ABSTRACT
Andrew McCarthy begins by talking about how he got a part on the series The Family, and how he came to direct several episodes as well. He discusses what it was like directing himself, and how directing has affected and altered his approach to his work as an actor. He goes into detail about how he directs actors and how he blocks them to bring out the truth of the situation. He then talks about how he pushes actors out of their comfort zones if they’ve been on a show for a while, and how he keeps everyone on the crew engaged. McCarthy then talks specifically about directing The Blacklist and reuniting with his Less than Zero and Pretty in Pink costar James Spader, and how he tries to make shows interesting without betraying their preexisting style. He talks about how casting works on the shows he has directed, such as Orange is the New Black, and finishes by talking about how he balanced acting with prep and shooting on The Family.
