Welcome to the Deep Dive. This is where we take
a whole stack of sources on really fascinating
subjects and we just drill down, we get you the
essential insights, those aha moments you need
to really understand something. And our mission
today... Well, it's an in -depth look at an actor's
career, someone whose success might feel to a
lot of people like it happened overnight. But
as we're going to unpack, it was built very methodically.
Role by careful role. We're talking prestige
TV, huge movies, and some, frankly, unnerving
character work over the last, what, decade or
so. Easily. Yeah. We are diving deep into the
world, the work, and the recent huge win for
Jesse Plemons. Yeah, he really is. I mean, if
you were trying to define that modern character
actor archetype. This person who just elevates
everything they're in. Yes, him. Plemons would
be kind of the textbook example. He was born
April 2nd, 1988, Dallas, Texas. And the resume
he's already racked up, it's... Pretty staggering.
We're talking nominations for an Academy Award,
three primetime Emmys, a BAFTA nod. It's not
just flashing success, right? It's consistent
quality, recognized at the highest levels. Exactly.
Consistent excellence. And the timing for this
deep dive, it feels really critical, doesn't
it? Because he just had this massive career peak.
Oh, absolutely. Just now, 2024. winning the Best
Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival. Well,
Pines of Kindness, the Yorgos Lanthimos film.
Right, which is, I mean, that's a huge international
stamp of approval. Yeah. Artistically speaking.
And that comes right after his Oscar nomination
back in 2022 for The Power of the Dog. So this
whole trajectory, you know, from this kid in
a small Texas town to being crowned essentially
the King of Cannes. That's what we're here to
unpack for you. And I think what makes Plemons
so distinctive. right off the bat, is this very
specific style he has. It almost feels accidental
sometimes. How so? Well, the sources always point
this out. He gets typecast a lot. Yeah. As the
quiet guy. Sometimes unassuming, but often deeply
unnerving. Yeah, that quiet intensity. And that
signature style, it's tied directly to his roots.
You hear the Texas accent, obviously. There's
this sort of grounded, almost cowboyish persona.
But maybe the most important part, his use of
pauses, chromatic pauses. He really does weaponize
silence, doesn't he? He absolutely does. It's
like his presence just suggests all this tension
boiling right on the surface, even when he seems
calm. That's the key, I think, that contrast.
He looks, you know, pretty normal, maybe even
benign sometimes. And then, bam, absolute menace.
Precisely. Okay, so let's dig into this from
the start. Because that grounded thing, that
stillness you mentioned, it definitely seems
rooted in how he grew up. Right. So born in Dallas,
like I said, but he didn't stay there long. He
was raised in Mart, Texas. And Mart is, well,
it's a very small town, population just over
2 ,000 people. It's about 20, 21 miles east of
Waco. Okay. So definitely not Hollywood adjacent.
Not at all. This context feels really important.
He grew up in a place focused on, you know, community,
high school sports, hard work. Not show business.
And the family background kind of backs that
up too, right? Very practical, not stage parents.
Totally. He's the younger of two kids. His dad,
Jim Bob Plemons, was a firefighter. And interestingly,
also an amateur rodeo competitor. Rodeo. Wow.
Okay. Yeah. And his mom, Lisa Plemons, she was
a special education trainer. So you've got this
foundation of like public service on one hand
and this rural competitive thing on the other.
That definitely seems like it would contribute
to that sort of down -to -earth quality he has
on screen. It must ground him. But okay, despite
all the small -town stuff, the acting bug bit
really, really early. Incredibly early. His career
technically kicked off in 1991. He was just three
years old. Three? Doing what? A Coca -Cola commercial.
Ha! Classic. Right. And by the time he was eight,
he was already doing extra work, and his family
was supportive enough. to start taking him out
to L .A. for auditions. Wow, at eight. That's
commitment from everyone involved. It really
is. This wasn't just some after -school hobby.
It was treated like a potential career path,
pretty much from elementary school. That kind
of early start, especially being from a small
town in Texas, it must create some serious logistical
challenges, especially with school. And you mentioned
sports earlier. Oh, yeah. The sources are clear.
He was a dedicated football player, middle school,
junior high, and then at Mart High School. And
Texas high school football is, well, it's a religion,
basically. Exactly. So he was deep in that world.
But the acting kept pulling him away. Eventually,
the conflict just became too much. As the acting
jobs picked up, especially around 2006, he had
to make a call. So how did he finish school?
He ended up getting his high school diploma in
2007 through a distance learning program. The
Texas Tech University Independent School District.
OK, so he essentially chose acting over the traditional
high school path, left the football team, the
regular classes. Yeah. Think about that focus
for a teenager to consciously sacrifice that
whole social experience in sports to chase acting
full time. That shows serious drive. And if you
look at the roles he was getting back then before
the really big break. It's kind of a time cap.
It really is. Late 90s, early 2000s stuff. He
popped up in Varsity Blues in 99. Makes sense,
the football connection. Right. And all the pretty
horses in 2000. But then he was also doing guest
spots on TV shows that were huge at the time.
Like? Like Walker, Texas Ranger. Of course. Texas
royalty. And, maybe the weirdest contrast, Sabrina,
the Teenage Witch. Wow. Okay. Walker and Sabrina.
That's strange, I guess. Even back then, yeah.
Texas action hero stuff. Then this stylized teen
fantasy show. His first sort of prominent movie
role was in a film called Children on their birthdays
in 2002. And he kept plugging away with TV guest
roles. Important stuff for learning the ropes,
you know. Judging Amy, CSI, even Grey's Anatomy
back in 2006. Right. So this wasn't an overnight
thing at all. He'd put in, what, nearly 15 years
of work before he landed the role that really
changed things for him? Exactly. It was a long
apprenticeship, learning the craft, learning
how sets work. building those foundational skills.
That kind of long grind seems really common for
character actors, doesn't it? They don't just
explode, they build, they accumulate. Absolutely.
And all those skills, all that experience was
about to get a major spotlight when he landed
a role that ironically took him right back to
Texas football. And that breakthrough, of course,
was Landry Clark in Friday Night Lights. Clear
eyes, full hearts. Can't lose. Yeah. Yeah. So
2006, he's 18 years old, joins the cast of this
incredible NBC drama, filmed in Austin, set in
fictional Dillon, Texas. He ended up doing 59
episodes, really became part of the fabric of
that show. And Landry, especially in that first
season, he was perfect. He was the comic relief,
right? Totally. He was the outsider. Sweet, kind
of nerdy, definitely not a football player. Best
friend to Matt Saracen, the quarterback. He grounded
all the high stakes football drama, provided
that necessary contrast to the witty commentary
from the sidelines. It was such a great performance.
But here's a fantastic little insight from behind
the scenes that the sources mention. For you,
the listener, this is gold. Apparently, the running
joke on the Friday Night Lights set, among the
cast, the crew, everybody, was that... Jesse
Plemons, playing the non -athlete, could actually
play football way better than most of the actors
whose characters were supposed to be the stars
of the team. No way. That's hilarious. So he's
the guy who actually knows how to play, having
to pretend he doesn't. Exactly. Yeah. He had
the actual high school football background. He
knew the game instinctively in a way a lot of
the others maybe didn't. That must have been
fun for him. Well, and it definitely informed
his commitment later on. Because the story took
a turn, right? Yeah, Landry joins the team in
season two, which felt kind of out of nowhere,
but worked. It did. And when that happened, Plemons,
drawing on his own playing days, insisted on
doing all his own stunts during the football
scenes. Okay, now that's commitment. And that
leads to a pretty famous story from the set,
doesn't it? About his dedication getting a little
too real. It really does speak volumes. The sources
detail this one scene, his first big football
scene as a Panther. The direction was basically
that Landry was supposed to, and I'm quoting
here, get the crap beat out of him over and over
and over again. Ouch. Sounds about right for
Landry's first foray onto the field. So during
one of these really intense takes, he gets hit
hard by Taylor Kitsch, who played Tim Riggins.
Riggins hitting Landry. Yeah, that tracks. And
the hit was real enough that it split Plemmons'
chin wide open. He needed 11 stitches. 11 stitches
for a TV show scene. Wow. Yeah. It wasn't fake
blood that time. That was the actual physical
price of him wanting to make it look authentic,
putting his body on the line. That's more than
just acting. That's, like you said, real commitment.
But going through something like that, that intensity,
it probably builds strong bonds, too. It definitely
seemed to forge some lasting professional connections.
After Friday Night Lights wrapped up in 2011,
Plemons worked with Taylor Kitsch again pretty
quickly, and also with Peter Berg, the show's
creator. They all did the movie Battleship together
in 2012. Right, I remember that. But what's really
fascinating is why Peter Berg brought Plemons
onto that film. Berg actually said he wrote the
part for Plemons specifically as, get this, protection
for Taylor Kitsch. Protection? That sounds weird.
What did he mean by that? A bodyguard? No, not
literally. It speaks more to Plemons' effect
on other actors. Burt's quote was, I know that
he's really good for Taylor and he makes Taylor
better. Burt saw bringing Plemons in as like
bringing in a trusted family member. Someone
who grounds the scene, supports the lead actor.
Wow. That's an incredible compliment from a director
like Peter Burt to be seen as the guy who makes
the star better. It's huge. It tells you that
early on, Plemons wasn't just seen as talented,
but as this vital piece of the puzzle. Someone
who brings stability, enhances chemistry, lifts
a whole production. That's a reputation you want.
The anchor. The guy who makes everyone else look
good. And that reputation, that grounded presence,
was about to become the perfect setup for a massive
shift in his career. He's about to go from Landry
Clark, the lovable best friend, to something
much, much darker. Yeah, the shift was incredibly
fast. Really effective. Right after the warmth
of Friday Night Lights, he takes on probably
one of the most chilling roles in recent TV history.
Todd Alquist, Breaking Bad. Alquist. Joined in
the final season, 2012 -2013. Started recurring
in the first half, season 5A. Then got bumped
up to a series regular for the final stretch,
5B. And Todd, man, he is maybe the ultimate example
of that Plemons signature we talked about. That
quiet menace. Absolutely. He was so polite. Almost
unfailingly polite. And completely calm. But
underneath. Just a total sociopath. No shouting,
no big dramatic villain moments, just dead eyes.
A very business -like approach to horrific violence.
Like killing someone one minute, then casually
asking about what's for dinner the next. It was
terrifying. That performance just locked in his
ability to play that specific kind of quiet evil.
And it stuck, too. He came back to play Todd
again years later. In the El Camino movie in
2019. Right. But it was that initial Breaking
Bad run that really blew people away. And it
led to, well, it led to the nickname. Yes. The
nickname, Meth Damon. OK, let's talk about that,
because on one hand, it's kind of funny acknowledging
the resemblance to Matt Damon. But on the other
hand. He's just delivered this incredible nuanced
performance and suddenly he's defined by looking
like another more established star. Did that
bother him? He definitely talked about it. But
here's the kicker, the really great deep dive
detail that the sources highlight. The nickname
came about purely because of the physical resemblance
to Matt Damon during Breaking Bad. But the irony,
Plemons had already played a younger version
of Matt Damon's character way back in 2000. All
the pretty horses. Exactly. when Plemons was
only 12 years old. So that resemblance was actually
part of his professional life long before anyone
called him Meth Damon. That's wild. So a thing
that got him cast as a kid becomes this slightly
insulting fan nickname years later. Perfect symmetry,
isn't it? And the good news is the nickname seems
to have faded. Yeah. Plemons himself mentioned
around 2021, he thought, that fewer and fewer
people were calling him that. His own work, his
own reputation finally started to overshadow
the easy comparison. Which is great because that
period right after Breaking Bad, it wasn't just
about Todd. He immediately started working with
some absolute giants. Oh, yeah. It was like a
master class in choosing collaborators. He jumped
right into the world of series auteurs, had that
supporting role in Paul Thomas Anderson's The
Master in 2012. Playing Philip Seymour Hoffman's
son. Right. And that comparison gets made a lot
by critics, actually. that Plemons has some of
that same incredible lived -in character actor
weight that Hoffman had. That's high praise.
So he wasn't just getting gigs. He was getting
roles that signaled, you know, this guy is a
serious actor. Precisely. And then he got into
the Spielberg orbit, appeared in Bridges' Spies
in 2015, then The Post in 2017. Two Spielbergs
back -to -back, basically. Mm -hmm. And then
crucially, he made the Scorsese connection. Played
Chucky O 'Brien in The Irishman in 2019. That
wary, complicated performance. These legendary
directors. They obviously see something in him.
What do you think it is? It's that reliability,
I think. That understated gravitas. He can anchor
huge, complex films, sometimes with very little
dialogue, just with his presence. He's the perfect
sort of grounded counterweight to the bigger
star performances around him. He doesn't pull
focus, but you always notice him. Exactly. And
he wasn't just doing historical dramas or these
big auteur pieces either. His range during this
time was incredible. Right. He popped up everywhere.
All over the map. Genre -wise, he did the dark
comedy Game Night in 2018. He was so good in
that, The Creepy Neighbor. Stole the show. Then
you have serious stuff like playing the mobster
Kevin Weeks in Black Mass in 2015. Thrillers
like American Made with Tom Cruise in 2017. The
Western Hostels, also in 2017. He even narrated
Adam McKay's Dick Cheney movie, Vice, in 2018.
It seems like the main thread is just quality.
He picks good projects across the board. He does.
He's effective no matter what genre you put him
in. Which brings us to another absolutely pivotal
moment in this era, both for his career and personally.
The Fargo connection. Fargo, season two, 2015.
He joined the cast of that brilliant FX anthology
series. He played Ed Blunkwist, the sort of gentle,
hapless butcher who gets swept up in some crazy
stuff. Opposite Kirsten Dunst is his wife, Peggy.
And that role got him his first major award nomination,
right? Yep. His first primetime Emmy nomination.
Outstanding supporting actor in a limited series
or movie. Huge career boost. Professionally,
massive. But personally, maybe even bigger. Because
that's where he met Kirsten Dunst. That's right.
The personal and professional paths cross right
there on the snowy plains of Fargo. But even
as that phase was wrapping up, he squeezed in
one more iconic TV performance that really showed
off that unnerving side again. Oh yeah. 2017.
Black Mirror. the USS Callister episode. Chilling.
He played Robert Daly, the main character, this
sort of sad sack tech guy who becomes an absolute
tyrant in his own virtual reality Star Trek world.
It was universally acclaimed. Terrifying because
he took that quiet menace he does so well and
just ramped it up into pure sadistic megalomania.
And the industry noticed that lead performance
too, didn't they? They did. Got him another Emmy
nomination, but this time for Outstanding Lead
Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. That's a
big step, not just supporting anymore. The industry
was saying, OK, this guy can carry the whole
show. Exactly. It signaled he was ready for bigger,
more central roles, which perfectly set the stage
for the incredible run he's had more recently.
So the 2020s, this is where Plemons really transitions,
isn't it? From being that highly respected, oh,
that guy's great and everything character actor
to being genuinely one of the most acclaimed
leading men working today. Absolutely. He fully
embraced that leading man potential with Charlie
Kaufman's film. I'm thinking of ending things
back in 2020, which was a weird one in a good
way. Very Kaufman esque. Totally. Yeah. Psychological
drama. Super strange. Ambiguous. But Plemons
was fantastic and it got a ton of critical praise.
It really required the audience to just sit.
with his performance with the silence and the
uncertainty got him a gotham award nomination
for best actor but the real sort of mainstream
prestige peak the one that put him firmly on
the oscar map came the next year right 2021 jane
campion's the power of the dog incredible film
neo -western he played george burbank george
yeah the quieter more melancholic brother opposite
benedict cumberbatch's really volatile, intense
film. It was such a subtle performance from Plemons,
so much going on internally, and it earned him
that Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting
Actor. And the chemistry in that film, particularly
between him and Kirsten Dunst, who played his
wife Rose, it's just remarkable. They were already
a couple in real life by then, for several years.
Right. And you feel that history, but it's not
romantic in the film. It's the simmering tension,
this kind of shared unspoken misery, almost their
ability to convey that strained intimacy. It's
phenomenal. And that shared work led to a really
iconic moment during the 2022 awards season.
Oh, yeah. Both Plemons and Kirsten Dunst nominated
for Oscars for the same movie, supporting actor
for him, supporting actress for her. That almost
never happens for a couple, especially an unmarried
couple at the time. Extremely rare. It really
cemented their status as this sort of quiet,
powerhouse acting couple. Speaks volumes about
their creative partnership. And around this time,
Plemons also started to move behind the camera
a bit, didn't he? Taking on more control. Yeah,
in 2022, he starred in a noir thriller called
Windfall. Played the wealthy tech CEO character.
Yeah. But importantly, he also got his first
producer credit on that film. What does that
signify usually when an actor starts producing?
Often it's about having more say in the material.
Shaping the project from the beginning, ensuring
the quality, maybe finding roles that really
challenge them. It's a natural step for actors
who reach that level of respect. Makes sense.
And meanwhile, he wasn't neglecting TV either,
still picking really strong projects there. Nope.
Stayed very active in prestige TV. In 2023, he
starred with Elizabeth Olsen in Love and Death.
The HBO Max true crime series about Candy Montgomery.
Right. Another really solid performance, another
Emmy nomination for him. He just keeps maintaining
this incredibly high bar across both film and
television. It's impressive. And then came another
major reunion with a legendary director. Back
with Scorsese. After The Irishman, he took a
key supporting role in Killers of the Flower
Moon in 2023. Playing Tom White, the FBI agent
investigating the Osage murders. Exactly. And
again, you see Scorsese using him as that grounding
force, the steady hand of authority and justice
coming into this chaotic, dark situation. When
Scorsese needs reliable gravitas, Plummond seems
to be on the short list. OK, but the absolute
peak, the thing that really prompted this whole
deep dive today. It has to be Cannes 2024. Without
a doubt. Winning the best actor prize at Cannes,
that's massive. For kinds of kindness, the Yorgos
Lanthimos film. Now, Lanthimos has a very distinct
style. Oh, very distinct. Highly stylized, absurdist,
often really unsettling. And he relies on this
very deadpan, almost emotionless delivery from
his actors. Which sounds perfect for Plemons,
actually. It's tailor -made for him. He specializes
in conveying complex stuff without big expressive
emoting. He fits right into that Lanthimos world.
And in Kinds of Kindness, it wasn't just one
role, right? It's an anthology film. Correct.
He played three completely different characters.
Robert, Daniel, and Andrew. Each one requiring
a different shade of that Lanthimos -style performance.
So the Cannes win wasn't just for one great performance,
but for showcasing that versatility within a
single, very demanding film. Exactly. It's huge
validation. He also got his first Golden Globe
nomination for it. It just confirms his status
now on the international stage as a master actor.
And that relationship with Lanthimos is continuing,
isn't it? It is. They're already set to work
together again on a sci -fi comedy called Bugonia,
expected in 2025. When an actor clicks with an
auteur like Lanthimos, who has such a strong
vision, that usually means more interesting,
challenging work is coming. Absolutely. It places
him right at the forefront of ambitious international
filmmaking. Okay, let's shift focus slightly
back to the personal side. Because underpinning
this incredible career arc seems to be a very
grounded personal life, particularly his relationship
with Kirsten Dunst. Right. As we mentioned, they
met on the set of Fargo back in 2015, started
dating around March 2016, and things moved relatively
quickly from there. in terms of building a family.
They got engaged pretty fast, didn't they? Yeah,
less than a year later, January 2017. Their first
son was born in 2018 and their second son arrived
in 2021. And despite being this huge Hollywood
couple, especially after the dual Oscar nominations
in 2022, they seem to keep things very low -key.
Very low -key. They didn't actually get officially
married until July 2022, and it was apparently
very quiet. They seem really committed to protecting
that. private family core from all the hollywood
craziness it's an interesting contrast right
they play these huge often emotionally draining
roles but their public persona is quite reserved
which makes the other big aspect of his public
story even more notable the physical transformations
he's undertaken for roles this gets complicated
yeah let's talk about that because actors changing
their bodies for roles, it's often praise, but
there's a cost. There absolutely is. The first
big one we know about was back in 2015 for the
movie Black Mass, where he played the mobster
Kevin Weeks. He deliberately gained about 45
pounds for that role. Which at the time was probably
seen as, you know, peak dedication, method acting
almost, reshaping yourself completely for the
character. Right. It gets framed as the ultimate
commitment. But the physical and mental toll.
That's often glossed over. Until recently, maybe,
because Plemons has been quite open about it
lately. He has. In 2024, it became very noticeable
that he had lost a significant amount of weight.
He confirmed he'd lost over 50 pounds. So a massive
gain, then a massive loss. Basically two huge
body transformations within less than a decade,
driven by his career. Exactly. And he attributed
the weight loss to intermittent fasting and focusing
on whole foods. But what's really insightful
here, I think, for understanding what actors
go through is how he talked about that initial
weight gain. Yes. He expressed real regret about
it. Yeah. He said flat out that gaining the weight
for Black Mass did mess me up a bit. Wow. That's
quite candid. It is. He even said later he wasn't
sure he'd be willing to put on that kind of weight
for a role again. That's rare honesty about the
downsides, the health consequences, the psychological
impact of these dramatic physical shifts for
work. And in today's climate, with so much talk
about weight loss drugs, he even had to address
that, right? He did. There was so much speculation
online, especially about celebrity weight loss,
that he felt the need to explicitly deny using
Ozempic or similar drugs for his transformation.
So the whole cycle. The deliberate gain for praise,
the later regret, the significant loss, then
having to fend off public speculation. It really
paints a picture of the intense physical pressures
actors are under. It really does. It's a very
human story. Underneath the glamour of the awards
and the big movie roles, the actual physical
cost of embodying these characters. So looking
forward, what does the future hold for Jesse
Plemons? His upcoming project list seems to confirm
he's absolutely at the top of the industry's
wish list right now. Oh, definitely. He's got
this great mix of high art projects and big commercial
stuff lined up. Yeah. Shows his appeal across
the board. He's sticking with prestige TV, too.
Yep. He's got a supporting role playing Roger
Carlson in a Netflix political thriller miniseries
called Zero Day. That's coming in 2025. And nicely,
it reunites him with Leslie Linka Glatter, who
directed him in Love and Death. So there's that
continuity. Okay. But the one that probably jumps
out for mainstream audiences, he's joining a
massive franchise. Right. Huge news. He's been
cast as Plutarch Heavensby in the next Hunger
Games prequel. Sunrise on the Reaping. Slated
for 2026. Wow, Plutarch Heavensby. That's a significant
role previously played by Philip Seymour Hoffman,
actually. Another interesting connection there.
Yeah, it's a major part in a giant global franchise.
It was a smart move, balancing the artistic cred
from someone like Lanthimos with the massive
visibility and commercial power of Hunger Games.
Keeps him in both worlds. And for fans of his
darker side, there's good news, too. Very good
news. He's officially reprising his role as Captain
Robert Daly from Black Mirror. From USS Callister.
They're doing a sequel. Apparently so. It's for
the upcoming seventh series of Black Mirror in
an episode titled USS Callister Into Infinity,
coming in 2025. That's fantastic. That original
performance was so memorable. The fact they're
bringing it back says a lot. It really does.
And finally, just to round out the sheer quality
of his collaborators, there's an upcoming film
with Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu. Wow, another
huge name. Birdman, The Revenant. Exactly. The
film's untitled, as far as we know, currently
in post -production. But just look at that list
he's worked with recently. Lanthimos, Scorsese,
Kaufman, Campion, now Iñárritu. Yeah. If you
want to understand who's defining excellence
in modern film acting, you have to be watching
Jesse Plemons. Hashtag tag outro. So wrapping
up this deep dive. What we really see is this
incredibly clear picture of a career built on
focus and I think a lot of determination. Jesse
Plemons took those Texas roots that discipline
maybe learned from sports and those very early
acting days and used it to become Landry Clark,
the heart and soul, the comic relief of Friday
Night Lights, a character people absolutely loved.
Right. But that same grounding, that same foundation
allowed him to make that huge, risky pivot to
become someone like Todd Alquist in Breaking
Bad. Establishing that unique signature, the
politeness, masking something terrifying, which
led to the Meth Damon nickname for a while. She
transcended that. He totally transcended it.
And his current position, winning Best Actor
at Cannes, being the go -to guy for Scorsese,
for Lanthimos, it just shows the immense value
of... prioritizing really distinct, deep character
work, maybe over just chasing conventional leading
man roles. And connecting this all back to you,
the listener. What Plemons career really underscores
is the power of an actor willing to completely
subvert expectations. He took that image people
had of him from Friday Night Lights, soft, relatable
Landry, and just flipped it on its head with
Todd's dead eyed horror and then proves he could
do everything in between across every genre.
OK, so here's our final thought. Something for
you to really chew on after listening to all
this. We've talked a lot about Plemons most celebrated
performances, right? Yeah. And so many of them
rely on subtle internal. things, that quietness,
the pause, the slight shift in his eyes, the
hint of the Texas accent, really nuanced stuff.
Yeah, the internal work. Exactly. And yet, we
also talk about how he's been praised for these
massive external physical transformations, gaining
45 pounds for black mass, losing over 50 pounds
later, things that are incredibly visible. Right,
the internal versus the external. So, the question
to ponder is, what does it tell us about character
acting right now? That an actor like Plemons
is celebrated both for these incredibly subtle
internal unnerving performances and for these
huge, look at me, physical changes. Is there
a tension there? What's the real cost or maybe
the necessary price of embodying a character
so completely today when that commitment pushes
you to alter not just your inner state but your
entire physical being? What does that dedication
really demand? That's a great question. Something
for you to think about. Until next time on The
Deep Dive.