Talk Easy With Sam Fragoso

Legendary Oscar-nominated actor Robert Forster invited Sam to his favourite breakfast spot for a wide ranging chat about his life and career. Back to his early days growing up in freezing cold Rochester, getting his first role on a John Huston film starring Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor, and all the way to his incredible work with Quentin Tarantino on 'Jackie Brown'. Forster, a consumate storyteller, shares stories of marrying his wife after only five dates, having a life epiphany while running a marathon, and walking into his first film audition without any fear. Plus, advice on the best way to wash dishes and change diapers. Watch Forster's latest film, The American Side, in theatres and VOD. Music by Vanilla @vanilla. Original illustration by Krishna Shenoi http://krishnabalashenoi.com/.

Sam sits down with Amy Nicholson, the new Chief Film Critic for MTV News, to talk about her experiences growing up in San Antonio, her college life, the nightmare August that set her on the path toward film criticism , her book about Tom Cruise, and helping to build the new MTV. 'Tom Cruise: Anatomy of an Actor': https://www.amazon.com/Tom-Cruise-Anatomy-Amy-Nicholson/dp/0714868019/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465915344&sr=8-1&keywords=tom+cruise+anatomy+of+an+actor Music by Vanilla @vanilla. Original illustration by Krishna Shenoi http://krishnabalashenoi.com/.

Author, poet, filmmaker Sherman Alexie has been an articulate, outspoken artistic voice in the Native American community for over 20 years. His collections of poetry and novels have received wide acclaim, including a 2007 National Book Award for his young adult novel, 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.' Alexie sits down with Sam for a raw, funny, political, and often emotional conversation about growing up on a reservation, his extraordinary career, his sometimes fraught relationship with Native American critics, his frustrations with the Bernie Sanders movement, and the new generation of brown-skinned activists taking up the mantle. Music by Vanilla @vanilla. Original illustration by Krishna Shenoi http://krishnabalashenoi.com/.

NBA Hall of Famer Spencer Haywood, featured in the new documentary "Full Court: The Spencer Haywood Story," joins Sam to talk about his amazing career in basketball, fighting against the system and paying the cost, the weight of addiction, and living to be a savior. Music by Vanilla http://soundcloud.com/vanilla. Original illustration by Krishna Shenoi https://krishnabalashenoi.com/.

Canadian-born indie musician Mac DeMarco joins Sam to discuss going to school in Montreal, touring with his band, his happy relationship, fans show up at his house in the middle of the night, and even some thoughts on Donald Trump! Music by Vanilla http://soundcloud.com/vanilla. Original illustration by Krishna Shenoi https://krishnabalashenoi.com/.

The Ross Brothers, Bill and Turner, have made a name for themselves in the film scene, putting together documentaries with the quality of atmosphere, composition, experimentation, and editing usually reserved for fiction films. The brothers joined Sam, fiery hard liquor in hand, at the San Francisco International Film Festival to talk about their concert film, "Contemporary Color," about David Byrne's multi-artist color guard arena show. Music by Vanilla http://soundcloud.com/vanilla. Original illustration by Krishna Shenoi https://krishnabalashenoi.com/.

This week, Lamorne Morris, actor, comedian and star of 'New Girl', sits down to talk about everything from his early start at Second City and hosting a show on BET, to his dating life as a successful actor in Los Angeles. Morris also shares the story of his long journey to landing the role of Winston on 'New Girl', and discusses writing the Black Lives Matter-themed episode, 'Par 5'. Music by http://soundcloud.com/vanilla. Original illustration by Krishna Shenoi.

Wesley Morris, fresh from delivering a keynote address at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and only a few months into his new job as Critic-at-Large at The New York Times, sits down with Sam to discuss his work, and the task of making criticism speak to wider social and cultural concerns. Special thanks to the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival for hosting this conversation. More info about the festival here: http://Festival.sffs.org Original illustration by Krishna Shenoi. Music for the show provided by https://soundcloud.com/vanilla.

Actor David Oyelowo sits down with Sam to talk about his new film 'Five Nights in Maine', his experience making 'Selma', the controversy surrounding the upcoming Nina Simone biopic, and being an "anomaly" as a black actor in Hollywood. Special thanks to the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival for hosting this conversation. More info about the festival here: http://Festival.sffs.org Music for the show provided by https://soundcloud.com/vanilla.

Sam talks with writer-director-actress Amy Seimetz about her new Starz series, The Girlfriend Experience, working as a woman in Hollywood, suffering personal loss and professional success at the same time, and getting to be on the set of a Ridley Scott blockbuster.

Sam sits down with comedian W. Kamau Bell to talk about his new CNN series, "United Shades of America," his upcoming Showtime stand-up special, being a person of color in show business, and having sex to Radiohead.

Don Cheadle joins Sam to talk about his directorial debut, 'Miles Ahead', the music of Miles Davis, and the allure of becoming a plumber. Music provided by Vanilla. https://soundcloud.com/vanilla

Introducing a new longform interview podcast, hosted by writer Sam Fragoso.