In recording over 50 episodes of the Four Quadrant podcast, this writer has rarely been so surprised you could categorize it as “shocked.” That wasn’t the case when speaking to actor John Magaro last week. The “Not Fade Away” and “Carol” star admitted he didn’t have one, not one, oily cake on the set of Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow.” How can you say no to what is essentially a fried donut when you’ve made them all day on set? Mr. Magaro clearly has tremendous willpower.
Set in the early 1800s, “First Cow” chronicles the unexpected partnership, friendship, and love between two men who find safe haven with each other in the dangerous and often lawlessness wilderness of the Oregon Territory, King Lu (Orion Lee) and Cookie (Magaro). When a local public official (Toby Jones), transports the first cow for his own personal use it provides Cookie, a cook and baker, with an opportunity he cannot pass up. Hence, the aforementioned oily cakes.
An A24 release, “First Cow” debuted at Telluride almost a year ago and was intentionally set for a March 6, 2020, public debut in order to avoid the onslaught of awards season at the request of the filmmakers. Ah, not so fast. Now, the picture is one of the most acclaimed films of the year and could find Magaro making waves in a much thinner than usual Best Actor race. That’s why despite “First Cow” hitting theaters a week before the stay at home orders began, A24 held off on pushing it to PVOD until now.
READ MORE: ‘First Cow’ & The Best Films Of 2020… So Far
Magaro, who used the four-month stay-at-home to help raise his 1-year-old with his wife, also has a lot of other projects on the way. He’ll star in David Chase’s “Sopranos'” prequel, “The Many Saints of Newark” next March (assuming release dates hold), the new drama “Lansky,” has a small role in the Sundance Film Festival melodrama “Sylvie’s Love” and may or may not return for the second season of Netflix‘s “The Umbrella Academy.” All subjects we discussed in this week’s edition of the podcast.
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