Elizabeth Wagmeister: Have you ever wished you could hang out with your favorite Hollywood stars?

Brett Goldstein: Hi, I'm Brett Goldstein.

Theo James: Ha, ha, nice to meet you.

Elizabeth: Variety Studio invites you to listen in as the most critically acclaimed actors working today discuss their latest roles.

Sheryl Lee Ralph: And she comes alive in every episode.

Elizabeth: With Jennifer Garner and Sheryl Lee Ralph, Brett Goldstein and Theo James, and Katherine Heigl and Ellen Pompeo.

♪♪♪ Elizabeth: Welcome to Variety Studio, "Actors on Actors."

I'm Elizabeth Wagmeister.

Clayton Davis: And I'm Clayton Davis.

Today, we're hearing from some of the most talented A- listers on TV.

Elizabeth: As they share the secrets behind their unforgettable performances.

Clayton: Jennifer Garner and Sheryl Lee Ralph have walked very different paths throughout their careers in the entertainment business.

But what they have in common are their varied roles across film and television.

In the limited mystery series, "The Last Thing He Told Me," Emmy-nominee Jennifer Garner continues to display her range, this time as a woman who relentlessly pursues the truth about her husband's disappearance.

female: Mrs. Michaels?

Mr. Michaels asked me to give this to you.

female: Sorry, ma'am, the building's closed.

Hannah Hall: My husband works inside.

I'm trying to reach him.

Hannah: I haven't heard from Owen in 24 hours.

Bailey Michaels: Where's my dad?

Hannah: I don't know.

What is that?

♪♪♪ Clayton: When Emmy winner and Broadway legend Sheryl Lee Ralph speaks, you listen, as she brings that commanding presence to the ensemble of the heartwarming sitcom, "Abbott Elementary."

Barbara Howard: Well, maybe we should call, you know, pretend like we're interested parents.

Melissa Schemmenti: Yeah, you know, I should do it 'cause I do the best character work.

Like, "Hey, yous guys, we're interested in going shot over here."

female: Okay, Robert de No-No.

Barbara: Ha, ha, maybe I should do it.

male: Can I help?

Barbara: Oh, hello dearie, yes.

You know, I'm interested in receiving some information about churning a bachata, yes.

It's working.

Sheryl Lee Ralph: All these episodes of TV, you had "Alias" back in the day and now you're doing "The Last Thing He Told Me."

How has it changed?

What's different?

Jennifer Garner: Well, there is just, oh my gosh, it's a whole different being.

I mean, what I love about television, I love hanging with a character, and I love the off- camera relationships building too.

I think that the richness of those relationships over time, I think they're reflected in the work.

That has been really joyful about doing "The Last Thing He Told Me."

After all of those years on "Alias," doing 7 episodes instead of 22, and having 10 days to shoot an episode instead of 8, it's just--you can't even compare just the level of work.

This is much more filmic in its scope.

Sheryl: It's like you're doing a movie.

Jennifer: Mm-hm.

Sheryl: In more ways.

Jennifer: And you did a lot of episodes of-- Sheryl: Twenty-two.

Jennifer: Which is really unheard of.

Sheryl: I know.

We're really back to what TV was.

Jennifer: And how did that feel for you guys?

How was it for Quintan to write 22 episodes and perform in them?

Sheryl: She's a little beast.

Jennifer: Yeah, she really is.

Sheryl: She did it all and she came ready and I think it's also the fact that we all like each other.

We all like working together, so our bar of excellence is always rising for us, you know?

Jennifer: How much work do you do to imagine and to enrich that part of the character for yourself?

Sheryl: You know something?

That character, we've all had the teacher that no matter what, they were gonna stand up for you.

They were going to encourage you.

And I've been surrounded by teachers like that, so I just lean upon my knowledge of those people.

And it's--it just helps me so much when I think about that.

But you know, I have to ask you something.

When I think about "The Last Thing He Told Me," girl, you are struggling with that stepdaughter, my goodness.

I was watching it and I was just wanna say, "Get it together."

You tell that child to stop right now.

How do you lean into being so nice and patient with that bad little stepchild?

How?

Jennifer: She is not very friendly.

Hannah's stepdaughter is played by Angourie Rice.

She is such a fine actress.

And it was a real challenge for me to not play her mom.

That's the relationship I know.

But Hannah has never had a kid, she never planned to have a kid, she didn't really have a mom to have a relationship to bounce off of.

And Bailey didn't have a mom and has never planned to have a mom.

She's so close to her dad.

So the two of them are oil and water, but Hannah wants it to be lovely.

She wants to kind of make it work.

She just kind of doesn't know what the steps are.

And they're just put in this position where she doesn't have a lot of choice but to be patient.

Do you--the more experienced you are, the more fabulous you become, do you get more nervous for your work or do you get less?

Sheryl: It depends.

Now, when I'm doing "Abbott" and I leaned into all of the things of the character, I think you probably experience this too, when the role is right, she will literally come up off of the page and almost just bury herself inside of me.

And she comes alive in every episode, and I can never fight her, never.

So I'm never nervous when it comes to playing Barbara.

I get Barbara.

Tell me if you do this.

When you get your script, do you read it?

Like, episode to episode?

Jennifer: Mm-hm.

Sheryl: You read it?

Jennifer: Mm-hm.

Sheryl: I don't read it.

We sit down and we have a table read.

Jennifer: And you discover it in the table read.

Sheryl: I discover it in the table read.

Jennifer: Ohhh.

Sheryl: Yeah, I never read it.

Jennifer: So you let it hit you there and you see how you naturally react to it?

Sheryl: Exactly.

Jennifer: Yeah, no, no, I couldn't do that.

No, I've read the script 50 times before a table read and before we had a first day of shooting, I sat in the backyard with our showrunner and the author of the book and co-creator of the show, Laura Dave, Josh Singer, and we read the scripts aloud over--we read them aloud, we would wrestle with them, read the next one, wrestle with them, go back, read the first one again.

And we worked our way up, and then we did it again, adding in Livi Newman, our incredible director.

It was kind of the most luxurious process, but it was very different from what you're describing, and I can see the value in that.

Sheryl: As we wrap this up, I'll never forget the little 12-inch box that sat in the kitchen and how many hours I spent by myself looking into that box and I think about that little box and what it meant to me.

And for me, now, to have my own space in that little box that is now, what, 60 inches wide, you know, with a sound bar at the bottom.

I think about that and I'm so happy that it has grown, it has changed, and it means so much more to so many people all around the world.

The miracle and the wonders of TV.

Jennifer: [laughing] Yes, ma'am.

Sheryl: Yeah, and we're in it, girl.

Jennifer: Thank you, Sheryl, that's right.

Sheryl: Thank you, Jennifer.

This was a great conversation.

Jennifer: This was so fun.

Sheryl: I'm loving us.

Jennifer: I love us.

Sheryl: Yes.

Elizabeth: Brett Goldstein and Theo James both play arrogant guys on TV.

However, when the two actors come together, they prove that they couldn't be any more different than their characters.

Elizabeth: Two-time Emmy winner, Brett Goldstein is back as Roy Kent, a veteran soccer player turned assistant coach in "Ted Lasso."

Bringing laughs and even breaking a few hearts in the process, Goldstein has audiences cheering.

Roy Kent: But they're not just footballers.

They're also people.

And none of us know what is going on in each other's lives.

So for Isaac to do what he did today, even though it was wrong, I give him love.

Elizabeth: Theo James catapults his career and bears it all in the second season of "The White Lotus."

Playing a spoiled investment banker who learns he's not as clever as he thinks, the actor creates a character that viewers will love to hate.

Cameron Sullivan: To volcanoes and all the threesomes of past and present and future.

Daphne Sullivan: I feel like you sow your oats when you're young and then you just, you know, you get it out of your system.

Cameron: I don't know.

Not sure it works like that.

Daphne: I know, but that's the idea.

Cameron: Well, it's kind of like food, you know?

You know, gorge yourself until you're sick, you swear you'll never eat another bite and then, a few days later you're hungry again.

Theo James: Brett Goldstein.

Brett Goldstein: Hi, I'm Brett Goldstein.

Theo: Ha, ha, nice to meet you.

Brett: Nice to meet you.

Theo: Although we just met, didn't we?

While we were chatting and doing those sexy but slightly awkward pictures.

Brett: We did some very sexy shots together.

It was a dream come true.

Theo: Yeah.

I wanted to ask you some genuine questions because "Ted Lasso" came about and that you're a writer in the writers' room and then it went from there, but in terms of how did you end up writing for "Ted Lasso" initially, like, what was that?

Brett: Oh, because I'd done a pilot for Bill Lawrence who's one of the co-creators.

Theo: Who also, you're co-creating "Shrinking" with?

Brett: Yeah, and he--the pilot didn't get picked up but we stayed in touch and he knew I was a writer as well as an actor and he--I always say to--when people ask me for advice, I'm always, like, "Don't--there's no magic phone call.

It doesn't happen.

You have to make your own stuff.

Keep working, keep creating."

I did get a magic phone call from Bill Lawrence, completely out of the blue, saying, "Do you wanna come and-- I think you'd be good for this football show.

We need an English guy and, like, you know about football," and-- Theo: And how long was that writing process?

Brett: Five months, four months.

Half a year writing, half a year filming, basically.

Theo: And then you told me about the process of, obviously, how you got the part and then, was that surreal, going into a show that you already knew all the--or was that easy in a way?

Brett: Being an actor who also gets to write on it, I think is wonderful 'cause you can be involved in changing stuff and if it doesn't sound right or there's a question you have, you can--I've only really done one acting job where it was, like, you say the words exactly as written and you cannot change an at or a the or anything like that, and I was-- I really struggled with that.

Theo: Yeah, and I've done one--just one as well, yeah.

I found it quite hard, yeah.

Brett: How much of "White Lotus" did you have--I got many questions about it and one is did you know--have all six scripts when you started, or how much did you have to go off?

Theo: When I auditioned for it, there was only a pilot.

We--but eventually we had all--we had seven episodes, I think it was 'cause--yeah, and yeah, we had most of it.

It did change a bit, but the DNA didn't change much.

But what Mike is really good at is he knows what he wants but he also lets you improvise and mix around the scene a little bit and, in reality, when I'm watching it, most of his stuff is the meat that stays.

But what it allows you to do as an actor is just--is feel really free so you have a--you could have, like, a 6-minute take.

It's tricky 'cause some of that you think, like, actors improvising makes me wanna kill myself 'cause they do, you know, they can be quite indulgent, you know what I mean?

But also, within that, you can find some interesting details.

So it was quite fun.

Brett: What I think is interesting, if I may, is that you are playing a character that we, as a audience, sort of view through other characters and kind of trying to work you out the whole time.

And you're kind of playing this game of, like, "I think he's a good guy.

Is he a bad guy?

Is he a good guy?

Is he a bad guy?"

And in terms of how you play that as an actor because, I guess, in your head you know your story, right?

You're not acting it from the point of view of them, so is there any--were there things you discussed with Mike White where it was, like, "Hold back on that, or do more of that"?

Do you know what I mean?

Like, you're--it's the way he plays-- Theo: I know what you mean.

Yeah, it's a tricky one because I liked him as a character and as a person, even though I saw that he was, you know, he's clearly manipulative, toxic, you know, all these, you know, potentially a sociopath the way he interacts around people, but I wanted to make sure that I enjoyed his company in some way, you know?

He's the type of person that you wouldn't wanna be best friends with but you would enjoy being around him.

Brett: Yeah, like, one of the reasons I started writing was 'cause I didn't wanna be an actor complaining about no scripts or no good parts.

Like, is that why you started producing?

Theo: Yeah, I think, too, I really like the development process, firstly.

I love finding stories.

But yeah, really was having a bit more control.

Honestly, I'd done some kind of earlyish in my career I'd done quite a few kind of studio-ish movies, back to back, and the--I didn't enjoy pieces of that, so it was trying to find some-- a bit of control and a bit of creative input within that, I guess.

One question about-- the Harrison Ford of it, right?

So you and Bill, you've come up with this idea and then, you know, you bring a package together, you bring it to market.

Brett: Yeah, we get Jason Segel.

Theo: You get Jason Segel, who is a writer as well.

At what point does the Harrison chat start and what point do you start flirting with him, you know-- Brett: It's a weird thing of, like, Jason Segel was, like, 100% always, he was in our head, he was the--and Bill had an in with him, so it wasn't like-- I think Bill was maybe meant to have a general with him at some point anyway so it wasn't completely unreasonable that we were gonna talk to him.

The Harrison Ford side of it was, like, it felt so unrealistic that it was, like, yeah, it'd be great if it's someone like Harrison Ford.

Like it was a Harrison Ford-esque, and then we sent it.

His agent read it and liked it and then sent it to him and then I think his agent had called and said, "Harrison is interested, he'd like to meet with one of you."

Bill was in LA, I was in London.

I get a missed call from Harrison Ford.

I'm like-- I've still kept the voicemail.

It's like--and I called him and he said, "Do you wanna meet for dinner on Saturday?"

But I had a stand-up gig and I was like, "I can't.

I've got a gig."

And he seemed like, "Oh."

I then texted Harrison.

I was, like, "Sorry about Saturday.

Have you got any time Friday after work and I could meet you for a drink or something?"

And he said, "Come to my place at 6:30."

And I go to his apartment and he answers the door and he looks like Indiana Jones and he goes, "Best script I've ever read."

And I go, "Shrinking"?

And I think he must be confused.

He thinks I'm someone else.

And he goes, "Best dialogue I've ever read."

And we walk into his place and he's got scripts everywhere.

Theo: Different-- Brett: Different scripts, so clearly, you know, people must send him stuff all the time.

And I'm thinking, "This is really embarrassing.

He thinks I'm someone else."

And I, like, fish through the scripts and I find the "Shrinking" one and I go, "Shrinking"?

And he goes, "Yeah."

And I go, "Oh, do you wanna be in it?"

And he goes, "Yeah."

And I go, "Okay."

And I go, "Is that business done?"

And he goes, "Looks like it."

And I went, "Okay," and he went, "Let's eat."

Theo: That's a good story, man.

Brett: I thought this is how Hollywood would be.

But it took all evening for me to kind of work out, I was, like, "Why is this happening?

I think he genuinely really liked the script and I do think--'cause I think he liked the character, and in fairness, you know, it's not a part he's played before."

I realized, "Oh, this is exciting for him.

He's doing something he hasn't done before.

He hasn't had the chance to be really funny."

He's always been funny but never considered a comedian, I think.

And I thought that's very cool, like, he's 80 and he's going, "I'm doing a new challenge.

I'm doing a new exciting thing."

Theo: That's really cool.

Brett: Yeah.

♪♪♪ Clayton: Katherine Heigl and Ellen Pompeo rose to super-stardom together on "Grey's Anatomy."

Years after they last worked together, the two are now reuniting to discuss their careers and what life is like after Seattle Grace.

Katherine Heigl is still the only star from "Grey's Anatomy" to win an Emmy on the long-running medical drama, which she infamously left in 2010.

She returned to Seattle, at least in the TV world, for her most recent show, "Firefly Lane."

Tully Hart: Oh, I know women aren't supposed to be angry.

Hurt, or sad, sure, but angry, ooh, better hide it.

Better lock that up.

But I am angry with the man who is suing me.

He took my show.

He took my voice.

So I'm taking it back.

I know I'm just screaming into the abyss right now, but I will not be silenced.

But I won't be silenced.

If he thinks--if he thinks he can just lock me away in some dark tower like a helpless princess, please!

I'm the queen.

No matter how dark it gets, I always find my light.

Clayton: Dr. Meredith Grey will live in our hearts forever thanks to Ellen Pompeo who has been the rock of "Grey's Anatomy" for 19 seasons, making history as the longest- running medical drama on primetime TV.

Meredith Grey: But I do know that I love you, so if that's what you need to hear, I'll say it as many times as you need to hear.

Nick Marsh: Can I take you to dinner?

Let me take you to dinner?

Meredith: No.

Nick: No?

Meredith: But you can take me to Zola's presentation for the Pacific Northwest Scholars.

Nick: I'm in.

Meredith: Okay.

Ellen Pompeo: Do you have a memory of when we met because I was thinking and I don't remember when we met.

Katherine Heigl: I don't have a specific memory of the first time, but I remember that first week before we started filming the pilot, and I remember Peter Horton had us doing those actor exercises which I had never done before in my career, so I-- it all felt very interesting.

But it did kind of bond us, like, didn't we do the, like, falling back and, like, the trust falls?

Ellen: Right, I forgot all of that.

Katherine: And then didn't we, like, sat in a circle and, like, laid our heads in each other's laps and, like, [laughing] like, all trust exercises.

Ellen: That's right.

Good memory.

Katherine: It was nice.

Ellen: Yeah.

Katherine: So yeah, Ellen, I mean, it is really sort of devastating for the world that Meredith has left Seattle Grace.

First of all, what was it like, that last day on set?

Ellen: So it's a little bit of trickery, because I'm not completely gone.

Katherine: What?

Ellen: The storyline is very cool.

I don't wanna give too much away, but there's a lot of real research that's changing very rapidly about Alzheimer's disease and about what they believe is the cause of Alzheimer's disease and what they have believed and what they're now finding out.

It's pretty controversial.

So Meredith's character left to go to Boston because her daughter needed to go to a special school and Jesse Williams's character, Jackson, lives in Boston and he offered her a job and then, in the finale, we catch up with her and see what she's been working on.

And then I will be in--making some appearances, hopefully next year if I can find some time.

Katherine: Okay, so we don't have to completely say goodbye?

Ellen: No, it's not a complete-- it's not a complete goodbye.

And I think we've got an interesting story to tell.

I certainly think it's pretty fascinating, the medical piece of it is pretty fascinating.

I mean, I just have to--I'm gonna shoot a show for Hulu.

Katherine: So, you're gonna do that in between.

Ellen: We're gonna start that in September.

We're gonna start the Hulu show in September.

Gonna be a very interesting role to play.

I mean, I haven't played another character in 18 years.

That's crazy.

Crazytown.

Crazytown.

And this one is--it's intense.

So let's talk about "Firefly Lane."

So there were two books written for "Firefly Lane" or three?

Katherine: There was, well, there are two.

Yes, there are two books.

The first is "Firefly Lane" and then the second is post the story we were telling.

So we didn't tell that book.

We didn't get into that story.

That was my first experience doing anything for streaming and it was- -I mean, I loved it.

Ellen: Are you producer on that as well?

Katherine: Yes, yeah.

And it was an extraordinary group of people, a great cast that I just really adored and loved, and a great character.

I really loved that character.

There was so much about her that really intimidated me.

She's incredibly confident.

She's incredibly self-assured.

She's got a bit of an ego on her and she's just really, like, walks into any situation, you know, feeling like she's gonna kill it.

And I just thought, I don't know, I related more to Kate and the struggle between, like, being a working mother and all of that.

And then I ended up really borrowing a lot of Tully, for me.

And so then I felt like I was, like, you know, having to let her go.

Am I gonna lose those bits of her that influenced who I've become.

Ellen: That's like therapy you get paid for.

Katherine: I guess so, yeah, I guess so, exactly.

Ellen: Go out into the world and be a piece of her.

Katherine: But, like, do you feel with Meredith, like, are you letting something- -are you letting her go or is she coming with you?

Ellen: Oh no, I have been on the show so long, I'm happy to let that go.

Katherine: Yeah?

[laughing] Ellen: You know, we're past that point.

That's where--yeah.

Katherine: When did you know that "Grey's" was gonna be a hit?

Well, was a hit, quite frankly.

It was, like, really going there.

Ellen: I mean, I think there were levels but the first indication was do you remember we filmed the whole first season and then we had--it was going to air on Sunday night, right?

Katherine: I think it was-- Ellen: It was Sunday night after "Desperate Housewives."

Katherine: That's right.

Ellen: And then, on Monday morning we had to film the last day of that first season.

And we came into work the next day and everybody was freaking out.

The ratings were huge.

Katherine: 'Cause the numbers were so good.

Ellen: Yeah, and then, those numbers, I mean, I don't even know if people can count that high anymore back then.

Those are--when you look at most of the network numbers now, you're like, [scoffing].

Katherine: I know, everything has changed.

Ellen: And then so, and then that.

And then we went on hiatus, and then the show was airing as we were on break and, yeah, I'm so grateful there was no social media then.

Katherine: I know.

Ellen: We literally would be--would have lost our minds.

Even more than we already lost our minds.

Katherine: There are so many memories, so many really good memories, so many times where we laughed so much and so hard and the crew were so mad at us because we couldn't pull our--together to get through a take.

Ellen: But those moments are what made the show as iconic as it is.

Without the sacrifice, without going there, many times, for many scenes, as devoted as we were to making sure everything was perfect, everything was right, all the time, I think that's why it's still around because of the foundation that we laid was so strong.

Katherine: Well, you're all welcome.

both: [laughing] Ellen: I think it was albeit painful but worth it.

Katherine: Yeah.

Ellen: Because art is always worth it.

Katherine: I hope so.

Ellen: Most people have lost people and, you know, everybody loves a good cry, so.

We made people feel things, Katie, and that is the biggest gift as an actor to be able to make people feel is, I think, pretty cool.

Katherine: I do too.

I think it's the point, for me at least, I just wanna go out there and do that.

Ellen: Yeah.

♪♪♪ Clayton: We hope you've enjoyed this episode of Variety Studio "Actors on Actors."

Elizabeth: Please join us again next time.

Jennifer: You just got up onstage.

You won an Emmy for "Abbott Elementary" and you just got up and blasted it out, and the whole place went bananas.

The whole world did.

Brett: Being more regular and whatever came very late, which I'm grateful for because I would have wanted- -I'd be dead.

Theo: You would be a crack addict.

Brett: I'd be a crack addict, for sure.

Ellen: Rock, paper, scissors, shoe.

Katherine: No, you.

You start, you're more professional.

both: [laughing] Ellen: You don't have a good memory.

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