Brit Marling ("The OA") and Issa Rae ("Insecure") discuss auditioning, being typecast, and choosing their own paths, during Variety's "Actors on Actors series. bit.ly/VarietyS...
What a beautiful, intelligent and awakening conversation ! These two brilliant women are changing the game of storytelling for the better. Their creativity, honesty and morals are transparent in their craft and it's merely refreshing! It was marvellous to pair Issa and Brit together and they mutually seem to love each other's work #womensupportingwomen !
I'm also a writer, director, producer and lead of my own work. Coming across this interview was a bit of terrific. I've been obsessed over these two women's shows wondering about so many of the topics they talked about here. Thank you Variety! Thank you Issa and Brit. I'm so grateful to be alive at a time when my chances are stronger for excelling in what I love best.
Omg this was awesome! and what a genius idea to pair them up, they're both great storytellers creating the change they want to see in the industry. I admire them so much.
Sofia FP This was such a fabulously fluid discussion between to wildly talented storytellers! What a wonderful time in entertainment because this is the age where creators are in a place where they can actually CREATE!
I have *loved* Brit Marling since Another Earth. I really admire her for writing intelligent sci-fi that expects and allows the audience to think for themselves. I hadn't heard too much about Issa Rae before, but after this I definitely want to seek out her work.
I had never heard of Brit Marling or the OA prior to this interview but I enjoy Sci-Fi so I think I will watch. I'm glad to see Issa advance so quickly. I remember watching Awkward Black Girl while I was in college. I'm happy for her like I know her :')
This was a beautiful and valuable conversation between two actors full of respect for each other that took on race, gender, and class directly. Their interaction was engaging and filled with nuggets of wisdom, and I'm glad to have had a window into it. This is easily one of my favorite interviews and gives me so much hope for the upcoming generation.
Love them both! The OA is so good and The sound of my voice. Awkward Black Girl was my go to while being in college. She's come a long way looking forward to season 2 of Insecure.
the segment's name is wrong in this one hahah. should be CREATORS on CREATORS, 'cause they go so beyond acting, they are next level artists. these women are fucking amazing. it was genious of variety to pair those two together... congrats to issa and brit, both are changing the industry and the culture in a powerfull way
Wow beautiful! I actually binge watched both of their shows one after another recently and totally love how they're having a conversation. Both fascinating and creative af
I love Issa Rae since the awkward black girl series. She is just such an original writer, producer and actress. I haven't heard of Brit but after this interview, I'm going to look into her work.
I really like her and her ideas but The Sound of my Voice and Another Earth definitely werent perfect. They both had cool concepts and were very good starting point. The OA on the other hand is an actual masterpiece in my eyes. She took it to the next level. I've been interested in her for a while but I think she just entered her prime. So it's exciting to see where she goes from here.
i love this pairing! ive never watched brit's work but i love how gentle she is and how gentle the conversation between the two of them are (: i just came from watching issa's HR roundtable and people were just talking over/interrupting each other and this was a breath of fresh air. just a lot of respect and attentiveness (given it is 1on1) but i loved hearing issa speaking and not getting spoken over!
The creators of my two favorite shows! I absolutely fell in love with both shows and watch them twice! So good and I actually got to meet Issa Rae! That was so exciting! She is so sweet and funny you guys!
Brit doesn't make much eye contact. I heard it's related to having A.D.D. She's also brilliant so it's interesting to see. Extremely passionate. Issa Rae is incredible as well
Possible explanation - Looking to your left when thinking or talking is a way of remembering/recalling elements of past experience visually or auditorily. Brit was constructing a thoughtful reply to Issa's in-depth and complex questions drawing from her past experiences. Issa often looks in both directions , but I thinks that is because she is constructing new thoughts while also reflecting. she also looks straight ahead without focus, which is another way of thinking. Brits responses were usually quite long and usually required much reflection. But that said, I have ADD and I seldom make eye contact while talking as I get distracted easily.
People watching this great conversation and then only commenting on Brit's eye contact should have not watched this viedo in the first place. And she does make eye contact, as one could see in her many talkshow videos.
I thought it was Britt Robertson in the thumbnail. Ironic they have the same name. This was my 1st intoduction to her. I like the way she spoke of Insecure. Being a writer/actor in the beginning stages I thought this was cool like when ppl ask "if you could give your younger self a piece of advice what would it be?"
Seriously, WHER IS the second season of The OA? It's been 3 years since the first one and the second one is not out yet. Insecure, for an exemple, is aready in it's third. So come on, Brit... Give us what we need!
Like Brit had said, it's like an 8 hour movie. Most 2 hour movies take years to make even for big name studios. So you can imagine why it would take Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij a few years to actually make another season. Even in this interview, at 25:20, Brit talks about the struggle of trying to create a film year after year.
it's a great talk and I love brit so much, but why does brit's eyes rarely look at issa's when she's talking to her, it's weird, cause she looks like doing a storytelling rather than an interview
So true -- storytelling IS political. Even if you're not producing something you think is political, you're still being political by simply upholding and supporting the status quo. I wish more people recognized that...
Brit Marling is just so out of this world. I've loved her since The Sound of My Voice and have seen everything she's ever been in, and her commencement speech was probably one of the best things she's ever done. However, I really enjoyed seeing her unscripted like this. I have no idea who Issa Rae is, but I'm not sure that her work really equals Brit's, or that they have anything in common besides doing a show. I guess I'm just not sure why they paired them. It almost seems like they only watched each other's work because they knew they had to interview together.
BriarRose I encourage you to Google Issa Rae...and then reflect on your comment. I had no clue who Brit Marling was and had the same thought, until they began speaking to each other. They are both storytellers and absolutely on par with one another...clearly evidenced by their exchange. Brit admits to binge watching Issa's show in the first moments of the conversation. Of the two, Issa actually seems to be the more accomplished of the two as both a creator, writer, published author, producer, and then some. I intend to do more research on Brit, but wish you had not assumed such a disparaging POV of the pairing before you commented.
Briar Rose - Issa Rae Carved out a very specific place place for herself as an artist, innovator, writer, director, who made a place for herself in the business. She got Insecure produced because she had such a huge following online for her online show. Same with Britt, they are both Mavericks in the " I can do it myself and then they will come market".
That's just ridiculous. You not liking it is perfectly fine but calling it aggressively terrible is laughable. When we have had TV shows such as Full House or Two and a Half Men.
The show isn't terrible - your lack of connection to its content is what feels terrible to you. So instead of posting exaggerated criticisms, perhaps you should figure out why you didn't connect to it and then use your valuable time to find something you do connect with. Just a thought.
This is by far my fave A on A. More interviews like this please, where artist talk more about the process and struggles and how they over came those struggles and less on how they admire each other. Save those conversations for Hollywood parties!
Idk. I am all for that conversation but I wish they didn't make that the whole thing. They complained about being pigeonholed as woman (which I have no problem with) but then pigeonholed themselves into only talking about being women. I'm just saying I would have also liked to hear them speak from the point of view of an artist and not a black female artist or a white female artist.
I already loved Issa Rae, and I love her even more in this. But, I've never heard of Brit Marling. This conversation, though, makes me really like her. She seems like a very interesting person, and that makes me want to check out The OA. I love the fact that she is clearly a big fan of Insecure. I like when creative people are openly fans of other creative people. It's endearing, in my opinion.
Well she played a blind person. I'm sure it's hard to make habits and spend months in that mode and all of a sudden just change them back. I'm sure it takes a bit of time to readjust.
Newb Brit fan here. I know it'll read skewed that a male fan is crushing on Brit. But seriously, she's so incredibly intellectual and thoughtful. How could anyone (regardless of gender) not appreciate how her intelligence??
