William H. Macy

In the two-hour solo portion of his interview, William H. Macy describes studying acting with playwright David Mamet at Goddard College, and goes into detail about the acting method he and Mamet developed together: Practical Aesthetics. He tells the story of co-founding the St. Nicholas Theatre Company and the Atlantic Theater Company, before moving on to his early film and television work. Macy describes writing an episode of thirtysomething and appearing as "Dr. David Morgenstern" on ER. He discusses his determination and ultimate success being cast in the film “Fargo,” and touches on other notable film roles in “Boogie Nights” and “Pleasantville.” He tells the story behind his TV movie Door to Door and then discusses his current role as “Frank Gallagher” on Shameless, including specific episodes, and writing and directing episodes of the series. He concludes by discussing his proudest career achievements and giving advice to aspiring actors. In their nearly one-hour joint interview, Huffman and Macy tell the story of how they met and the first time they appeared on stage together. They discuss the challenges of balancing their careers and their marriage, the pros and cons of working together, and their favorite stories about each other. They touch on TV movies they worked on together and conclude by sharing where they see themselves in ten years. Adrienne Faillace conducted the interviews on February 2, 2016 in Los Angeles, CA.