in my career.
And as you say what the film went on to say,
and you know, at that point, Mike Brown hadn't been murdered.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
We hadn't.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
We didn't have all of that stuff happening. We didn't
have what went on to happen with the resurgence of
the Black Lives Matter movement. We didn't have all of
the division that the country has gone into. We didn't
have the degree to which the Voting Rights Act has
been attacked.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
So we didn't We thought we were making a period film.
We didn't.
Speaker 6 (10:55):
We didn't.
Speaker 5 (10:56):
We didn't realize we were making something that was going
to feel so contempt perraneous with what the country is
going through and was about to go through. And I
do think that is storytelling at its zenith, when it
can continue to shine a light and hold a mirror
to society, because unfortunately for us as humanity, we keep
(11:16):
on making the same mistakes, which is why I think
story is so important and impactful.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
And you know, and I think to your point, art
as a whole, you know, mirrors often what we go
through as a people, and good art does that even
you know, even more succinctly, I guess you could say,
(11:45):
and I think as storytellers, you know, people in the arts,
it is often I feel they feel a responsibility as
well to kind of, you know, to put that into
the world. That's why I always laugh when I hear,
you know, critics or whatever say you know, you're you're
an artist just sing or whatever, and it's like, have
you listened to art since the beginning of time or
(12:06):
looked at art since the beginning of time? It has
always reflected, you know, what's going on in the world. So,
you know, I love that. As storytellers we are you know,
storytellers are able to do that. So h And speaking
of Selma, you know you've gone from Selma to massive
studio films intimate dramas. Do you approach each role differently
(12:32):
from the standpoint of being David as an actor or
do you kind of have you know, a setup, if
you will, or a template of how you're going to
approach each role.
Speaker 5 (12:46):
I think you simply must treat each role on its
own merit and what it requires. It's a little bit
like making the mistake, or if you have a few kids,
treating them all the same way. They all have personalities,
they different needs, they all have different quirks, they all
have different gifts that are to be accentuated and weaknesses
(13:08):
that are to be bolstered. And so that's very much
the case with the roles I get to players. You
can imagine playing doctor King is a very specific thing
in terms of historical figure, that time, that period, the
size of the film, to a film like Newborn, which
you know, in terms of the specificity of what that
character is dealing with. Sometimes I feel the need to
(13:30):
stay in character the whole time. Sometimes that's not what's required.
In fact, the opposite is what is required because it's
more of an ensemble situation whereby you want to have
real tentacles to the other performers and really be bouncing
off their energy. So, you know, I think you need
to be alive to what every character requires, every director requires,
(13:52):
every cast requires. And you know, my privileged time in
the theater is has really taught me that because every
play requires a different muscle to be flexed. If you're
doing Shakespeare, that's one thing. If you're doing a one
man show, that's a different thing. If you're doing a musical,
that's a different thing. You know, So being able to
(14:14):
have that malleability is key.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
I love that and I can't wait to get into
Newborn with you. But if I may ask you a
few questions, zoomed out for a moment. You have portrayed
fictional people, you have portrayed real life figures. What do
you feel as an actor is or do you feel
as an actor there's one harder to get right or
(14:38):
one more complicated to.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Attack, if you will.
Speaker 5 (14:43):
In terms of characters, yes, I think there's a lot
of hazard around historical figures, obviously, because people have their
own preconceptions about who they were or are and depending
on what these people did.
Speaker 4 (14:59):
That either people who are greatly.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
Admired or loathed, and so that's always tricky. You have
to make peace with the fact that you're never going
to please everyone, but if you can please some, that's
job done in a sense. So that that has its
own very specific hazards. But you know, whether there's an
action movie or a comedy, or they all have their
(15:22):
thing that is gonna be the the hill to climb,
so to speak. But I would say there is a
very specific challenge that comes with roles like historical figures
or famous characters. You know, I've just played long John
Silver in a limited series of Treasure Island, and that,
(15:46):
of course is an iconic character with the parrot, with.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
The peg leg, with that story, it's it's a pirate story.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
So that genre is beloved, so you know, you walk
into a different kind of buzz saw with that. I
welcome and relish those challenges, but you just have to
accept that again. You know, people are going to come
with their varied opinions to those projects.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
And are you is David, you know, because I'm sure
this is a very individual, you know, situation, But are
you able to kind of separate that noise because it
seems like you're in a very good place, you know,
to be able to say, like, I know, I'm not
going to be able to please everybody all the time.
(16:32):
Are you able to separate that as you're going into
a role, like, Okay, this is going to be controversial
or okay, this is going to be you know whatever,
and kind of block that out as you're performing.
Speaker 5 (16:45):
I've gotten better at it out of necessity, you know.
I played Henry the six of the Royal Shakespeare Company
and played the King of England, and as you can imagine,
there were people who took Cambridge with that, you know,
being black and British as opposed to African American playing
doctor King. There are folks who have things to say
about that.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
You know.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
I think I'm the first black person to play long
John Silver. I'm sure there'll be people who need to
say about that. I can't control the noise, you know.
All I can control is the credibility of my performance
and the work I put into it. I don't take
roles that I don't think there is a legitimate reason
(17:28):
for me to either take it in terms of the
challenge it poses to me or whether I feel like
I can bring something to that role that hopefully is additive.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
So once I've made that choice.
Speaker 5 (17:41):
I have to just stick by the fact that my
work ethic and how successfully I achieve the role is
literally all I can do. You just have to sort
of walk away from the rest. I'm a human being,
I'm sensitive, I have an ego. So if I become
aware of a high level of criticism, of course, you
know it, it puts a dent in your day. But
(18:05):
at the end of the day, I've become better and
better at just, you know, controlling the things I can
and letting the go of the things I come.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
It's a great philosophy. You have been your body.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
Of work, you know, so far it's screen and stage,
and and you've done such varied work.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Do you think that audiences today are more open to
different kinds of story storytelling?
Speaker 4 (18:36):
You know.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
One of the things I love about Newborn, which congratulations
by the way, it's an amazing film, is it is,
in my opinion, visually bold, you know. And I love
that because a different director, a different team, you know,
could have approached that story in a different way, and
I think it just complements the story so, well, do
(18:58):
you think audiences today are open to more different kinds
of you know, storytelling than they were maybe when you started.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Absolutely I do, and.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
I would attribute that to streaming and the fact that
you know, it used to be that something like Squid
Game would be a foreign TV show or Lupin would
be a foreign TV show. But when it has the
level of success it has in English speaking countries, that
just shows you that we are way more connected than
(19:33):
we are divided when it comes to storytelling. And in
the past, especially the studio system would have us believe
that a foreign film is niche despite it coming from
as popular as a country as India or China or
countries within Africa. But now that streaming has sort of
(19:56):
removed the geo fencing that has sort of been placed
there in the past. You see that my kids speak Japanese, Korean,
and French because of the shows they like to watch,
whether it be anime or k pop or you know,
(20:16):
or just the fact that you know, they did go
to a French school, but they they are truly global
in their mindset.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
That was not my upbringing. That was not the norm
when I was growing up.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
I mean, we literally went to Japan recently and my
kids were ordering food in Japanese. I couldn't get my
head around it, and I was like, and during the pandemic,
because they were watching so much anime, they said, well,
we want to learn Japanese. My wife and I were like, oh, okay, fine,
but that I guess. That's my point is that absolutely
the diversification of interests when it comes to the audience
(20:48):
is so present, and so that means you can be
bolder with your filmmaking because yes, you're not going to
please everyone, but you're going to please when when storytelling
becomes more good, You're going to please enough that will
gravitate towards what you do that will hopefully lead to
the kind of remuneration that means there is a degree
(21:09):
of success that you might not have had if your
film only came out in America or only came out
in the UK. Now you know, Newborn, after its theatrical run,
will be available globally, and that is definitely something that
was not the case for this kind of movie.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
When I first started.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
What was it about Newborn that you know you were like,
I need to I need to do this.
Speaker 5 (21:34):
I wasn't aware of how commonplace solitary confinement was in America.
I did not know that over eighty thousand men, women
and children are in solitary confinement today in America.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
And when you.
Speaker 5 (21:48):
Think about the fact that that is twenty three hours
a day in solitary, sometimes for years at a time.
You know, I shadowed a guy called Richard Rosario who
was wrongfully convicted of a crime commit for twenty years.
Seven of those were spent in solitary confinement, and you
know he has now had to deal with the fallout
of that ten years out of prison, awarded five million
(22:12):
dollars in compensation, but still dealing every day with the
fallout of that with his wife and kids.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
I spoke to a guy who was.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
In his late teens but had been in solitary confinement
for a year and a half at the age of fourteen.
Like one of my kids is fourteen, I couldn't even
begin to imagine what that must feel like.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
So shining a light on that was one of the
things I was keen to do.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
But also as a father, as a husband, as a brother,
all relationships that play out for Chris Newborn in the film,
I could relate to that. I could relate the desire
to reconnect with those things having been subjected to solitary confinement,
and so I felt, if I can relate to it,
hopefully an audience can relate to it. And I truly
(22:59):
believe that stories at their best are relatable despite the
fact that your protagonist might be going through something extraordinary.
And so the connectivity to the audience and awareness of
soltry confinement with the two components that I was interested in.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Was there something?
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Was there something not obvious to you as you were
you know, once you read the script and then you
went and you know, you're portraying newborn. Was there something
that wasn't obvious when you were reading it that became
obvious for you once you're in production, Something that was
almost like an aha that you hadn't seen on the page,
(23:42):
but as you brought him to life on screen, was
like Wow.
Speaker 5 (23:47):
I think when you think of solitary confinement or isolation,
for me anyway, I thought of that primarily as a
as something physical. I thought more literal, I mean a
tend by a sell that physical restraint is what I
initially initially was preoccupied by. What was surprising to me
(24:09):
is just how much you crawl into your own mind
and how much you exist there because think about it,
ten by eight cel lights on all the time, isolation,
no human interaction.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
The only place to go that is expansive is your mind.
Speaker 5 (24:31):
And if you're in your mind for long enough without
any human interaction, it becomes a very confusing, blurred, magnified,
paranoid place. And that's what I couldn't have anticipated is
just how vaster topography the mind can be when you're
(24:52):
subjected to that kind of isolation. And when I spoke
to Richard Rosario or Shaka Senkoor, who wrote a book
called Wrighting My Wrongs, who had also been incarcerated for
nineteen years in his case, on and off in sology
for seven years again, or a book by a guy
called Albert Woodfox who had endured over forty years in
(25:14):
solog you can only imagine how how complex a place
the mind is. And that's why ours is a psychological thriller,
because so much of it is about the complexity of
the mind in relation to isolation.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
And it, you know, I do think it has portrayed
that beautifully because it seems like, you know, on the page,
it would be a hard concept to kind of get
across on screen, but it was done expertly and that's
you know, I love that about it. Of course, what
do you hope that someone leaving the theater feels about
(25:58):
the film? What do you hope they take from it?
Speaker 5 (26:03):
Well, I've had the privilege now of watching the film
with a big audience, and you never know what the
effective film is going to have until you're literally in
that circumstance. And what I've been taken with this is
how moved people are by the film, because ultimately it's
a love story. It's about a man trying to reconnect
(26:24):
with his family, primarily his wife and son. And what
I am finding is that it's more relatable than I realized.
You know, you think about solitary confinement and isolation, and
thankfully for a lot of people, for most people, that
is not something they're going to be able to relate to,
(26:46):
but they will I imagine being able to relate to the
desire for connection trying to recover from isolation, because no
matter who you are, we have moments where we are lonely,
where we are dealing with feelings of isolation, whether it's
being misunderstood or literally isolated. Or still coming out of
the effects of the pandemic, whatever it may be. That
(27:09):
is a relatable circumstance. And you know, Richard Rosario reconnected
with his family and his kids after the fact and
he said love saved him. And essentially that's the core
theme of our film. And you know what I hope
is that that is what people are going to walk
(27:30):
away with.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (27:31):
And finally, where, you know, looking back from your first
project to now Newborn, where does this fit in for
for you as an actor? You know, in your kind
of legacy thus far, if you will.
Speaker 5 (27:53):
Well, it's another opportunity to scare myself. You know, when
I read the script, I thought, well, I don't know
that I will be able to achieve this. I always,
unfortunately for me, gravitate towards those almost masochistically opportunities.
Speaker 4 (28:14):
You know.
Speaker 5 (28:15):
But I always try to find projects that simultaneously entertain
but also enlighten, and I.
Speaker 4 (28:24):
Feel this does that.
Speaker 5 (28:26):
So that's part of the continuum of what I try
to bring to the screen. But I have not played
a role like Chris Newborn before. I have not gone
on the journey that this film took me before. And
I'm always looking for ways to become a better actor,
and I think being outside of your comfort zone.
Speaker 4 (28:45):
You know, it's like being in the gym.
Speaker 5 (28:47):
There are muscles that if you don't exercise, will atrophy,
and if you do exercise.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
You become more strong in a holistic way.
Speaker 5 (28:59):
And you know, whatever this muscle is, I've now exercised.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
It and I feel like it will go into whatever
I do next.
Speaker 5 (29:07):
So it has ticked so many boxes for me, and
from a legacy standpoint, you know, I just want to
keep on building on these kind of stories and characters
that really really scare me and hopefully, you know, continue
to challenge my notion of what I can do. And
I guess that that will be the same effect it
(29:27):
hopefully has on the audience.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
It certainly did for me. David.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
I can't wait, you know, I can't wait for everybody
to see Newborn. And I thank you so much for
speaking with me and really going in depth in your
career and Newborn.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
I really appreciate you.
Speaker 5 (29:41):
Thanks, Kyle, I appreciate it, and I'm glad you bumped
into me all that time ago.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Yes, and you were you really were so nice because
you probably saw the shock on you know, on my face.
You were like you're good, You're good or whatever you said,
and I was like, thank you, Oh my god, I
appreciate it, David.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
Thank you all right.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
You take care you as well.
Speaker 6 (30:02):
David.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Oh yalloo.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
I love conversations like that because it's not just about
that film, it's about the human experience behind it. To me,
that's you know, you know me, Degenerates, that's where things
hit for me and for you obviously, or you wouldn't
be listening. All Right, We're gonna take a quick commercial
break to pay the bills. We will be back right
(30:27):
here in sixty with Aaron Eckhart talking about his new
film deep Water.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
See in sixty.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
All right, Degenerates, Welcome back to Pop Culture Weekly. Thank
you for supporting our sponsors, who of course support me
to support you.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
So now let's talk about Aaron Eckhart.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
You know him from everything blockbusters, dramas, thrillers, and he
always has like that intensity that just pulls you in.
And in his new film deep Water, that intensity is
front and center, both.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Above and below the surface.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
Deep Water is one of those stories where you know,
and I'm not being funny with this part, but what's
happening on the surface is not what's actually happening underneath
of the surface. And I was being funny about that earlier,
but in this sentence, I'm not. So we get into
all of that, the psychology of it, what drew him
to it, how he approaches a role like this, and yeah,
(31:30):
there's definitely stuff in here you're gonna want to hear
here he is Aaron Eckcutt.
Speaker 6 (31:38):
Yes, Kyle, Hi, how are you.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
I'm doing well. Thank you, Thank you for speaking with me.
I really appreciate it. So watching Deep Water, you know,
one of the things that really struck me is it
feels like, you know, as scary as it is to
me in many ways, I'm you know, one of my
I think my biggest fear is playing crash and the
second one might be sharks.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
So but ultimately, what this movie.
Speaker 1 (31:59):
Comes down to me for me anyway, is it's about
relationships and the strength of them and that emotional power.
When you were making this, what did you feel like
the story was really about underneath everything in relationships.
Speaker 6 (32:17):
I mean, it's that's what movies are about, human beings,
and we want to see other human beings in relationships.
What do you mean to somebody else, how do you
affect somebody else? How does this circumstance affect us all?
I mean, we're all exchanging energy every day, whether we're
conscious of it or not, and that could be good
energy or bad energy. We're all trying to manage ourselves
(32:41):
around each other. And that's what you want to see.
How much humanity do we have in this situation, how
that people handle the situation differently? And the heart of
the movie is the little girl and she lost her parents,
she's on her own own, who sacrifices herself themselves for her?
(33:04):
How do we get her through this journey? And she
represents the heart of the movie. And it's that relationship
that gives it is the motor And so it was
very important to me with the humanity and also with
Sir Ben Kingsley, you know him Zack biting himself us,
(33:29):
you know, trying to problem solve that situation, putting ourselves
at risk and all the other passengers as well as
the first responders. It's all about that exchange of energy.
So it was the most important thing.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
And you know, how do you approach playing someone who's
so internal but still still has that intensity kind of
underneath those demons that he's struggling with in the film.
Speaker 6 (33:59):
Well, well, I don't know, just I guess. Uh. You know,
first of all, you're given a script and so you
have obviously the words, but it's it's everything underneath that
that that counts. And it's just going through your own
life and substituting things and you know, being in the
moment and let it, let everything. You know. It's it's
(34:22):
it's interesting about people because they they don't want to
show you anything, but everybody shows you. They can't help it.
You know, you physically cannot help it. You have to
show people how you feel, whether it's through your your
your behavior, your movements, or whatever it is. And it's that,
you know. It was Jack Nicholson's he said, Uh, they'll
never forget, he said, he said, it's it's all about behavior.
(34:46):
This whole business is about behavior. It's yeah, it's about
script and it's about camera and lighting and blah blah blah.
That it's really what the audience wants.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
To see is behavior.
Speaker 6 (34:58):
Because we our little behavior machines. And that's why we
love the people watch. That's why we love to go
online and watch these scenarios or cops the show. You know,
how do people behave under these circumstances and always don't
surprise you? Yeah, you know. And that's the interesting thing
(35:22):
about the movies is because you're given a script and
so you think, well, might be my character would do this,
But then you watch a reality show and you're like,
that's not what they did. Yeah, it's something completely bizarre
and different, which was wonderful. And if you can do that,
I think Jack was one of the best at it,
if not the best ever. Behavior We remember that in
(35:46):
the audience is relaship. So that's the I think the
challenge in these in this particular circumstances.
Speaker 1 (35:51):
I love that and kind of building on that. Do
you think that most relationships are really about love or
is there a power? Uh? In ways that we may
not even recognize ourselves.
Speaker 6 (36:06):
I think that it is a higher you know, that's
an interesting question. Uh. If well, you know what, you know,
that's a huge that I can write a novel about that.
It's it maybe not love, Uh, it's about That's an
interesting question, it's about I think it has less do
(36:30):
its love and more to do its humanity in the
sense that we are human beings. When we're saving somewhere else,
we're saving ourselves. It's this desire, this and killing. By
the way, it's this. If we didn't have that, we
wouldn't have a civilization if because why would we care
about somebody else if it weren't directly reflected at us. Yeah,
(36:54):
we're always acting in our best interests, our self interests.
This is an interesting question about humanity because if you're
always acting in your self interest, why are you helping others? Well,
you're doing it because you're doing it as if you're
doing it to yourself or if somebody were to help you,
and in this particular case, because all you people are
(37:14):
doing in this movie is helping each other, right, Yeah,
And then you say, well, why are they doing that.
They're different, they're culturally they're different, or they don't speak
the same language, or they do blah blah blah. It
doesn't matter. It's all about humanity. It's all about this
thing that we're on, this rock, the spinning rock, and
how do we help each other do it? Otherwise we're incomplete,
(37:39):
just anarchy and nothing lessen. Yeah, and I think that
shit for me anyway.
Speaker 1 (37:48):
Okay, it is for you well, and you know, you
have played so many different kinds of roles, heroes, villains,
you know, kind of in the middle, and you keep
coming back to these really kind of complex layered characters.
What is it about those types of roles that you
(38:08):
know that attract you, that pull you in.
Speaker 6 (38:12):
They're they're they're an actor's challenge. You know, I'm an
actor and at the at the end of the day,
I'm an actor. That's it. That's what I'd love to do,
and that's what I chose to do, and fortunately I'm
able to do it. But when I read a script,
even if it is the actors genre, I'm not playing
the action. I can throw punches all day long. I
(38:33):
can shoot a gun or drive a car that anybody
can do that. Of course you're having people do that
for you. Yeah, And so really the actor's gold where
they're important is the behavior and the emotion and the drama.
And you know, you know movies is about movies are
(38:59):
or say in movies or the theater or whatever it is,
is about conflict. It's about crisis, and you know that
is what attracts me to it. How How can I
convince you that I'm going through this thing. How do
I under immersion? How do I how do I be
real under imaginary circumstances. That's the actor's baseline, and that's
(39:23):
what I've always been attracted to. If I watch Paccino
in uh, or if I watch you know, any of
the MI grades, right, why are they great? How do
they convince me that they're going through this? Look at
Rocky whatever it is that have influenced my life, and
that's always attracted me. And it's I think it was
(39:44):
Mickey Vork that said, if you have two real moments
in a movie, you win. You two have two actual,
real moments in a movie. It doesn't sound like a
big base of barometer, but uh, it's really difficult to
do under those amounts and those false circumstances. And that's
what compels me as an actor, is to try to
(40:05):
have real moments under imaginary circumstances. And it's what as
I say this, I'm thinking about me in drama class
in school when I was seventeen or fourteen or whatever
it is. It's the same question today that I was
battling with then. Wow, it hasn't been solved yet. When
(40:29):
you watch you, when you watch blend of breath blessing
in secrets and lies, and she comes up with this
realization that the person in front of her is her daughter,
and she has that moment where you see it in
her mindence. It's insane, it's exhilarating, it's the height of
the profession. Yeah. So that's a long way of saying
(40:49):
I have no idea what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
Well, finally, what do you hope people take away about
relationships or anything even beyond the story itself when they
when they you know, finish deep Water.
Speaker 6 (41:06):
At the end of the day, we're all taking care
of each other. At the end of the day, when
when you're in a crisis, what it's go mode. You
all are just taking care of each other. That's the
default position of a human being. That people are living
that right now.
Speaker 4 (41:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (41:28):
Yeah, so everything else disappears, you know, my car payment disappears,
my opinion on the architecture of that house, disappears everything,
and you're just literally down to the bones of of
really humanity of life. And that's what this movie is about.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
I love that, Aaron, I love the film. I can't
wait for everybody to see Deep Water. Thank you so much.
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (41:56):
Thank you very much. Nice talking with you.
Speaker 2 (41:58):
Nice talking with you. I have a great day.
Speaker 6 (42:00):
Thanks Tarnet.
Speaker 1 (42:06):
Trust me on this Deep Water is definitely one you
want to watch, and it's out right now, as is Newborn.
All Right, So that's gonna do it for this episode
of pop Culture Weekly. If you're not already, make sure
you're following, subscribe, doing all the things, because you know,
I got a lot more come in your way. I
love you, and that's what I do for you. You know,
(42:26):
somebody's got to do this hard work, and it's me.
I'll have more interviews, more deep dives, more pop culture chaos,
because clearly the universe refuses to slow down. And honestly,
would we wanted to, We wouldn't. We wouldn't want it to.
All Right, I'm Kyle McMahon, and until next time, stay obsessed,
stay curious, and try to keep up with Madonna. Good
(42:49):
luck with that one, all right, I'll see you next week.
Speaker 2 (42:52):
I love you, We thank you for listening to pop
Culture Weekly.
Speaker 3 (42:56):
Here all the latest at pop cultureweekly dot com.
Speaker 4 (43:04):
I have a conversion of lovel
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