9.2/1016 votesLoading...#1 - Milo Ventimiglia & Freida Pinto
Season 6 Episode 2 - Aired 6/1/2017
Milo Ventimiglia ("This Is Us") and Freida Pinto ("Guerrilla") discussed their new TV series, facing rejection in Hollywood, and auditioning for their biggest roles to date.
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9.2/105 votesLoading...#2 - Episode 3
Season 15 Episode 3 - Aired 6/1/2022
Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick... Boom! and The Eyes of Tammy Faye) with Rachel Zegler (West Side Story), Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard) with Regina King (The Harder They Fall), Jamie Dornan (Belfast) with Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog)
Director: N/A
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9.0/1012 votesLoading...#3 - Amy Schumer & Lily Tomlin
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 12/12/2015
Amy Schumer and Lily Tomlin tackled tough roles this year. Schumer wrote and starred in “Trainwreck” as a hard-partying journalist who reluctantly falls in love; in “Grandma,” Tomlin’s character must drive her granddaughter to an abortion clinic. At Variety‘s Actors on Actors studio, they discuss the joy of playing unlikable women.
Director: N/A
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9.0/106 votesLoading...#4 - Timothée Chalamet & Emma Stone
Season 9 Episode 3 - Aired 12/6/2018
Timothée Chalamet ("Beautiful Boy") chatted with Emma Stone ("The Favourite").
Director: N/A
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9.0/106 votesLoading...#5 - George Clooney, Michelle Pfeiffer and more
Season 13 Episode 2 - Aired 3/5/2021
George Clooney (The Midnight Sky) with Michelle Pfeiffer (French Exit); Zendaya (Malcolm & Marie) with Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman); and Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy) with Pete Davidson (The King of Staten Island)
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8.9/1014 votesLoading...#6 - Kerry Washington & Aziz Ansari
Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 6/8/2016
Kerry Washington and Aziz Ansari openly discussed everything from Hollywood stereotypes to #OscarsSoWhite.
Director: N/A
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8.8/106 votesLoading...#7 - Viola Davis, Jennifer Lawrence, Adam Sandler
Season 17 Episode 3 - Aired 1/12/2023
Viola Davis ("The Woman King") and Jennifer Lawrence ("Causeway") get honest about female action heroes; Jamie Lee Curtis ("Everything Everywhere All at Once") and Colin Farrell ("The Banshees of Inisherin") discuss their recent complex roles; and Brendan Fraser ("The Whale") and Adam Sandler ("Hustle") share their movie history and special connection.
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8.5/1011 votesLoading...#8 - Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins and more
Season 13 Episode 1 - Aired 3/5/2021
Jodie Foster (The Mauritanian) with Anthony Hopkins (The Father); Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal) with Steven Yeun (Minari)
Director: N/A
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8.4/109 votesLoading...#9 - Cate Blanchett & Ian McKellen
Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 12/12/2015
After journeying to Middle-earth together for the “Lord of the Rings” movies, Cate Blanchett and Ian McKellen are playing more grounded roles in this year’s films. In “Mr. Holmes,” McKellen stars as the famous detective in old age. Blanchett pulls double duty in “Carol,” as a 1950s housewife who falls for a younger woman; and in “Truth,” in which she plays embattled “60 Minutes” producer Mary Mapes.
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8.4/1014 votesLoading...#10 - Amy Adams & Andrew Garfield
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 11/30/2016
Amy Adams ("Arrival" and "Nocturnal Animals") chatted with Andrew Garfield ("Hacksaw Ridge") about their portrayals of comic-book icons.
Director: N/A
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8.4/108 votesLoading...#11 - Lady Gaga & Lin-Manuel Miranda
Season 9 Episode 2 - Aired 12/5/2018
Lady Gaga ("A Star is Born") chatted with Lin-Manuel Miranda ("Mary Poppins Returns").
Director: N/A
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8.4/105 votesLoading...#12 - Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, and more
Season 19 Episode 3 - Aired 1/11/2024
Michael Fassbender ("The Killer") with Carey Mulligan ("Maestro"); Greta Lee ("Past Lives") with Andrew Scott ("All of Us Strangers"); Halle Bailey ("The Little Mermaid", "The Color Purple") with Rachel Zegler ("The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes").
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8.2/1010 votesLoading...#13 - Hugh Jackman & Willem Dafoe
Season 7 Episode 3 - Aired 10/29/2017
Hugh Jackman ("Logan") and Willem Dafoe ("The Florida Project") sat down to discuss the evolution of superhero films and how they chose their latest roles.
Director: N/A
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8.0/101 votesLoading...#14 - Uzo Aduba, Billy Porter and more
Season 14 Episode 4 - Aired 6/18/2021
Gillian Anderson (The Crown) with Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale); Uzo Aduba (In Treatment) with Billy Porter (Pose)
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- 8.0/106 votesLoading...
#15 - Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Joey King, and more
Season 20 Episode 2 - Aired 6/13/2024
Jon Hamm ("Fargo", "The Morning Show") & Kristen Wiig ("Palm Royale"), Kim Kardashian ("American Horror Story: Delicate") & Chloë Sevigny ("Feud: Capote vs. The Swans"), and Joey King ("We Were the Lucky Ones") & Taylor Zakhar Perez ("Red, White, & Royal Blue").
Director: N/A
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7.8/107 votesLoading...#16 - Eddie Murphy & Antonio Banderas
Season 11 Episode 4 - Aired 11/14/2019
Eddie Murphy ("Dolemite Is My Name") talks about returning to "Saturday Night Live" and Antonio Banderas ("Pain and Glory") reveals how his priorities in life changed after having a heart attack in 2017.
Director: N/A
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7.8/107 votesLoading...#17 - Ewan McGregor, Pedro Pascal and more
Season 14 Episode 2 - Aired 6/18/2021
Ewan McGregor (Halston) with Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian); Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision) with Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso)
Director: N/A
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7.8/107 votesLoading...#18 - Zendaya, Andrew Garfield and more
Season 16 Episode 2 - Aired 6/1/2022
Zendaya ("Euphoria") and Andrew Garfield ("Under the Banner of Heaven") discuss carrying the emotional weight of dark stories. Cynthia Nixon ("And Just Like That") and Bowen Yang ("Saturday Night Live") share stories of writing and directing for television. Courteney Cox ("Shining Vale") and Faith Hill ("1883") compare their process for finding good roles.
Director: N/A
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7.8/108 votesLoading...#19 - Cate Blanchett, Michelle Yeoh, Kate Hudson
Season 17 Episode 1 - Aired 12/16/2022
Cate Blanchett ("Tár") and Michelle Yeoh ("Everything Everywhere All at Once") discuss portraying characters originally written for men; Kate Hudson ("Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery") and Glen Powell ("Top Gun: Maverick") share the importance of chemistry with co-stars; and Laura Dern ("The Son") and Michelle Williams ("The Fabelmans") exchange their thoughts on working with young co-stars.
Director: N/A
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7.7/109 votesLoading...#20 - Michael B. Jordan & Charlize Theron
Season 9 Episode 1 - Aired 12/4/2018
Michael B. Jordan ("Creed II" and "Black Panther") sat down with Charlize Theron ("Tully") for a candid conversation that brought Theron to tears, they spoke about inclusion riders and why “Black Panther” deserves a spot at the Oscars.
Director: N/A
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- 7.7/106 votesLoading...
#21 - Emily Blunt, Paul Mescal, Natalie Portman and more
Season 19 Episode 4 - Aired 1/11/2024
Emily Blunt ("Oppenheimer") with Anne Hathaway ("Eileen"); Taraji P. Henson ("The Color Purple") with Jeffrey Wright ("American Fiction"); Paul Mescal ("All of Us Strangers") with Natalie Portman ("May December").
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7.6/1011 votesLoading...#22 - Episode 1
Season 15 Episode 1 - Aired 6/1/2022
Lady Gaga (House of Gucci) with Jake Gyllenhaal (The Guilty), Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) with Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos) with Daniel Craig (No Time to Die)
Director: N/A
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- 6.6/106 votesLoading...
#23 - Cillian Murphy, Margot Robbie, Emma Stone and more
Season 19 Episode 1 - Aired 1/11/2024
Cillian Murphy ("Oppenheimer") with Margot Robbie ("Barbie); Bradley Cooper ("Maestro") with Emma Stone ("Poor Things").
Director: N/A
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1.0/101 votesLoading...#24 - Kaley Cuoco, Elizabeth Olsen and more
Season 14 Episode 3 - Aired 6/18/2021
Kaley Cuoco (The Flight Attendant) with Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision); Emma Corrin (The Crown) with Regé-Jean Page (Bridgerton)
Director: N/A
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NaN/100 votesLoading...#25 - Benedict Cumberbatch & Edward Norton
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 12/21/2014
“The Imitation Game” star Benedict Cumberbatch talks theater and film with “Birdman” actor Edward Norton.
Director: N/A
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The Best Episodes of Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Every episode of Variety Studio: Actors on Actors ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Variety Studio: Actors on Actors!
PBS SoCal and Variety take you inside the biggest movies and T.V. shows of the past year through candid conversations with today's hottest actors. Hosted...
Genre:Talk
Best Episodes Summary
"Milo Ventimiglia & Freida Pinto" is the best rated episode of "Variety Studio: Actors on Actors". It scored 9.2/10 based on 16 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 6/1/2017. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Episode 3".