{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Media Path Podcast","title":"The Most Versatile Man In Show Business & Embracing The Unknown with Michael Kostroff!","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":4223,"description":"How do you go from voicing a beaver in a sleep med commercial to portraying TV’s most amoral attorney on its most iconic crime drama?! \nFor actor, author, and teacher Michael Kostroff, the answer is: embrace the unexpected.\nBest known as cunning defense lawyer Maurice Levy on HBO's The Wire, Michael joins Weezy this week to reflect on a career that has taken him from television dramas and Broadway musicals to films, teen comedies, sitcoms and commercials.\nYou will currently find him on the MGM+/Prime Marvel superhero series (available in both color and black & white!) Spider-Noir with Nicolas Cage, as New York City's mayor and he's also just wrapped up his first Broadway run as the bank manager in Dog Day Afternoon.\nAlong the way, he shares behind-the-scenes stories from the national tour of The Producers (where lightning-fast costume changes and a grueling schedule collided with back and forth flights to film The Wire). Michael’s career then took him to The Plot Against America, The Wizard of Lies (with Robert De Niro!) and The Blacklist.\nMichael shares his thoughts on The Wire’s rarified role as a television landmark, why its richly layered characters continue to resonate, and whether he minds being typecast. He also talks about his four books, including Letters from Backstage, which grew out of emails that unexpectedly found a massive audience, and The Stage Actor's Handbook, born from his desire to provide aspiring actors with the practical guidance missing from their theater education. \nMichael opens up about the life-saving community he found in theater and the salve it offered for his unhappy childhood. We peek at his viral apartment tour video, revealing the unglamorous truth behind the doors of a working actor. We get schooled on the perils of backstage \"showmances,\" and we learn why, after decades of surprising turns, he's still excited to see where the next one leads.\nThis is a warm, funny, and inspiring conversation with an actor whose career proves...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/1GgYXD_hiwnssFuMS_Ei9MsCDyCcGaTzCMtzybbX1pQ/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzEzNjgxLzE1OTg0/NjUyMTktYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}