Acting

The actor, who's currently starring in Glenngarry Glen Ross opposite Al Pacino, has been acting for the stage since he was a teenager in Union City, N.J. "It was the only thing I ever wanted to do, really," he says.

The actress plays Gemma, the fierce matriarch of the biker gang in the FX series. She's best-known for playing the acerbic Peg Bundy on the long-running show Married With Children.

He's appeared in over 100 films and TV shows, but you still might not know his name. In his memoir, The Dangerous Animals Club, actor Stephen Tobolowsky talks about falling in love with comedy — and playing characters who are always on the story's fringes.

The star of 30 Rock has two films out this summer. He plays a club owner in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages. And he travels to Italy with an ensemble cast for Woody Allen's To Rome with Love.

The actor stars in Aaron Sorkin's new HBO drama The Newsroom, playing an anchorman inspired to give up fluff pieces and return to hard-hitting journalism.

The actor plays a righteous federal agent who succumbs to all sorts of temptations on the HBO drama Boardwalk Empire. To build the character of Nelson Van Alden, he says, he worked out an elaborate back story about the agent's childhood.

Student-turned-drug dealer Jesse Pinkman was supposed to die in the first season of the AMC drama. But the writers decided the chemistry between high school teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) was too good to let go.

The Irish actor plays a cynical, small-town cop who is thrust out of his comfort zone in the black comedy The Guard. "I've met men like [my character] quite a lot," Gleeson says. "People who are underused a little bit and have terribly sharp wit, but pretend to be a little bit stupid."

Peter Falk, who was known for his portrayal of the disheveled and seemingly inept homicide detective Lt. Columbo, died on Thursday at age 83. Fresh Air remembers the actor with excerpts from a 1995 interview.

Michelle Williams plays settler Emily Tetherow in Kelly Reichardt's frontier drama Meek's Cutoff. Both Williams and Reichardt join Fresh Air's Terry Gross for a discussion about the film, which was shot with exquisite landscapes and virtually no dialogue.

Director and screenwriter Tom McCarthy's film Win-Win stars Paul Giamatti as a high school wrestling coach struggling with a moral dilemma. McCarthy, a former wrestler himself, explains why he left the mats in high school and turned to improv comedy.

Virtually unknown in America until his Oscar-nominated role in the 1993 film In The Name of the Father, the British actor died Jan. 2 after a long battle with cancer. Fresh Air remembers him with highlights from a 1997 interview.

The British stage and film star -- a member of a storied acting dynasty -- died Sunday after "a seven-year journey with breast cancer," her family said. She was 67. Fresh Air remembers the star of Georgy Girl and The Happy Hooker with excerpts from a 1986 conversation.

The son of a career diplomat, the actor explains how being a theater geek helped him acclimate to new schools every few years — and details how he channeled his father while playing White House Counsel Oliver Babish on Aaron Sorkin's drama The West Wing. Platt currently stars in Nicole Holofcener's film Please Give.

Chances are you've seen Australian actress Toni Collette in more roles that you realize. Collette has starred in Muriel's Wedding, The Sixth Sense and Little Miss Sunshine and currently plays several roles on Showtime's United States of Tara.