Angelique Jackson: Take a peek behind the scenes.

Tom Hiddleston: I think we deeply, as human beings, need myth.

Angelique: As Variety Studio brings you conversations between your favorite actors.

Brie Larson: I was like, what I think actors are like--where they like have headphones in and they're kind of like this--like I was that kind of actor.

Angelique: With Brie Larson and Andrew Scott, Hannah Einbinder and Chloe Fineman, and Tom Hiddleston and Anna Sawai.

Clayton Davis: Welcome to Variety Studio "Actors on Actors," I'm Clayton Davis.

Angelique: And I'm Angelique Jackson.

Today we're hearing from some of the world's most talented actors.

Clayton: As they share their secrets behind their unforgettable performances.

Clayton: Brie Larson and Andrew Scott take us on a journey that bridges literature and the small screen.

The two discuss the magic behind the singular visions of their unique characters.

In the mini series, "Lessons in Chemistry," Oscar winner, Brie Larson shines as a chemist turned cooking show host, who empowers 1960s housewives by sharing scientific knowledge that improves their lives.

Brie: Hello, my name is Elizabeth Zott and this is "Supper at Six."

Before we dive into the chemical compounds of a baked ham glaze, you may notice that there are no Swift and Crisp -- products littering our set.

Well, that is because they dropped our show, and for that, I thank them.

Clayton: In Ripley, Emmy nominee, Andrew Scott, chillingly immerses himself into the monochromatic world of an obsessive conman, whose mission is to lure a prodigal son back to his family.

Andrew Scott: [As Tom Ripley]: You know, how do you propose I get rid of him Marge, throw him off the terrace, push him in front of a bus, drown him?

Marge: Just tell him to leave, Dickie.

Tom Ripley: He can barely swim, you know.

He told me.

He's terrified of water.

Brie: So I'm excited to talk to you because I don't know how to talk about acting at all, so maybe you can teach me how to talk about it or what we do, because I don't even know.

First of all, do you know how to act?

Andrew: I don't know how to act, do you?

Brie: That's what I thought, nope not at all, don't know.

So I'm glad that we got there first.

Andrew: Well, you started as a kid, so it's playing when you're a kid, and then it turns into acting.

Brie: That's exactly right.

Well, I didn't know that there was anything beyond auditions for a very long time.

So I was devastated when I learned that I wasn't actually booking anything.

Andrew: Oh my God, that is so sweet.

Brie: Yeah, I thought that was it.

Andrew: Did your parents just not tell you--.

Brie: That there was more?

I think they just assumed I understood, but I didn't, and that mentality actually really works, because then I really started to enjoy the audition--at certain points.

Sometimes it's very hard, of course, but, so you didn't start as a kid.

Andrew: I sort of did--a little bit, a little bit of the theater and commercials when I was a kid, and I was reading this: you were shy as a kid.

Brie: Yeah, not anymore, I'm totally fine now.

I'm totally confident and cool.

Yeah.

Andrew: So, "Lessons in Chemistry?"

Brie: Ok, yeah, let's talk about it, let's talk about our shows.

Andrew: Beautiful stuff, what a character.

Brie: Yeah, yeah, it's great.

Andrew: You've been involved with it for--.

Brie: A long time, I developed it for, like, I think it took two years, maybe longer.

Andrew: It's so extraordinary, you must feel--do you have a different feeling of pride now that you've been so involved with it, like, so its success, does it have a sort of--.

Brie: It feels good, but, you know, it came out during the strike and so it felt very--it just came out and it lived its life and I really appreciated having that experience to truly just let the piece speak for itself.

Andrew: Did you watch a lot of your stuff?

Brie: I mean, with "Lessons," I watched it a lot because I had to, because I was editing the show.

I mean, a lot of the time I'd be, like, looking at things every night, I'd look at the dailies from the day before and so you can kind of see like, okay, is this stuff tracking?

Are there things that I need to change or are there ways that I can, like, save this a little bit?

Especially with a character that I also felt was like, very different from me in how little she emotionally expresses.

I struggled with it a lot and I felt very lost with it.

I realized that it was hard for me to let go of this idea that I was supposed to be, like, on my knees going like, ahhh!

That instead, Lee, the showrunner would come over and be like, nothing and it--I realized that, like, the little part inside of me is like, are people gonna think I'm not doing enough?

Andrew: Yeah that's the fear, isn't it?

Brie: Yeah, it's like, why--what's she doing?

She's not doing anything and making sometimes those subtle quiet choices, even though in the moment I'm like, I know this is the right thing, but it takes a lot of confidence to not telegraph every little thing.

So I wanna talk about your show, "Ripley."

Andrew: "Ripley," yep.

Brie: Yeah, that one.

I know you've got a lot going on, but we're talking about that.

Andrew: No, no, that's it.

Brie: So, when I was watching it, I was like, I love minimalism and I'm like, you are a minimalist and I mean that as like the highest compliment.

And for so long, not talking, and you're also playing someone who's lying a lot, which I think is one of the hardest things to do.

So, in thinking about how you do something so minimal with lies, you're doing a very fine dance here.

What kind of conversations are you having, and does it feel good to be in that minimal space or do you second guess yourself?

Andrew: And if I'm honest, I think I gave Steve Zaillian, our writer-director quite a lot of options, I feel like that's my duty, and he chose the ones that are probably a little bit more to his taste.

He likes minimalism himself.

Brie: So, what about the lying part of your character?

Andrew: Well, I tried to make him lie as little as he could get away with, so that he lies in order to get himself out of a situation.

Like the thing that we really want to see when we're watching a movie, I think, or at least I do, is when someone goes, I'm not in love with them at all, and you know that they are.

That's the best--when the thing that you are expressing is in opposition to the thing that you're feeling, and that sort of is lying, but it's lying, sort of in a way that we find acceptable.

Brie: So I have a question about playing a character that has existed in many different iterations and forms.

And I feel like you have experience with that because you do theater as well.

Do you have the same approach every time in terms of, like, researching and watching previous versions of it, or do you just block it out?

Andrew: Absolutely, I block it out.

Because number one, I adored the film, you know, but mercifully, I hadn't seen it in a very long time, and I knew that this was going to be a very, very different prospect.

One of the first conversations I had with Steve Zaillian, our writer-director was, you know, why?

And he had such a singular vision for it, you know, he wanted it in a very particular way, because what's the point of doing it if you're going to do it exactly the same way?

And I see them as two very, very separate entities which they are, I mean, I have to ask you about working with Lenny Abrahamson.

Brie: Oh my gosh, yes.

Andrew: Because it was such a, you know, it was such a moment of Irish pride.

Brie: Of course, of course.

It was my first time--I mean, I'd been a lead in one other thing.

I auditioned for it though, so I was like, okay, I think I know how to do it, but it was so wildly outside of reality, in terms of thinking about how life would be for her.

And so it took a lot of time, and I did not have the technique that I have now.

I was much more--I was like, what I think actors are like, where they like, have headphones in and they're kind of like this, like, I was that kind of actor, you know, where it was, like, I was listening to really intense music and like--it's like, I didn't fully trust myself to go in and out.

I didn't know how to as well, and it's like I knew how to get in, and I didn't know how to get out.

And so after that movie, I was like, whoa, I need to figure out a plan, and I started scuba diving and I realized that it was the perfect metaphor, because you don't get to like strap a tank on your back and just like jump in the ocean.

You have to be like, okay, this is how much I have in my tank.

If I go down deeper, it takes more.

I have to go really slow on the way up.

And I was like, oh, that's what I need to be doing and I need to give myself the grace of that, so then, moving forward, when I'd have big emotional scenes, I'd make an announcement and be like, hey, I'm gonna go underwater for a little bit, it might take me a little bit to get back out, but like I'm here.

That was the learning lesson from "Room" for me, it was--I was like, I know how to get in, but I'm not trusting myself to get in and out every day.

And actually it makes me laugh, I had somebody come up to me one point, and they're like, you know, what film you were good in, "Room."

And I was like, okay.

Andrew: Yeah thank you, where is my Oscar?

Brie: I was like, yeah, I kind of thought that that was like, my one thing I've done, like, I didn't know that that was like a deep cut.

Like, she was like, you know what?

Andrew: I thought you were good in that.

I don't care what anyone else says, I thought you were quite good.

Brie: Five thousand years later, I was like, glad it holds up.

Andrew: That's amazing.

Brie: Well, thanks, I feel like I kind of understand acting now.

Andrew: Yeah, I fully got it.

Brie: Yeah, I'm ready, okay, wow.

Andrew: Nothing more to learn.

Brie: No, yep, now we're good to go.

Angelique: It's a rendezvous of two naturally talented stand up comedians, Hannah Einbinder and Chloe Fineman kick back and break down their performances from the latest season of their hit TV shows.

Emmy Nominee, Hannah Einbinder, cleverly reprises her role as a struggling comedy writer in season three of "Hacks."

Exploring the choices of her past and the consequences of her new career.

Hannah Einbinder: I uprooted my entire life for you.

I put you first, because I care about you, and I can't believe you won't do that for me.

You'll never do that for me.

You'll never do that for anyone.

Angelique: As the curtains close on her fifth year of Saturday Night Live, it's impossible to imagine the long running sketch show without the powerhouse, Chloe Fineman and her hysterical improvisations.

Chloe Fineman: It can't be that bad.

Speaker 1: You don't understand, time is different in there.

Chloe: How long has it been?

Four hours?

Speaker 2: It's been 11 seconds.

Chloe: Who are these women?

Speaker 1: The vibe is bad.

Most of the women are ex-dancers or first time moms.

Speaker 2: Everyone just follow what Naomi's doing.

Speaker 1: But if you don't follow the rules, then God help you.

Speaker 2: Hey, girly pop, did you forget your sticky socks?

Speaker 1: Yeah, but I can just wear my regular socks, right.

Speaker 2: Sure.

Hannah: How long has it been, darling?

Chloe: Since we've known each other?

Eight years maybe, seven.

Pre-"Hacks," pre-SNL Hannah: Yeah, we did it, up top.

Chloe: We did it baby.

Woo.

Hannah: Let's rock, that's awesome.

I mean, I always feel like that was like the Chloe-trajectory.

Like, I feel like the first time I saw you, I was like, well, this will be--she will be on Saturday Night Live of course.

Chloe: That's very nice.

Hannah: Obviously, I love like the JoJo, the Elizabeth Holmes, like all those, like Chloe archive stuff.

Like, were you working on those online with the thought of like, oh, I would put this together for like my screen test, and like, what characters did you do for your screen test?

Chloe: Oh, that's a very good question.

I think it was a combination, I think the Internet started as like a dating app for me, if I'm being completely honest, and I always wanted to date somebody funny and I felt like it was just a way to like show comedy, and I just refuse to be on Tinder, but Instagram was my way.

I don't know why I thought like dressing like a small child from "Dance Moms" was gonna like, get me what I wanted, but I love putting up front facing comedy, I just do.

I found open mics, I would be like the only girl, which was fine mostly, and then I was like, this is creepy and I'm going to like Echoes Under Sunset or like going downtown alone.

And then when I found I could like, show stuff online, I was like, oh, I don't have to put myself in this like weird environment, but then meeting you, and like a bunch of other women in comedy is such a gift in that way.

Hannah: I think it's probably much different now.

I mean, when we were starting, that's certainly the case, you know, and like that was something that, you know, night after night, I totally hear you on that, I feel that.

And like, you know, obviously you've been on SNL for quite some time now.

I will never forget that first time you were on Update and you were wearing that like red shirt.

It was so cute.

It was sick, it was so cool.

Do you feel still, like, that jittery?

Chloe: Constantly, yeah, I feel like it's gotten worse somehow, which is so healthy, so delightful.

Yeah, it never goes away.

Hannah: And you're like, with all these people, they're coming through the show, like, you're just getting to interact with all these influences, is that wild?

Chloe: It is, it's gotten better.

I remember the first time--my first year was when Will Ferrell hosted, and I thought I did fine that week.

Turns out I bombed the hardest I've ever bombed.

Like, and where I was sitting at our table read, he was, like, directly across, and again, thought I was fun, I'm kind of delusional.

And then at the end we do our good night hugs and then he was like, keep going, Chloe, like hang in there, it gets better.

And I was like, was I that bad that you're giving me a pep talk, but then recently I felt like, okay, I can actually be kind of normal.

You deal with that.

Hannah: Totally.

Chloe: I feel like shortly after I was on SNL, you got "Hacks."

Hannah: Yeah, yeah, it's crazy.

Chloe: It's crazy.

Hannah: It's crazy, man.

I auditioned for "Hacks" maybe three days before the initial COVID, like, stay at home orders.

Yeah, and then the rest of the process was like over Zoom, and then there was one like very high risk screen test on like--.

Chloe: In person with the masks and everything?

Hannah: The tech was really booming at the time, we had a screen between us, like a glass almost as if a wheeled white board was glass, just me and Jean talking through it on like a dark, empty sound stage.

Chloe: How--did you guys know each other before the show?

You just met behind a screen.

Hannah: We met behind a screen, yeah.

Well, she called me the night before because she's a classy, class act and she just said like, you know, I know it's gonna be weird tomorrow because there's like, you know, these like protocols that we gotta do, but she just said, like, think you're funny and I'm really looking forward to it and we're just gonna have fun, but it's cool, yeah, so many like, legends come through "Hacks."

Chloe: I was given the season recently and I was like, oh boy, I have like a short amount of time, and then I could not stop, I had to finish it.

It was addictive--it's a binge guys, it's a binge.

Hannah: Thank you, Chloe.

Chloe: It's so good.

I was really blown away.

Hannah: I mean, they just have really, like, hit their stride, like the creators of "Hacks," Paul Downs, Jen Statsky, and Lucia Aniello, and all the writers, you know.

One thing about "Hacks" is like, it is able to capture like the experience of that character, because we do have, you know, women who are both stand up comedians and, like, of Jean's generation in the writer's room.

Carol Leifer being one of them.

So, they're able to tap into that reality, and the best thing to hear is that like there are women out there who feel like seen by that, you know, it's really cool to be a part of.

Wait, queen, you're in a Francis Ford Coppola movie?

What the H, talk about that.

Chloe: Yeah, I mean, it's the dream.

Like I feel like you and I are doing the same thing but we came at it kind of different, like comedy into a beautiful, gorgeous, stunning actress.

Actress, kind of struggle, fail, struggle, fail--comedy, like kind of acting.

So for me, it was like, back to what I love.

Hannah: How do you find that, because, obviously, like, you've done acting outside of sketch, but like, how do you find the transition just being in like that mode of sketch comedy and then going into like something that's totally different and there's no laughs and you're doing--you know, it's like--.

Chloe: Yeah, I feel like the one thing that I feel is the overlap, is like the ability to play, I know that's corny, but I definitely, weirdly, feel more at home in the acting stuff just because I feel like I'm like, really late in life to comedy, like, you know, it's all performing, it's, you know, and I think it--we're kind of so lucky to not just be actors and to have this other thing, it's really such a gift.

Hannah: It is that thing that will always be there, you know, and you can just pick it up and go out.

We are all just like throwing spaghetti at the wall, with the old comedy, and I love it.

I love it so much.

Chloe: It's a beautiful thing.

Clayton: Tom Hiddleston and Anna Sawai prove that genre TV can still surprise audiences.

With weighty storylines about multifaceted characters.

For nearly 15 years, Emmy nominee, Tom Hiddleston, has embodied the diabolical, yet lovable Loki across the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This second season of the TV series proves he's still at the top of his game.

Tom: This has to be a joke.

Owen Wilson: Does it make you a little homesick?

Tom: It's completely inaccurate, first of all.

Owen: You don't think that looks like Odin?

Tom: It's embarrassing, it's a crass generalization.

Only he could reduce an entire culture down to a simple diorama.

Owen: You know, sometimes I forget that you're one of them, you are one of them.

Blows my mind.

Tom: Thor's not that tall.

Clayton: At the center of the masterful adaptation "Shogun," Anna Sawai delivers a stunning portrayal as a translator with a troubled past in feudal Japan.

Anna Sawai: [speaking Japanese] Tom: Well, Anna, I just wanted to say like, it's such a pleasure to sit across from you and have this conversation, because I think your work in "Shogun" is extraordinary.

I really thought it was wonderful, yeah.

What's it been like the response of either Japanese women or Asian women for you, of your performance?

Anna: Well, I--we were on the press tour and we were in Washington DC, and we showed our first two episodes to a Japanese community.

And after the screening, multiple young girls came up to me being like, this is the first time I'm seeing like a real Japanese character that I can really relate to.

And I think it kind of allowed them to accept that it's okay to feel these struggles and express it.

And I feel like if I had seen characters like Mariko on screen, growing up, then that would have kind of formed me in a different way, I wouldn't have internalized all those expectations, and so I could tell that the characters, the female characters in our show had kind of had a different impact on these women.

Tom: What an extraordinary thing to have given them.

There's a theme in "Shogun" about freedom.

Anna: Yes, and I also, when watching "Loki," realized that we really shared the same themes, where it's free will, purpose, and sacrifice.

And that's why I was not expecting to, but I was like shedding tears watching your show.

Tom: Thank you.

Anna: I think that people go into it for entertainment, but then they really connect with the characters.

And so it's really special.

Tom: I--yes, thank you so much for saying that, that means a lot.

I felt very fortunate that when I was first cast, the arc of Loki in the first "Thor" film was very poignant, and I always saw Loki in that film as a broken soul with a shattered heart.

And there is such grief that he experiences in that film.

And in that grief, he spirals away from those he's attached to and that grief becomes grievance.

And then his grievance actually becomes the engine of what makes him an antagonist, of what makes him a villain.

Of course, he is controlled and mischievous and playful on the surface, but it's masking all this pain, and what I've loved about this series, the two seasons--and they are kind of two volumes of a book, the same book--but especially season two, is tracing my way back to that vulnerable soul and healing that damage, healing the pain, and showing that pain can be transformed into courage and strength.

And that there is redemption and catharsis, I found it really moving.

It was fun too to, just in terms of creating and developing the story, to put him under enormous pressure.

And I wonder how you feel this relates to you too, but I always think that one of the primary drivers in drama is pressure.

You put a character under pressure and their true nature can be revealed.

And perhaps only then, growth is possible, because they're out of control and the masks have to slip away, and Loki is under enormous pressure, time pressure, the clock is ticking and it's ticking fast and the universe is in the balance, and in that, there's a challenge to change, a challenge to step up and grow, and that's what it felt like on "Loki," but I wonder if also, for Mariko, it's similar to--as as the story develops and she's under greater pressure from different sides.

Anna: Yeah, I think it is similar in some ways and a little different, because I think women were under the pressure to kind of just conceal, you know, they had that kind of oppression.

And so for most of this show, we see her being very quiet and like, I've never really thought about it as pressure, I kind of thought of it as more like letting go.

Yeah, because that's kind of what she always wished to do, but wasn't able to because of--because of all the rules and being a woman.

In the end, she's able to reclaim her identity and also just go get she always wanted to, just follow the footsteps of her family.

It is pressure to fulfill her duty, but it's also very liberating for her because she finally gets to do what she's always wanted to.

Tom: Yes, and there's catharsis in that, even in sacrifice.

Anna: Sacrifice, I love that you bring it up, oh my gosh.

Tom: I think we need--we deeply, as human beings, need myth.

And--because myth allows us to connect to a story that seems at one removed from our experience, but actually, characters are experiencing the same struggles, the same obstacles, the same yearning for purpose, the same yearning for meaning, and belonging.

And that our work is to make it real.

That's what I connect to when I'm in the audience, is I'm observing a life that I know nothing about in the real world, but I'm invited into their internal world and their soul, and I see that their soul is the same as mine.

And I think that's the privilege of the work we do, is to make myths real.

Anna: So beautiful.

Tom: Thank you.

Clayton: We hope you've enjoyed this episode of Variety Studio "Actors on Actors."

Angelique: Please join us again next time.

Andrew: Hi Brie.

Brie: Hi, Andrew, thanks for coming over.

Andrew: It's pretty tidy.

Brie: I did tidy it up for you, I know how you like it.

Andrew: You know the way I like it.

You got my text, make sure it's sparse.

Tom: So, so nice.

[both speaking Japanese] Thank you so--oh, your mic.

Sorry, you're still attached.

Anna: It's somewhere there.

Hannah: We'll see you later, we'll talk to you later, okay?

You get home safe now.

We'll talk to you--.

Chloe: He's sliding away.

Hannah: Bye bye.

Chloe: Bye bye.

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