Adam Scott and Kate Mara spot the differences between acting for screen and acting for audio

December 22, 2021

Adam Scott and Kate Mara joined Podsauce to give an exclusive interview about the making of their new, chart-topping podcast movie “Ghostwriter.” For real, it earned the number one spot for fiction podcasts within the first week of its release. Dax and Alesha could not be more thrilled to have the brilliant actors on the show and dive right into the creation of the psychological thriller.

The new C13Features podcast movie follows Kate Michaels, a former journalist who signs on to ghostwrite a murder mystery for a billionaire. Prior to accepting the gig, she had had a successful career in writing but suffered a traumatic incident that forced her to recuse herself from the outside world, living in solitude. Her client, billionaire James Webber, is eccentric and mysterious, and as they collaborate to comb over notes and pen drafts for the project, Kate begins to find something is amiss. More and more questions arise as Kate finds herself fully entrenched in the story and becoming increasingly dependent on James. Her own journalistic integrity battles her increasing suspicions about the murder and James himself.

Actors Scott and Mara jump right into what it was like to make the movie, noting the differences between making an on-screen film and even voice-acting for an animated film. They could no longer rely on visual cues for their characters or even the audience, making this a unique experience for the both of them. The two actors actually recorded this podcast virtually via Zoom, which probably made immersing themselves in their characters that much more difficult. But they both compliment the superb script and the final product, complete with foley and a musical score.

Scott mentions the freedom in doing these sort of audio projects, and he was so happy that he was able to wear whatever he wanted while recording, although he does clarify that he did not wear pajamas to the recording studio.

Alesha mentions her first foray into the scripted, fiction podcast world, which was Gimlet’s “Homecoming.” Mara is a big fan of podcasts, although she has never listened to a fiction podcast before doing “Ghostwriter.” But she is obsessed with interview podcasts like “Armchair Expert” and “SmartLess.” Alesha, the almighty podcast-recommender that she is, recommends to Mara the fiction podcast “Unwanted” as a way to dive into the scripted podcast world.

Scott also mentions that he loves “Homecoming,” and ties these sort of fictional podcasts to a world without television, when live entertainment and radio shows ruled. He talks about “threading the needle” between making a serious audio show and not making it corny. He’s also a fan of “Pod Save America,” “The Daily,” “Comedy Bang Bang,” and a newer podcast on his list, “Podcast But Outside.”

To end it, Dax asks if “Ghostwriter,” being one of the first podcast movies, was a hard sell to the über successful Mara and Scott. For Scott, it was an easy yes, as Mara was already in on it, and he was dying to work with her. Mara, the first to sign on, not only loved the script but also loves doing voice-over work and was only more excited for the project after hearing that Scott had signed on.

That’s all for this week Podsaucers! Be sure to check out “Ghostwriter” if you haven’t already, and you can check out the rest of Adam Scott and Kate Mara’s favorite podcasts down below.