Director, writer, and actor Benny Safdie stops by Sam&rsquo;s home this week to discuss his new film, <a href="https://www.fandango.com/the-smashing-machine-2025-240454/movie-overview">The Smashing Machine</a> (1:30)&mdash;an unflinching portrait of mixed martial arts icon Mark Kerr (7:00), played by Dwayne &ldquo;The Rock&rdquo; Johnson (9:00). &nbsp; In the second half, we revisit our conversation from 2023. There, Safdie unpacks his collaboration with comedian Nathan Fielder on their television series <a href="https://www.sho.com/the-curse">The Curse</a> (44:30), the timely premise that inspired the show (47:20), and his history of capturing real-life personalities on film (51:20). Then, he describes his early connection to the 1979 movie Kramer v Kramer (54:20), a New York encounter with photographer Robert Frank (59:20), and how directors Robert Bresson (1:03:20) and Frederick Wiseman (1:03:50) opened his eyes to the possibilities of street casting. &nbsp; We also dive into Benny&rsquo;s co-directing work alongside his brother, Josh Safdie (1:05:15), a heartbreaking scene from their debut feature&nbsp;Daddy Longlegs (1:09:26), and the projects that followed (1:14:15):&nbsp;Good Time, Lenny Cooke, and Uncut Gems. To close, Safdie talks about why he worked as a boom operator while directing (1:20:00), his recent pivot to acting (1:21:23), and his full circle moment of playing an astrophysicist in Oppenheimer (1:33:20). &nbsp; Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at talkeasypod@gmail.com.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

A Cup of Coffee with Director Benny Safdie (‘The Smashing Machine’)

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

AI Chapters

AI Insights

Reviews