There are no small roles, only small actors. While Samm Levine’s role in Inglourious Basterds may be quite small – I counted one line of dialogue – he’s still excited to be in a movie as good as Quentin Tarantino’s latest.
I sat down with Samm – perhaps best known as Neal Schweiber from Freaks and Geeks – at the Hollywood and Highland Center (thus the ambient noise in the recording below) last week; we chatted for a good twenty minutes about Basterds and what it means, as well as about his career and the specific frustrations that can come from pursuing acting in the independent world.
Be warned: there are some minor spoilers for Inglourious Basterds contained within this interview. While we don’t spoil the actual ending of the movie, we do talk about what it means. Samm gives some of the best insight on the movie that I’ve heard from anyone, so even if you wait to see Basterds before listening to this, you should give it a shot.
I’m considering doing more interviews as audio. Let me know what you think about this format – if folks like listening to the chats we’ll have more of them!