43 - Jake McDorman (The Right Stuff)

Actor Jake McDorman joins host Jenny Curtis to talk about the Disney+ series THE RIGHT STUFF, the lessons he's learned throughout his career, and behind the scenes stories from his many projects. Throughout the conversation they discuss: 0:36 - the impending election at the time of the recording 1:15 - his experience of quarantine and being back in Los Angeles 3:03 - getting to live through the fantasy of being an astronaut and learning about the history of the space race in THE RIGHT STUFF 5:22 - finding inspiration in unique ways per projects 5:55 - Getting to learn about the real life Alan Shepard from conversations with astronauts who'd met him. 7:34 - Taking a road trip to Florida in order to have time to absorb his research 8:50 - Getting to do some astronaut training, including what Jenny calls 'the spinny thing' 10:25 - The casting process and feeling like he bombed his initial audition. 14:34 - Having the role of Alan be offered to him without reading and how that changed his process of approaching the role. 16:38 - The cast's united effort to prepare without having much rehearsal 17:23 - The big confrontation scene with John Glenn and Alan Shepard 18:38 - The episode shoot order 19:46 - Always finding the character on the last day and watching his work in post. 22:41 - What makes a hero in the face of public image versus human flaws 24:23 - What the feeling of being strapped to a rocket and being blasted into space could be like. 26:35 - Taking classes when he was young and his experience of moving to LA for pilot season 29:10 - Booking Quintuplets and gushing over Andy Richter 30:48 - Having a tight-knit ensemble on GREEK and staying close 31:40 - Actively deciding with his reps to pursue projects on a more mature level, beginning with SHAMELESS 35:15 - Lessons learned from Bradley Cooper in working with him on AMERICAN SNIPER and LIMITLESS. 38:05 - Dealing with the anxiety in wanting to get it right 39:02 - AMERICAN SNIPER's quick process 39:53 - Moving quickly on LIMITLESS 42:15 - Having LIMITLESS being a different kind of procedural 45:08 - Thinking about where Brian Finch might be had the show continued 46:00 - Loving LADY BIRD and connecting to the script immediately with a unique connection to St. Francis 47:53 - Knowing that when production asks you to prepare something "just in case", you'll definitely need it, and brushing up on algebra for LADY BIRD 49:09 - Using GREEK to learn all the lessons from set 50:07 - Getting cast in the series, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, the surprising scene on his first day on set, and Taika Waititi having some fun. 54:27 - his upcoming holiday film, HAPPIEST SEASON. 55:30 - The consummate actors he's worked with setting the tone on set and getting to apply that when leading LIMITLESS. 58:03 - What 'The Right Stuff' is to be in the entertainment industry 58:42 - Getting sappy and loving this medium of telling stories. ----------------- Learn More:

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43 - Jake McDorman (The Right Stuff) is an episode from Hollywood Unscripted by CurtCo Media.

This episode is 60:36 long.

This episode was published on Nov 9, 2020.

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