Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine

A circus parade is traveling down Main Street in a small town. At the back is an old man whose job it is to shovel the manure from all the circus animals into a big bag slung over his shoulder. A passer-by asks him how long he's been doing the job and how much he gets paid, to which he replies 50 years and $250 a week.  "Well why on earth don't you stop doing it and find a better job instead?" asks the passer-by. The old man replies, "What, and give up show business?" The great Gordon Hunt, a wonderful acting teacher and casting director, encouraged his students to think of every audition as a chance to act on a Tuesday. There are times when I am able to do that and times when it feels like an exercise in futility but his words have always stayed with me. And even though more often than not  the audition doesn't turn into the job, when I looked at the alternative of another career - perhaps one with more emotional and financial stability -  my answer would be, "What, and give up show business?!" So how do we actors do it? How do we leave the audition room feeling humiliated and get up the next day and do it again? Listen to famous actors like Molly Ringwald, Matthew Broderick, Dan Folger, Connie Schulman, Bryan Greenberg, Aasif Mandvi, John Slattery,  Roger Bart, Noah Emmerich and Mary Stuart Masterson share hilarious and inspiring stories from the audition trenches. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy Holidays from Little Known Facts  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Molly Ringwald,  international movie star, gets candid with Ilana about how she has handled a  lifetime of fame, growing up with a blind parent ,why she won't let her kids act and more. Molly began her film career at the age of 13 in Paul Mazursky’s Tempest, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. She went on to star in numerous films, including The Pick-Up Artist, For Keeps, Fresh Horses, Betsy’s Wedding, Cindy Sherman’s directorial debut Office Killer, Billy Bob Thornton’s short film Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade, and the iconic movies Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink.  In 1992, Ms. Ringwald moved to Paris and acted in such foreign films as Tous Les Jours Dimanches, Enfants de Salaud, and Jean-Luc Goddard’s King Lear. Her television credits include the critically-acclaimed comedy series Townies, Stephen King’s The Stand, the Emmy-nominated Allison Gertz Story, and the movie Molly: An American Girl, based on the American Girl series.  In 1997, Ms. Ringwald moved to New York City, where she starred in Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize winning How I Learned to Drive, a role she reprised at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Subsequent theater credits include playing the legendary “Sally Bowles” in the Broadway production of Cabaret; the Tony-nominated Broadway production of Enchanted April; and the London production of When Harry Met Sally. She created the role of Horton Foote’s Lily Dalein the NY off-Broadway production, performed the role of Salome (with Al Pacino), starred in Jonathan Larson’s musical Tick, Tick…Boom!, the hit comedy Modern Orthodox, and a national theater tour of the Bob Fosse musical Sweet Charity.  Molly was in the comedy TV show Raising Expectations, created by Tom Saunders (Arrested Development) which premiered on The Canadian Family Channel in May 2016. She starred in The Secret Life of the American Teenager on ABC Family, and was in the Blumhouse feature Jem and the Holograms, directed by Jon Chu, and the comic indie Bad Night. Molly can be seen in Justin Kelly’s film King Cobra, which premiered at The 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Molly recently guest starred on Bravo’s Odd Mom Out. Ms. Ringwald is the author of the national bestsellers, Getting the Pretty Back and When It Happens to You, and her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, Salon, Esquire, Allure, Tin House, the New York Times Book Review, and the Guardian, where she pens a weekly advice column.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In honor of Thanksgiving and in honor of 30 episodes shared, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to my friend, the actor John Slattery. John was the first actor to join us in the podcast booth and sit down for an interview when this was just a kernel of an idea. His enthusiasm and his confidence in me was a huge part of what became the "Little Known Facts" podcast. When we finished he told me he thought I was like a female Howard Stern. He meant it as a compliment, I think. So as a thank you to John, here's the first ever episode of "Little Known Facts."  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seth Rudetsky is the afternoon Broadway host  of Seth Speaks and Seth's Big Fat Radio Show on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio. He has played piano for over 15 Broadway shows, was Grammy-nominated for his concert CD of Hair and Emmy-nominated for being a comedy writer on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show." He has written two novels, "Broadway Nights" and "My Awesome/Awful Popularity Plan," which are also available at Audible.com. He has  launched SethTV.com, where you can contact him and view all of his videos and his sassy new reality show. He stars in  and co-wrote the Broadway Musical, Disaster!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tony-award winning actor Dan Fogler landed a starring role in the much-anticipated Warner Bros. film FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM. This next adventure into J.K. Rowling¹s magical world of witches and wizards will be released Thanksgiving 2016 and also stars Eddie Redmayne. Dan's performance in the Broadway production, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, earned him a Tony award in 2005. Directed by James Lapine, Danwas also honored with the Outer Critics Circle, The Lortel, Drama Desk for Best Ensemble, Theatre World Awards, and the New York Magazine Culture Award for Best Breakthrough Performance.  On the big screen, Dan has starred opposite Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart in LOVE HAPPENS for Universal Pictures and Ang Lee's TAKING WOODSTOCK with Liev Shreiber and Emile Hirsch. He was the lead in Relativity's TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT opposite Topher Grace and Anna Faris & Chris Pratt, and BALLS OF FURY with Christopher Walken for Focus Features. Dan received great notices for his starring role opposite Josh Duhamel in SCENIC ROUTE, which premiered at SXSW in 2013. On the animated feature front, Dan was heard as part of the voice cast in KUNG FU PANDA for Dreamworks alongside Jack Black and Jackie Chan, and Fox's HORTON HEARS A WHO with Steve Carrell and Jim Carrey. He starred opposite Seth Green in the Disney, Robert Zemeckis produced animated feature MARS NEEDS MOMS. Dan recently reunited with director James Lapine for the feature film, CUSTODY, opposite Viola Davis and Ellen Burstyn.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this special episode of Little Know Facts, Ilana's kids join us to express the importance of voting. We'll return next week with Dan Fogler.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DAPHNE RUBIN-VEGA is a two-time Tony and Drama Desk nominee (1996/2004) and recipient of the Theater World, Obie (1996) and Blockbuster (1998) awards. She has been a member of the Labyrinth Theater Company since 1992. Ms. Rubin-Vega is perhaps best known for the roles she originated, including Mimi ("RENT") and Conchita ("Anna in the Tropics"), both Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway shows for which she was nominated for the Tony award. She also originated the role of Rahmi ("Gum"), Sofia (Nilo Cruz' "Two Sisters and a Piano"), Canary Mary (Suzan-Lori Parks' "Fucking A") (Lucille Lortel nomination) and Lucy ("Jack Goes Boating") at the Public Theater, as well as starred in the Broadway revivals of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (Magenta) and "Les Miserables" (Fantine). Film credits include detective Gloria Perez in "Wild Things", starring Kevin Bacon and Matt Dillon (Blockbuster Award for Best Supporting Actress), Tia ("Flawless", opposite Robert De Niro), and most recently, reprising the role of Lucy in the film version of "Jack Goes Boating", Phillip Seymour Hoffman's film directorial debut. Other films include, "Justice", "Skeleton Woman" (New York Independent Film award), "Virgin", "Sex and the City", and "I Like It Like That".  Daphne Rubin-Vega is recognized for her singing as much as her acting. She was a member of the girl group Pajama Party, whose single "Yo No Se" was number one on the Billboard dance charts. They made two albums on Atlantic Records before Daphne began writing and recording solo singles for the indie dance label Maxi. In 1997, Rubin-Vega cut her first album of original music, "Souvenirs" on the subsequently defunct Mercury label and in 2006; she produced, performed, and primarily wrote "Redemption Songs" (Sh-K- Boom). Daphne has contributed to various musical projects, including her notorious version of "Feliz Navidad" for Broadway Cares and her club smash cover of "Rocketman". In 2005, she received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Kean University. "Dr." Rubin-Vega was born in Panama and raised in New York City where she lives with her husband and son.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Urie is the award-winning star of one of the most unexpected theater success stories in years, the brilliant and hilarious Buyer & Cellar.  Playing multiple characters – including Barbra Streisand – in this one-man tour de force, Urie has won the hearts of everyone smart enough to venture down to the Village for a night of off-Broadway genius that won him the Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, LA Theatre Critics and the Clarence Derwent Awards for Most Promising Male Performer. Before Buyer & Cellar, Urie was probably best known as the delicious Marc St. James on the award-winning Ugly Betty, the series that introduced him to and made him a favorite of TV audiences everywhere. Following that series, he spent most of his time in critically acclaimed stage productions. He played iconic fashion designer Rudi Gernreich in The Temperamentals, a role he originated in New York where he received the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor.  He followed that run with appearances off-Broadway in the Classic Stage Company’s production of The Cherry Orchard, the revival of Angels in America, and opposite Patti LuPone in Lincoln Center Theater’s world premiere of Shows For Days. But his lifelong dream of Broadway came when he took on the role of Bud Frump in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, opposite Nick Jonas and Beau Bridges.  Critics raved that not since Charles Nelson Reilly originated the role had Bud Frump delighted audiences as Urie did.  The run ended in time for him to star in the short-lived but much-loved CBS series Partners.  Since Partners, he’s appeared on the small screen in Modern Family, The Good Wife, Hot in Cleveland, Younger and Workaholics.  He can currently be seen curating and hosting movies on Logo’s Cocktails & Classics.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A two-time Tony award-winning stage actor and instantly recognizable film presence, Matthew Broderick will next be seen on screen in Rules Don’t Apply opposite Warren Beatty, Annette Bening and Lily Collins. He will next star in Look Away alongside Chloe Sevigny and Aidan Turner set for a 2016 release.  On stage, Broderick most recently starred in A. R. Gurney’s comedy Sylvia alongside Annaleigh Ashford. Previously he starred in the smash Broadway hit It’s Only a Play opposite his frequent co-star Nathan Lane, as well as the award-winning Broadway run of Nice Work If You Can Get It. Additionally, he starred in the Broadway production of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple and The Foreigner at the Roundabout Theatre. In 2005, he starred in the feature film version of The Producers, reprising the Tony-nominated performance he gave on Broadway in this smash hit musical.   A New York native, he made his professional stage debut opposite his father, James Broderick, at age 17 in the production of On Valentine’s Day.  His performance in Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy, won him the Outer Critic’s Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor. Broderick won his first Tony Award for Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs, and starred in the play’s sequel, Biloxi Blues.  He won his second Tony for his role as J. Pierrepont Finch, in the Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Broderick also starred in the record-breaking production of The Producers for which he was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for his role as Leo Bloom. Additional theater credits include Night Must Fall and Taller Than a Dwarf.  On screen, Broderick starred in the critically acclaimed You Can Count on Me opposite Laura Linney.  He also earned considerable acclaim starring opposite Reese Witherspoon in the Independent Spirit Award winning political satire Election, directed by Alexander Payne.   Broderick has also starred in such blockbuster movies as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Glory, War Games, and Disney’s The Lion King, as the adult voice of Simba.  Additional credits include Dirty Weekend, Tower Heist, Margaret, Bee Movie, Then She Found Me, Deck the Halls, The Last Shot, The Stepford Wives, Inspector Gadget, Godzilla, Addicted to Love, The Cable Guy, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, The Night We Never Met, The Freshman, Family Business and Max Dugan Returns. In addition to his stage, screen and Broadway credits, he has also appeared on Modern Family, 30 Rock, the Showtime film Master Harold…and the Boys and received an Emmy nomination for the TNT production of David Mamet’s A Life in the Theater in which he starred opposite Jack Lemmon. Broderick resides in New York with his wife Sarah Jessica Parker and their three children.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Talia Balsam has had a fascinating career on stage and in film and television. Some of her TV roles include the new HBO Series - Divorce, Zelda, The Newsroom, Mad Men, The Good Wife, Homeland, Nurse Jackie, Elementary, Treme, K Street, Without A Trace, Larry Sanders Show, Calamity Jane, Consenting Adults and Kent State.  Films include Ira Sachs' Little Men, Don’t Worry Baby, Girl In The Book, No Strings Attached, The Cake Eaters, All The King’s Men, Little Manhattan, Line Of Fire, In The Mood, Mass Appeal and The Wackness. On stage she has starred on Broadway in Jake’s Women (Theater World Award winner) and Originated roles in John Patrick Shanley's Psychopathia Sexualis, Snake Bit , F2M - Good Television, Cedar City Falls, Vicious ( Theater World Award and LA Weekly Award winner) and the Ladies Room.  She is married to actor John Slattery and has a son and a dog.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

JULIE WHITE recently starred opposite Matthew Broderick and Annaleigh Ashford in the Broadway revival of A.R. Gurney’s play “Sylvia” under the direction of Dan Sullivan. White won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her role in “The Little Dog Laughed.”  White recently starred in the 2015 production of Lisa D’Amour’s new play “Airline Highway” under the direction of Joe Mantello, and for her portrayal of “Tanya” she was nominated for Tony, Drama Desk, and Drama League Awards. White has also starred on Broadway in “Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike,” “The Heidi Chronicles” and Off-Broadway in "The Understudy" and "Fiction" for The Roundabout, "Twelfth Night" at The Delacorte for The Public Theatre and "Bad Dates" for Playwrights Horizons, to name some favorites.  She has won The Obie, The Elliot Norton Award, The Ovation and been nominated multiple times for  Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Drama League Awards. On the big screen, Julie appeared in “Lincoln” for Steven Spielberg as Elizabeth Blair Lee opposite Daniel Day Lewis and Sally Field.   She has been a staple in the indie film market in such films as "Breaking Upwards", “Hello I Must Be Going”, "Morning", “My Idiot Brother” and "Life Partners," which premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival.  Studio features include the massively successful  franchise “Transformers 1, 2 & 3,” as well as “Michael Clayton,” opposite George Clooney, “The Astronaut Farmer,” starring Billy Bob Thornton, and the animated film "Monsters vs Aliens." On television, Julie recurred on Showtime as “Nurse Jackie”'s AA sponsor, Antoinette. She starred opposite John Goodman in the Garry Trudeau/Amazon’s series "Alpha House” and  on NBC’s "Go On" opposite Matthew Perry playing Anne for which she won The Gracie Award. Other memorable TV roles are Mitzi Dalton Huntley in Alan Ball's "Six Feet Under,” Nadine Swoboda on ABC’s “Grace Under Fire, ”and Dr. Anne Morella on "Law and Order SVU.”  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dominic Fumusa is best known for playing "Kevin Peyton" opposite Edie Falco on Showtime's acclaimed show "Nurse Jackie" which ran for seven seasons from 2009-2015. Fumusa's extensive theater experience includes originating roles in the NY premieres of Sarah Ruhl's Stage Kiss and Passion Play, Richard Greenberg's Tony Award winning Take Me Out (NY and London), Melissa James Gibson's Obie Award winning [sic] and Stephen Belber's plays The Power of Duff, Fault Lines and Tape (NY, London and Los Angeles). His Broadway debut was in the 1998 revival of Wait Until Dark opposite Marisa Tomei and Quentin Tarantino. Select regional theater credits include numerous plays at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, the Stratford Festival in Canada, the Huntington Theater in Boston, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and the Humana Festival at the Actors Theater of Louisville. Fumusa's film work includes playing the real life hero John "Tig" Tiegen in this year's 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi directed by Michael Bay. Last year Fumusa appeared opposite Will Smith and Margot Robbie in the romantic comedy Focus. Other film work includes Allegiance, Helena from the Wedding, Management and Little New York. Other television work includes upcoming recurring roles on "Homeland" (Showtime) and "Taken"(NBC). He has also had numerous guest and recurring roles on such shows as "Blue Bloods," "Elementary," "Person of Interest," "Damages," "Sex and the City," "The Sopranos," "Bones" and many others. Fumusa earned his BA in Government from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI in 1991 and his MFA in Acting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1994. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife, actress and producer Ilana Levine, and their two children, Georgia and Caleb.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Laura Linney is an American actress who works in film, television and theatre.  Her film work includes GENIUS directed by Michael Grandage, alongside Colin Firth, Jude Law and Nicole Kidman and Tom Ford’s upcoming NOCTURNAL ANIMALS and THE DINNER directed by Oren Moverman with Richard Gere, Steve Coogan and Rebecca Hall. Most recently she has been seen in MR. HOLMES directed by Bill Condon, starring Ian McKellan, She has appeared in YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, KINSEY, and THE SAVAGES (nominations), THE FIFTH ESTATE,  HYDE PARK ON HUDSON, THE SQUID AND THE WHALE, MYSTIC RIVER, ABSOLUTE POWER, THE TRUMAN SHOW, PRIMAL FEAR, THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, LOVE ACTUALLY,  P.S., THE HOUSE OF MIRTH, THE DETAILS and CONGO, among others. She starred in and produced the Showtime Series THE BIG C for four seasons for which she won a few awards, as she did for her portrayal of Abigail Adams in the HBO miniseries JOHN ADAMS directed by Tom Hooper. Early in her career she starred as Mary Ann Singleton in Armistead Maupin’s TALES OF THE CITY series, a job for which she continues to be most grateful and proud. She appeared as Kelsey Grammer’s final girlfriend in the last six episodes of FRASIER, was directed by Stanley Donen in LOVE LETTERS, and starred opposite Joanne Woodward in BLINDSPOT.  She has appeared in many Broadway productions, most notably TIME TIMES STILL and SIGHT UNSEEN both directed by Daniel Sullivan and written by Donald Margulies, and Arthur Miller’s THE CRUCIBLE directed by Richard Eyre opposite Liam Neeson with whom she has worked many times. Other plays include SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, HONOUR, UNCLE VANYA, LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES, HOLIDAY and THE SEAGULL. She has been nominated three times for the Academy Award, three times for the Tony Award, once for a BAFTA  Award, and five times for the Golden Globe. She has won one SAG Award, one National Board of Review Award, two Golden Globes and four Emmy Awards. She holds two honorary Doctorates from her alma maters, Brown University and The Juilliard School.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Aasif Mandvi is well known for his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy-winning show, THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART. Most recently, Aasif wrote, produced, and starred in the HBO series, THE BRINK, co-starring Jack Black and Tim Robbins. Other recent television appearances include CBS’s PERSON OF INTEREST and MADAM SECRETARY. Mandvi recently starred opposite Kate Hudson, Jennifer Aniston, and Julia Roberts in MOTHER’S DAY, directed by Garry Marshall. November also marked the release of his memoir, NO LAND’S MAN, a collection of humorous and personal stories published by Chronicle Books. Mandvi co-created and starred in the Peabody Award winning web-series, HALAL IN THE FAMILY, which addressed anti-muslim bigotry through humour and received a staggering 577 media impressions worldwide. Mandvi also received rave reviews for originating the role of ‘Amir Kapoor’ in the world premiere of Ayad Aktahr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, DISGRACED, at Lincoln Center. He was the recipient of the 1999 OBIE award for SAKINA’S RESTAURANT, a play he wrote and starred in. Other stage credits include the Broadway revival of OKLAHOMA and SUBURBIA. In film, Aasif’s recent work includes, MILLION DOLLAR ARM with Jon Hamm, THE INTERNSHIP, starring alongside Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, MOVIE 43, THE DICTATOR with Sacha Baron Cohen, DARK HORSE for Todd Solondz, RUBY SPARKS, (from the creators of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE), GODS BEHAVING BADLY, and PREMIUM RUSH. He also co-wrote and starred in TODAY’S SPECIAL, which premiered at the London Film Festival. Additional film credits include leads in THE LAST AIRBENDER and THE MYSTIC MASSEUR, and supporting roles in IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY, THE PROPOSAL, GHOST TOWN, MUSIC AND LYRICS, SPIDER-MAN 2, FREEDOMLAND, ANALYZE THIS, MARGIN CALL, and THE SIEGE.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices