Clayton Davis: Variety Studio invites you to listen in as your favorite actor meets one of their favorite actors.

Mikey Madison: It's sort of similar, we both got our starts in television.

Pamela Anderson: Yeah.

Clayton: And they dish about their latest roles in the biggest movies of the year.

Tilda Swinton: The suffering of this man, and that just carried us all the way through the film.

Clayton: With Pamela Anderson and Mikey Madison, Harris Dickinson and Drew Starkey, and Adrian Brodie and Tilda Swinton.

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

Angelique Jackson: And I'm Angelique Jackson.

Today, we're hearing from some of the world's biggest movie stars.

Clayton: As they reveal secrets about their unforgettable performances.

Clayton: We've seen the role of exotic dancer with the heart of gold before, but these next two women redefine it with performances that test your emotions.

In "The Last Showgirl," Pamela Anderson shines as a seasoned Vegas performer forced to find a new path after her long-time club shutters.

Vulnerable and fierce, Anderson proves it's never too late to deliver a career-defining act that leaves audiences spellbound.

Shelly: I'm the one on the poster and you, you, Eddie, are gonna go on to this show or that show, and the produces will just place you elsewhere because you know how to read a lighting cue?

You just tell someone to push a damn button.

And you're gonna be just fine, and I just have to disappear.

Clayton: And keep your eyes on Mikey Madison, who takes on the role of Anora, a young Brooklyn dancer swept up in a whirlwind romance with a Russian oligarch's son.

Madison's electric performance feels like the birth of a star, one that will be here for years to come.

female: You are getting on this plane and you are getting divorced.

Anora: Yeah, we're gonna get a [no audio] divorce, but first I'm getting a lawyer, then I'm gonna sue Yvonne, and you, and I'm gonna walk away with [no audio] half, because I didn't sign a prenup.

Mikey Madison: How do you feel right now?

I feel a little nervous, actually, right when they called "Action."

Pamela: I know, me too, I know, because how do you start a conversation about all of this?

I mean, you must be so excited, your film is doing so well.

I mean, it's exciting, but surreal, right?

Mikey: It feels surreal, I don't know, some of it doesn't quite feel real at times, do you ever?

Pamela: Maybe it's better that way.

When did you start acting?

Mikey: I started acting when I was about 15, 16.

We actually, it's sort of similar, we both got our starts in television.

When I was 15, I got a TV show called "Better Things" that lasted for five seasons over the course of seven years.

And so, over the course of those seven years, I really was able to just dip my feet into the water and cut my teeth on something, and learn, yeah.

Pamela: So, did they pursue you, did you see the script, did you audition?

Mikey: Oh, yeah, so, for "Anora," Sean had seen a horror film that I did, "Scream," and he went to go see it opening weekend, and I think he was already sort of thinking about the plot for "Anora," and he cast me in it just from the film.

So it was the easiest casting process I've ever had to go through, I've never had to not audition for something before, but yeah, I mean, I'm so lucky that Sean gave me that opportunity.

But I wanted to ask you how this film came about, like when did you first read the script?

Pamela: So I didn't really have representation at the time, but Gia tried to find me through an old agent, kind of agent, and he passed on the movie.

And then my son, because Gia didn't take no for an answer, she's like, "There's no way she passed on this movie in 10 minutes, she hasn't read the script."

So, she found my son Brandon, and then Brandon brought me the script and I read it.

And I was like, "Oh my gosh, I have to do this, this is--" I could hear the voice in my head, I could see the movie, I felt so strongly about it.

And I remember my first conversation with Gia, just going, "You know I can do this," and she goes, "No, I know you can do this, this is why I've been looking for you."

Mikey: Yeah, right?

Pamela: So, and really started, you know, immersing myself in it and working on it, and I knew the whole movie like a play before I even got to Las Vegas, a lot to prepare for, you really have to immerse yourself.

I was wondering what the process was like for you, how do you prepare for something like that?

Mikey: Well, it was a character that immediately felt different than anything I've ever done before, and it was very intimidating at first, and so I was like, "I think I just need to start small."

So I would start with working on the physicality of the character, because she's a dancer.

And then I would dabble a little bit and like backstory of my character, really trying to get to the root of who she is, understand her morals.

I wanted someone to ask me a question about my character and me always be able to answer it.

And then, obviously, I had to learn as much Russian as possible, and the dialect.

So I just did little things at a time, and I think, over the course of five months, built up to this fully-formed character.

But I wanna ask you what your preparation was like jumping into "The Last Showgirl," and Shelly, and how you started with that.

Pamela: Well, so I got to be able to bring a lot of my own personal experience, my kind of long life of dealing with beauty and glamour, and aging, and reassessing life choices, so I got to bring my whole life really into this role, it was such a relief to be able to play something where I could express myself that way.

And of course the physicality, I worked with Greg Butler, who was a choreographer for when I played Roxie in "Chicago" on Broadway.

Mikey: I was gonna ask you about that, because you did that before going to "The Last Showgirl," right?

Pamela: Yeah, it was kind of like my warm-up, which was nice because I really got to see that backstage banter when people are just worried about what they're gonna make for dinner or some problem with their kids, or their boyfriend or husband.

And then they hear their cue, and boom, they're on stage.

So I got to research that there, not knowing I was gonna do, you know, "The Last Showgirl" next.

But I wanted to keep that nostalgic innocence, the joyful optimism about her artform.

So, I did a lot of research, I met with a lot of the "Jubilee!"

dancers.

And to create the chemistry and the bonding between the young girls and the other people in the movie, I had dinners at my house where we--I like to cook, so we were all cooking vegetable soup and doing all sorts of bonding things, because we shot the movie in 18 days.

Mikey: Wow.

Oh, wow.

Pamela: So it was like a play every day.

Mikey: What would you say was one of the most challenging parts of playing your character?

Pamela: Well, for me, the first scenes are always the hardest, because you really are establishing who she is.

Mikey: Right, yeah.

Pamela: And so it was all very challenging and scary, but it was such a relief to be able to do this.

And I was wondering with Sean, is he, as a director, like what was the set like?

Mikey: He is such an actor's director, he really made it clear from the beginning that he wanted to collaborate with me.

I had such a part of so many different aspects of making the film, like from the costumes to hair and makeup to-- I mean, there was quite a bit of improvisation in my film.

Pamela: Oh wow.

Mikey: Did you guys do that in yours?

Pamela: No, we didn't improv, no, there was nothing, we really stuck to Kate Gersten's script, and very little improv.

I know like Jamie's scene where she's dancing on the podium was improv, and that was one take.

Mikey: It's really an amazing scene.

Pamela: That's an amazing scene.

Mikey: What was it like working with her?

Because the history between your two characters is so rich and detailed.

Pamela: Well, I was terrified to meet her at the table read.

Mikey: Really?

Pamela: Well, because, Jamie Lee Curtis, you just wanna.

Mikey: You didn't know each other before?

Pamela: No, we didn't know each other, but she grabbed me by the shoulders and just looked me in the eye, and she said, "I did this for you," and I was just, instantly, instantly we had this incredible bond.

I mean, she's everyone's cheerleader, she's such an incredible woman.

She's a lot of fun, a lot of fun, but very super professional, I learned a lot from her.

So I just kind of had this dream I always kept kind of a secret-- that I could be more than I was doing, so it was really exciting to get this film.

And Gia could see through, she could see the hunger in me as a woman who wanted to express herself, just from the documentary, so I just attribute a lot to her for having that kind of vision.

I would have hated to never get my chance to do something that was meaningful to me, it was all worth it.

I never thought I'd be, you know, on "Actors on Actors," you know?

This is such a surreal moment, right?

Mikey: I never thought that I would be here either, it's crazy.

Pamela: We're stirring it up.

Angelique: Harris Dickinson and Drew Starkey are making waves with bold breakout roles, showing off the raw power and vulnerability that's elevating their careers to new heights.

In "Babygirl," Harris Dickinson captures the thrill and complexity of workplace dynamics, playing a young intern involved in a torrid affair with his CEO.

His performance oozes charm and intrigue, proving he's one to watch.

Romy: Anyway, I have to go.

All right, all right, I gotta go, bye.

Um, hey, how'd you get that dog to calm down?

Samuel: I gave it a cookie.

Romy: You always have cookies on you?

Samuel: Yeah, why, do you want one?

Romy: No.

In "Queer," Drew Starkey is an American sailor in 1940s Mexico grappling with addiction and self-discovery.

With an emotional depth that lingers long after the credits roll, Starkey commands the screen with quiet and moving intensity.

Lee: Hi.

Eugene Allerton: Hi.

Lee: I just, I just wanted to tell you that, um, Mary was in Lola's a little while ago, and she asked me to tell you that she'd be in the ship Ahoy, later on, around 5.

Eugene: Oh, thank you.

Will you be around?

Lee: Yes, um, I think so, yeah.

Drew Starkey: Harris.

Harris Dickinson: How are you, mate?

Drew: Good to see you.

We met, what, a couple of weeks ago?

Harris: We did, yeah, very briefly.

Drew: We stopped mid-conversation, because we were like, "Let's save it."

Harris: Yeah, because we knew we were talking.

Drew: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Harris: So we saved it, yeah.

Drew: How you doing?

Harris: I'm good, mate.

Drew: Tell me about "Babygirl," and tell me about how it came to you.

Harris: So, I'd seen Halina Reijn, the director's, first film, "Instinct," and then the script for "Babygirl" got sent to me, and I think I was like, you know when you read something that sort of challenges you a little bit, with the read, right?

And that kind of confuses you, in the sense of like, "I don't know what I'm gonna do with this," like, you know?

And so, in a way, I'm like, "I don't know, like, if I can do this."

But the script came in and it was so beautifully written, and Halina and I had a really lovely chat about everything, and I knew that Nicole was on board, which was, again, another intimidating factor, like her body of work is insanely.

Drew: So, she was attached to it already?

Harris: Yeah, she was attached, yeah, she was attached, which is always nice, to read it with that in mind, right?

Drew: Oh yeah.

Harris: When you get like a little gift.

Drew: Yeah, it's like a little gift, yeah.

Harris: You look back and you're very grateful to have been, you know, included in it.

Drew: Yeah, so, you said you read it and you were like, "There was kind of a fear around, like, 'I don't know what this is or if I'm right for it,'" like, how did that manifest, like what does that look like?

Harris: Because it was so nuanced.

Drew: Yeah, yeah.

Harris: And you're looking for that, you're looking for it, and you're like, "I don't know where to start with this because the material is so good, and there's many dances."

You know, the interesting thing about the script and the scenes is that there's this constant like performance that they're doing, and there's so much humor in it as well, like.

Drew: Yeah, yeah, no, no.

Harris: It's kind of funny, like to be in the purest form.

Drew: No, no, I was laughing through it, like it was really, but I think you, I mean, you and, of course, Nicole like do such a good job of finding that humor in it, you know?

There's something childlike about it in a way.

Harris: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Drew: I always wonder, like, because this is something that I have a hard time with, and like, understanding, like going into it with a sense of tone.

Harris: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Drew: You know?

Harris: "What's the tone?"

Drew: "What's the tone?"

And I guess "tone" is a word that is kind of, maybe that's a little bit too generic to use for the feeling, you know, "What's the world that I'm walking into," in a way.

But is that something that you and Nicole like talked about together?

Harris: I think Nicole and I didn't have a ton of time together.

Drew: Right.

Harris: And in a way, I think that was quite helpful actually, there was an element of mystery between us that was helpful actually.

I think Halina knew that, but Halina and I spoke a lot, and I know that Halina and Nicole spoke a lot.

But tone, I always find like I'm wading around trying to figure it out, because you don't really know until you're doing it, I think, and then you start to get guidance, you know what I mean?

Like how did you guys figure that out?

Because there's a very specific tone to "Queer," which is, and your performance is beautiful, and it's hard to do because you don't have a ton of dialogue.

Drew: Right.

Harris: But you know, how much did you guys speak about tone and the entry into that film?

Drew: Yeah, it's really so similar, it is.

You know, but Luca and I talked a lot, and then I didn't meet Daniel until we were in New York, probably a month before we shot, and I met him at the table read.

And so it was kind of the meeting, and then we just jumped into reading it out loud.

Luca really does a good job of fully painting a picture for you.

We also shot it in Rome, at Cinecittà.

Harris: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've shot there.

Drew: Walking in these sound stages like this, where it's all like, everything's on stage, 95% of it's on stage.

I think walking into that, like the setting of it, was like I knew I was walking into this kind of elevated type of feel in terms of tone.

Harris: But how did you understand that, from what, from the way Luca spoke about it or from just knowing?

Drew: Yeah, I think so, yeah, in conversations with Luca, I mean, he was very specific about how he wanted the world to feel.

I think, kind of a similar situation, you know, Daniel and I, there wasn't a lot of conversation about how we wanted it to feel or, you know, the chem--the dirty word--the chemistry between the two of us, it was just kind of exercising it and going for it.

Harris: Let me ask you about Daniel Craig, because, obviously legendary, but slew of incredible work, established actor, been working for years, impressive in everything he does.

Like, what's that like?

Scary, I imagine.

Drew: It's amazing how open and inviting he is, and he looks at you as an equal, and he's ready to show, you know, share his own insecurities and fears about what we're about to do.

And so you're like, "Oh, great, he's in it with me."

And then kind of getting like a masterclass on-set.

Harris: Did you ask him about James Bond?

Drew: He just kind of just started talking about it.

Harris: Did he?

Drew: Yeah, oh yeah.

Harris: I wouldn't be able to help myself.

Drew: He was very willing to share, oh yeah, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, so I get a lot of insider trading on that, which is cool.

Harris: Great.

Drew: Tell me about how Nicole works, and what it was like.

I mean, it's Nicole Kidman, you know?

Harris: I know, I know, yeah, she's got such a unique quality, clearly an immense work ethic, you know, in order to get to the places that she does, but also very fun and can create a very like easy environment on-set, you know?

Drew: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Harris: She knows how to enjoy it and she's got a great, like, timing, and she's impressive.

Yeah, it was cool, it was really cool to like be that close to her, you know, and just every day get to kind of, like, observe it as well.

You have to remember not to just like watch as well, and like, yeah.

Drew: This is crazy, you're like describing, like we had the same experience, like it's really strange, because I've said this in the past, quite literally.

I mean, I'm like, we're in a take or, you know, we're working together, and I'm like watching this beautiful, beautifully crafted, prepared performance, like, "What has he tapped into, like his--" or like-- "Let me lock back in."

Harris: Remember to, yeah.

Drew: Yeah, it was such a rush, it really was.

Clayton: When Adrian Brody and Tilda Swinton aren't hanging out in filmmaker Wes Anderson's quirky worlds, they're taking on deep, soul-searching roles in powerful new dramas.

In "The Brutalist," Oscar-winner Adrian Brody is brilliant, in his portrayal of an architect and a Holocaust survivor seeking a fresh start in post-war America.

When a wealthy man pushes his boundaries, he's forced to confront questions that cut to the very core of his identity.

László Toth: They do not want us here.

female: Of course they do not want us here.

[speaking foreign language] female: Then who do you mean?

László: The people here, they do not want us here.

Audrey, Atilla's Catholic wife, does not want us here!

She does not want us here!

male: "Are we doing as much as we can, are we as strong as we should be?"

László: We are nothing, we are worse than nothing.

Clayton: Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton takes centerstage in "The Room Next Door," playing a former war correspondent facing a terminal illness with unflinching determination.

This emotionally-charged drama features one of Swinton's most profound works yet.

Martha: There are very few women war correspondents, war is a man's thing, you have to sort of become one of the guys, and it was never a problem for me, I've always lived like a man.

Actually, I think what Michelle really missed was having a maternal figure in her life, and in this I must admit she was, she was right.

Ingrid: Don't be so hard on yourself.

Tilda Swinton: So, "The Brutalist," many congratulations, by the way, that's a great achievement, on behalf of everybody involved, it's a really monumental piece of work, and apparently came in under $10 million, which I find, I mean, I'm sorry to be vulgar and talk about money, but that is, you know, to make a really properly kind of cinematic, monumental, epic piece of work like that, and to make it affordable is a huge achievement, and for you to hold it in the way that you do is super beautiful.

Adrian: Thank you, it's a real achievement.

I'm very impressed with Brady Corbet, our filmmaker, and Mona Fastvold, his wife and creative partner, in not only what they've created and all they've done to cultivate this beautiful film and storytelling, but the vastness of it, and the artistry, and he feels very masterful, he's a very young man, he's in his thirties, Brady.

Tilda: It's vast, but there's something about an innate sort of proposal that you give us at the very beginning, which is the suffering of this man, and that just carries us all the way through the film.

So, knowing that that was the task, how did you root yourself?

Adrian: It's very palpable what he is forced to come to terms with, and what is the nature of the storytelling in this film is moving to me for many reasons.

In one respect, I'm playing a man immigrating to the United States with all the hopes and dreams of starting anew, and this very much aware of this disconnect between the reality of that, the harsh reality of that American dream, the myth of that, and also yet what he's leaving behind, and all the kind of atrocities of the war, and oppression, and creative oppression as well.

As much as it is a theme of the film that he has this vision to leave behind some lasting work that speaks to the traumas of the past, it's merely about a man just toiling through poverty and trying to come alive again, you know, and has to rebuild his foundation.

And his separation, his forced separation from his wife, who Felicity Jones did so beautifully, and comes in and she's a real pillar in that, she helps enable him to have that strength.

But I guess finding and connecting to the suffering of others is--I don't wanna say it's easy, because it's not, but there's so much of it at our disposal.

Tilda: I think it's a good thing to say, "Easy," I think it's a good thing to find it easy, because that's what compassion is, and empathy, and that is a large part of our work, I think, is to be able to feel easy-- Adrian: I agree.

Tilda: --about stepping into any experience, but particularly suffering, because if we don't, then there is immediately this massive wall, but there but for the grace of God go all of us in all these situations.

Adrian: Mhm, exactly.

I wanna ask you about this film that you did with Pedro.

I think a lot about mortality, now, in a way that I never thought about it, I wonder if you had, prior to this.

As we lose people in our lives, as we get older, I find, not about death, but about life and about what I have, the space, and who I have the space for, and what I wanna do with my time here and who I wanna spend that time with.

Tilda: These are all wise reflections.

Adrian: Yes, it's come with age and with experience, but I think when you embody someone like you did, forced to come to terms with their demise and take action in that-- I'm really curious to how that feels for you and what that process is like.

Tilda: Well, as I was suggesting "The Brutalist" has been for you, an extraordinary blessing of an opportunity for me, because it's an incredibly personal film for me.

I've had the opportunity and the privilege several times in my life to be in the position of Ingrid, the woman who Julianne Moore plays in the film, who is the friend who is asked to be the witness, who is asked to be the companion, who's asked to be in the room next door.

I've had that honor and I've learned, from the Marthas in my life, my own attitude to my own death, and it's really been an enlightenment for me.

And so to have the opportunity to step into those shoes and be the person in the hot seat, to be the person who is mortally ill, and very clear that she wants to live right up until the final whistle the most self-determined life she can, and makes this decision, which for me, in my understanding, is a triumphant decision, it's a decision to prevail against all the odds.

Adrian: How is it with Pedro in an American, in an English-speaking film?

Because he hasn't done much of that, has he?

Tilda: We made--I was asked by him in the depths of COVID to make a short, which was his first English language film.

And I will say, and he won't mind me saying this, that then, and that was July 2020, when everything was locked down, we were in Madrid, all masked up for nine days making this short which is an adaptation of Jean Cocteau's "The Human Voice."

And his English was not as fluent as it is now, so it was an amazing leap of faith, he was very trepidatious, for very good reason, about actually shooting in English, and shooting English language.

But I realized then, and this was very much borne out in "The Room Next Door," that he's not really operating in any language, he's operating in a kind of music and in a kind of energy-- Adrian: You see that in his visual storytelling, yes.

Tilda: --and also in cinema-- exactly, the frame is his language.

Adrian: It's so interesting.

Tilda: And on that film, when we had little less language in common, we used to speak in terms of film, we would, you know?

It would be references, you know, a little bit more "Dark Victory" here and, you know, all of that.

Adrian: That's fantastic, by the way, what you, yeah.

Tilda: That's a proper, proper language, yeah.

Adrian: That's really fantastic.

Tilda: Yeah.

Clayton: Thanks for joining us for this episode of "Variety Studio, Actors on Actors."

Angelique: We can't wait to see you next time.

Pamela: I'm gonna still make pickles, but I'm going to-- Mikey: Thank God.

Pamela: --hopefully do more movies.

Mikey: Wait, I want to try Pamela Pickles.

Pamela: You will get them, I will send you some.

Drew: Southern Appalachia, Blue Ridge Mountains.

Harris: Hello?

Drew: Hello?

Harris: Hello?

Adrian: Ketchup, a kind of ketchup-- Tilda: Very, very strange, I totally forgot you were there, I'm so sorry.

Adrian: I know, I'm sorry, there, I know I have a tendency to ramble anyway, but I just wanted to.

Tilda: I know we didn't talk about any of the things you wanted us to talk about.