Collider Ladies Night & Collider Forces

Eve Best is an acting ace. She’s got loads of impressive screen credits to her name and is a theater legend with two Tony Award nominations, a Drama Desk Award win and a Laurence Olivier Award win as well. Now she’s an absolute force on HBO’s House of the Dragon. It probably goes without saying, she’s always been a dream guest for Collider Ladies Night, but a recent Ladies Night guest skyrocketed Best to being a top priority. While chatting with Jessica Gunning for Baby Reindeer, a performance that appears to have put her on the path to snagging an Emmy nomination, Gunning pinpointed an actor who made a major impression on her during the early days of her career. That actor? Eve Best. Soon after chatting with Gunning, interview opportunities for House of the Dragon Season 2 popped up, and I jumped on it.Best plays Rhaenys, the Queen Who Never Was, in the Game of Thrones prequel series. Despite having a number of qualities that’d make her an ideal leader, Rhaenys was passed over to succeed King Jaehaerys I for being a woman. She eventually comes to terms with the decision and attempts to serve Westeros valiantly as a dragon rider and as the wife of Lord Corlys Velaryon of Driftmark (Steve Toussaint). Despite Viserys (Paddy Considine) naming Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) his heir, Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) takes the throne, solidifying the stark divide between the Greens, those who support Aegon, and the Blacks, those who continue to back Rhaenyra’s claim. As a member of Team Black, Rhaenys begins Season 2 doing what she can to keep her side safe while strategizing for all-out war.With House of the Dragon Season 2 kicking off its highly anticipated run on Sunday, June 16, I recently sat down with Best for a Ladies Night conversation to discuss how she’s honed her craft over the years, and Rhaenys’ approach to being a strong leader with war brewing in Westeros.

Adria Arjona has been showing off her impeccable craft and great range for years now, but Hit Man might be one of her most impressive performances of the bunch. She isn’t playing a femme fatale in the film, rather, she’s playing a woman playing a femme fatale to better suit what she thinks her new beau wants to see in a potential partner — which is exactly what he’s doing to her. It's a mighty complicated concept that demands the most refined screenplay and deft performances. Glen Powell headlines Richard Linklater’s Hit Man as the title character, in a sense. Powell’s Gary isn’t a hit man, but rather, a “hit man.” He’s a college professor who moonlights for the New Orleans Police Department by posing as a hit man in attempt to catch people trying to off an enemy. It turns out, Gary is quite good at the gig, effortlessly adapting his image to the type of hit man he thinks his target would best respond to. However, one target throws him for a loop — Arjona’s Madison. Madison is struggling with an abusive husband and sees no way out, so tries to hire Gary, posing as Ron, to kill him. Trouble is, Gary winds up falling for Madison, and she winds up falling for him, too — but as Ron.Hit Man is an utterly delightful and hugely entertaining neo-noir, one that required maximum precision to pull off. Powell isn’t the only one playing a person putting on a persona in the film. So is Arjona. Pulling off such a performance in a way that holds tight to the grounded challenges that put their characters in these positions is no easy task, but Arjona excels tackling the challenge. While Madison was likely a strong character on the page, there's no doubt that Arjona's work is what makes her soar.How’d Arjona acquire the skill set to genre jump, entertain and craft a deeply human character all at once? That’s exactly what we discussed during our Collider Ladies Night interview in celebration of the release of Hit Man, which is now available to stream on Netflix.

While celebrating Hazbin Hotel on Collider Ladies Night, creator Vivienne Medrano said she wouldn’t mind seeing the show run for six seasons, like her favorite show of all time, BoJack Horseman. “My favorite show went to six, so six would be cool!” However, she also noted, “The real answer is as many as they’ll give me, forever — forever and ever because there could always be more.” Given the monumental success of Hazbin Hotel Season 1, I’m a big believer Prime Video and A24 should defer to Medrano on this one, and give her whatever she wants!Hazbin Hotel is something Medrano’s been working on since middle school. After years of honing the characters, she created an independently made pilot episode, after which A24 swooped in to help turn it into a series that Prime Video distributed in January 2024. Not only did the show premiere to glowing reviews, but it also became Prime Video’s largest global debut for a new animated series. But, perhaps most impressive of all was the fervent fanbase the show quickly amassed. Yes, Medrano and Hazbin already had quite the following via the pilot, which crossed 100 million views on YouTube in February, but the debut of Hazbin Hotel Season 1 on Prime Video undoubtedly increased that following exponentially.The show puts the spotlight on Charlie Morningstar (voiced by Erika Henningsen), the princess of Hell. Due to overpopulation in Hell, angels swoop down from Heaven once a year to conduct a purge, wiping out as many sinners as possible. Charlie’s had enough of seeing her people perish and strives to change the system via her Hazbin Hotel, a hotel designed to rehabilitate sinners and get them into Heaven. Not only is Hazbin Hotel brimming with curious characters, wildly creative world-building and thematic heft, but it’s also a musical — and every single song on its soundtrack is a true banger. The competition in the Animated Program category at the Emmys is fierce courtesy of iconic long-running series like The Simpsons and Bob’s Burgers, and new standout programs like X-Men ’97, but given the quality of Hazbin Hotel and the colossal passionate fanbase it's ignited, it deserves to be in the mix.How exactly does one get from middle school doodles to spearheading an Emmy-worthy animated musical? That’s exactly what I covered with Medrano on her episode of Collider Ladies Night!

If you’ve seen The Wheel of Time and Fallout, there’s a good chance we had a similar viewing experience. The entire Wheel of Time ensemble is fantastic, but Season 2, which dropped on Prime Video from September 1 to October 6, brought in a new standout character, Renna, the Seanchan sul’dam responsible for making it an especially dark season for Madeleine Madden’s Egwene. As terrible as Renna is, you can’t take your eyes off her, and the credit for that goes to the actor in the role — Hollywood newcomer Xelia Mendes-Jones.Cut to April 2024. Fallout hits Prime Video and becomes an instant sensation. The majority of the season puts the spotlight on Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins, and Aaron Moten, all of whom give powerhouse performances. With only eight episodes, a bunch of curious locations, a number of key factions to establish, and quite a few complex agendas unfolding, how does an actor with minimal screen time in just two episodes manage to make an impression? Ask Mendes-Jones, because that’s exactly what he does with his character, Dane, a member of the Brotherhood of Steel.With screen presence like that, there’s no doubt in my mind Mendes-Jones’ star will continue to soar, so he instantly became a top priority guest for Collider Forces.

We talk about the experience of “breaking out” in Hollywood a lot on Collider Ladies Night. There are many wonderful ways to have that moment in film and television, but Jessica Gunning has seen her star soar in an especially exciting way over the last month courtesy of the popularity of Netflix’s Baby Reindeer.Based on his own personal experience which he adapted into an award-winning Edinburgh Fringe one-man play, the Richard Gadd-created series stars Gunning as Martha, Donny Dunn’s (Gadd) stalker. What Donny thinks is just a simple act of kindness, offering Martha a free cup of tea on a tough day, winds up being a life-changing exchange as she wedges her way into just about every part of his life. Not only does the relationship turn Donny’s day-to-day on its head, but the experience also challenges him to address some long-buried trauma.Baby Reindeer isn’t some massive production with a significant monthslong promotional campaign behind it. It’s something that caught on in a big way, seemingly out of the blue, simply because it’s an exquisitely crafted and incredibly well-acted piece. While Gunning isn’t new to the industry by any means, the success of Baby Reindeer has instantly turned her into a highly recognizable name, one earning a good deal of Emmy buzz at the moment, and it’s inspiring many to check out her other credits, films like 2014’s Pride and the ongoing Prime Video series, The Outlaws.In celebration of this extremely well-deserved game-changing moment, I welcomed Gunning to Collider Ladies Night to revisit her road to Baby Reindeer, to break down the nuances of Martha, and to discuss what it’s like becoming a bonafide Emmy contender.

No role is easy, but at just 22-years-old, Freya Allan has already had to do a considerable amount of heavy lifting playing characters in dire situations with the weight of the world on their shoulders. After comparing the pressure The Witcher’s Ciri is under to the challenges her Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes character, Mae, faces in the film, Allan laughed and said, “Clearly they look at me and go, 'Yeah, she’s got a lot going on. She’ll do the job.’” Allan may have been humble about it, but roles like Ciri and Mae could never soar without an actor capable of capturing and giving an audience access to their complex internal worlds.In Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Allan’s Mae finds herself forming an unexpected bond with Owen Teague’s ape character, Noa. It’s hundreds of years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes. Apes are now the dominant species while humankind struggles to find safety. Given Noa’s grown up in the confines of his village and knows little of the outside world, he’s shocked when he encounters Mae and she isn’t some feral creature, but rather, a brave being of intelligence with wants and a drive that isn’t so different from his own.With Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes arriving in theaters nationwide on May 10th, I got the chance to have a Collider Ladies Night conversation with Allan to recap her journey in the industry thus far, and to dig into her experience finding Mae and conveying her complicated contributions to paving the way to a brighter future for humankind.

Welcome to a very special edition of Collider Ladies Night. Not only does this episode feature a personal favorite, but that favorite just became the first Ladies Night third-timer — Melissa Barrera. It was immediately evident that Barrera is an ideal Ladies Night guest during our first chat in January 2022 for Scream, one brimming with enthusiasm and passion for her craft, and for the art of filmmaking in general. That became even more undeniable after connecting at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival for Carmen’s world premiere, and then again in March 2023 for a second Ladies Night in celebration of the release of Scream VI. One of the greatest joys of having two Ladies Night conversations a mere year apart with Barrera? Seeing how much she manages to accomplish in that short span, and hearing about how deeply she considers those experiences and how that impacts her goals and perspective on the industry going forward. At that point, making the independent feature, Your Monster, which just premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, heavily influenced her priorities for herself in filmmaking. In March 2023 she explained, “I had a mentality of like, I need to do something big to make a splash and to make a name for myself so that I can green light projects.” However, after working on Your Monster and also The Collaboration, that switched to, “I just want to do projects that speak to my soul and that stretch me.”Perspective shifts happen often, and should. What good are our experiences if we don’t grow and learn from them? Barrera, however, powered through a rather seismic one since our last Collider Ladies Night interview after she was shockingly fired from Scream 7 due to social media posts regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. During this new Ladies Night interview, Barrera detailed how that and other recent experiences in Hollywood have heavily impacted her understanding of what she’s here to do. From there we lean into yet another new release that solidifies Barrera as a horror genre powerhouse, and bonafide movie star, her latest collaboration with Radio Silence, Abigail.

If you’re a frequent Collider Ladies Night viewer/reader/listener, you’re likely well aware of my Yellowjackets obsession. I’ve been lucky enough to welcome many Yellowjackets cast members to the show, including Christina Ricci and Jasmin Savoy Brown, but there’s a certain someone who I was extremely disappointed to have missed out on while she was on the show — Ella Purnell. However, the time has finally come. Not only did I get the opportunity to talk a little Yellowjackets with Purnell, but we also got to celebrate yet another exceptional show of hers, Prime Video’s Fallout.Purnell plays Lucy in the series adaptation of the hugely popular Bethesda game. She’s a vault dweller living safe and sound in Vault 33. They’ve got food, water, and a kind community with a neighborly vibe. Above ground, however, it’s the exact opposite. 219 years since nuclear bombs decimated the surface, everyone else is just trying to survive in an apocalyptic wasteland with little to no rules or morals. In an effort to find her father (Kyle MacLachlan), Lucy opts to do the unthinkable, leave the comfort of sheltered vault life behind to venture out into the ruthless outside world.In celebration of Fallout’s big debut on Prime Video, Purnell joined me for a Ladies Night conversation to recap her journey in film and television thus far, and discuss how her career priorities have changed over the years.