Best Episodes of Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter

Nicole Kidman ('Big Little Lies'), Jessica Lange ('Feud: Bette and Joan'), Chrissy Metz ('This Is Us'), Elisabeth Moss ('The Handmaid's Tale'), Oprah Winfrey ('The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks') and Reese Witherspoon ('Big Little Lies') talk about how they prepare for intense scenes and gender equality in Hollywood.

Six top actresses — Mary J. Blige (Mudbound), Jessica Chastain (Molly's Game), Allison Janney (I, Tonya), Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird), Emma Stone (Battle of the Sexes), and Jennifer Lawrence (mother!)— open up about risky roles and how the industry's culture of abuse might finally be on the verge of change

Six top filmmakers — also including Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049), Angelina Jolie (First They Killed My Father) and Joe Wright (Darkest Hour) — open up about choosing the right projects ("You don't want to end up in a bad marriage"), firing staff and what it feels like to direct a movie that bombs: "People think you move on, but you don't."

Tom Hanks (The Post), James Franco (The Disaster Artist), John Boyega (Detroit), Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour), Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) and Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project) open up about their latest films.

Emmy nominees Taraji P. Henson (Empire), Viola Davis (How to Get Away with Murder), Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: Freak Show), and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Honorable Woman) join Ruth Wilson (The Affair) and Lizzy Caplan (Masters of Sex) for The Hollywood Reporter's drama actress Emmy roundtable where the women discuss character development and their artistic work, as well sexism and sexuality in television.

Emmy nominees Bob Odenkirk ('Better Call Saul'), David Oyelowo ('Nightingale') and Timothy Hutton ('American Crime'), join Justin Theroux ('The Leftovers'), Jon Voight ('Ray Donovan'), and Clive Owen ('The Knick') for The Hollywood Reporter's Drama Actor Emmy Roundtable where the actors discuss their characters and their work.

Emmy nominees Amy Schumer ('Inside Amy Schumer') and Kate McKinnon ('Saturday Night Live') join Tracee Ellis Ross ('black-ish'), Lena Dunham ('Girls'), Gina Rodriguez ('Jane the Virgin'), and Ellie Kemper ('The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt') for The Hollywood Reporter's Comedy Actress Emmy Roundtable where the actress discuss their characters and their work while hilarity ensues.

Comedy acting Emmy nominees Ricky Gervais (‘Derek’), Don Cheadle (‘House of Lies’) and Will Forte (‘The Last Man on Earth’) join Fred Armisen (‘Portlandia’) and Jordan Peele (‘Key & Peele’), who write and produce their Emmy nominated shows, and actor Thomas Middleditch who stars in the Emmy nominated ‘Silicon Valley’ for The Hollywood Reporter's Comedy Actor Emmy Roundtable where the actors share how and when they learned they were funny.

Showrunners Lee Daniels ('Empire'), Damon Lindelof ('The Leftovers'), Alex Gansa ('Homeland'), Sarah Treem ('The Affair'), Michelle King ('The Good Wife'), and Beau Willimon ('House of Cards') for The Hollywood Reporter's Drama Showrunner Emmy Roundtable where the writers discuss their characters and their work.

Jill Soloway ('Transparent'), Jay Duplass ('Togetherness'), Steve Levitan ('Modern Family'), Robert Carlock ('Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'), Kenya Barris ('Black-ish'), and Alec Berg ('Silicon Valley') join for THR's Comedy Showrunner Roundtable.

Mark Burnett ('The Voice', 'Survivor', 'Shark Tank'), Julie Chen ('Big Brother'), Cat Deeley ('So You Think You Can Dance'), Nigel Lythgoe ('So You Think You Can Dance'), Bertram van Munster ('The Amazing Race'), and Craig Piligian ('The Ultimate Fighter') join up for The Hollywood Reporter's reality roundtable.

Stacey Sher joins Ice Cube ('Straight Outta Compton'), Steve Golin ('The Revenant', 'Spotlight'), Simon Kinberg ('The Martian'), Christine Vachon ('Carol') and Scott Cooper ('Black Mass') for The Hollywood Reporter's Producer Oscar Roundtable.

Some of the past's years most notable screenwriters join for The Hollywood Reporter's Writer Oscar Roundtable. The writers include comedian and actress Amy Schumer ('Trainwreck'), former playwright Aaron Sorkin ('Steve Jobs'), novelist Emma Donoghue ('Room'), present-day actor-director Tom McCarthy ('Spotlight'), onetime executive Meg LeFauve ('Inside Out'), and former teacher Nick Hornby ('Brooklyn').

The year's most notable directors join for The Hollywood Reporter's Writer Director Roundtable. The directors include Quentin Tarantino ('The Hateful Eight'), Tom Hooper ('The Danish Girl'), Alejandro G. Inarritu ('The Revenant'), Ridley Scott ('The Martian'), Danny Boyle ('Steve Jobs') and David O. Russell ('Joy').

The year's most notable actresses join together for The Hollywood Reporter's Actress Oscar Roundtable - Brie Larson (Room), as well as 2016 best actress nominees Jennifer Lawrence (Joy), Cate Blanchett (Carol, Truth), and Charlotte Rampling (45 Years), 2016 supporting actress nominee Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs), and actresses Jane Fonda (Youth), Helen Mirren (Trumbo, Woman in Gold), and Carey Mulligan (Suffragette).

Some of the past year's most notable actors join The Hollywood Reporter's Actor Oscar Roundtable. Each actor shares their stories, from their journey to becoming an actor, views on race relations and what racism means, as well as some surprising personal stories along their way. The actors include Will Smith ('Concussion'), Mark Ruffalo ('Spotlight'), Benicio Del Toro ('Sicario'), Joel Edgerton ('Black Mass', 'The Gift'), Samuel L. Jackson ('The Hateful Eight'), and Michael Cain ('Youth').

Some of the past year's most notable documentary filmmakers join for The Hollywood Reporter's Documentary Oscar Roundtable. The filmmakers include Alex Gibney ('Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief'), Michael Moore ('Where to Invade Next?'), Liz Garbus ('What Happened, Miss Simone?'), Amy Berg ('Prophet's Prey', 'Janis: Little Girl Blue'), Chai Vserhelyi ('Meru'), and Kirby Dick ('The Hunting Ground').

Six of the industry's leading cinematographers joined for THR's Oscar Roundtable series, featuring Rodrigo Prieto (Silence, Passengers), Linus Sandgren (La La Land), John Toll (Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk), Charlotte Bruus Christensen (Fences, The Girl on the Train), Bradford Young (Arrival) and Caleb Deschanel (Rules Don't Apply).

Six of the year's most sought after drama actresses engage in a candid conversation about sex scenes and nudity as they get older. Sarah Paulson, Julianna Margulies, Kerry Washington, Constance Zimmer, Kirsten Dunst, Regina King, and Jennifer Lopez discuss the advantages of working with female directors, the new landscape of television, and what their first big splurge was.

Six of the television season's most eclectic drama actors – including Rami Malek, Bobby Cannavale, Wagner Moura, Cuba Gooding Jr., Forest Whitaker, and Paul Giamatti reveal the challenges of letting emotionally demanding characters go, the nuances of real versus fictional characters, and the little known movies they wish everyone had seen.

TV's leading funny ladies – Rachel Bloom, Gina Rodriguez, Allison Janney, Niecy Nash, Lily Tomlin, Ilana Glazer – disclose the best advice they ever got, the moment they knew they wanted to become actors and their funniest fan interactions.

Comedy masters, Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent), Aziz Ansari (Master of None), Anthony Anderson (Black-ish), Tony Hale (Veep), Jerrod Carmichael (The Carmichael Show), Rob Lowe (The Grinder), Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), divulge their most embarrassing moments, who inspires them and the challenges of taking a comedic look at serious topics.

Six of television's top drama series bosses- Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot), Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey), Nina Jacobson (American Crime Story), Marti Noxon (UnREAL, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce), Melissa Rosenberg (Jessica Jones) and John Ridley (American Crime)- open up about the stories that made them genuinely nervous, diversity in Hollywood and what it takes to cast their shows.

Comedy TV writer-producers including Kenya Barris (Black-ish), Marta Kauffman (Grace and Frankie), Aline Brosh McKenna (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Alan Yang (Master of None), Nahnatchka Khan (Fresh Off the Boat) and David Mandel (Veep) talk condoms, stunt guests and what they have (and haven't) been able to get away with showing and talking about on the small screen.

TV’s top reality talent - Mark Cuban (Shark Tank), Jane Lynch (Hollywood Game Night), Guy Fieri (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives), Nick Cannon (America’s Got Talent), Mike Darnell (500 Questions) and LL Cool J (Lip Sync Battle) - discuss on-set psychologists, coaxing contestants and America’s first reality star presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

The directors of this year's most acclaimed films, Damien Chazelle (La La Land), Mel Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Mira Nair (Queen of Katwe), Oliver Stone (Snowden), Denzel Washington (Fences), talk about the filmmaking process.

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water), Andrew Garfield (Silence, Hacksaw Ridge), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Snowden) and Dev Patel (Lion) discuss how they go about researching roles, being typecast and what it's like working with celebrated directors.

2017 Oscars Actress Roundtable with Emma Stone ('La La Land'), Taraji P. Henson ('Hidden Figures'), Annette Bening ('20th Century Woman'), Natalie Portman ('Jackie'), Naomie Harris ('Moonlight'), Isabelle Huppert ('Elle'), and Amy Adams ('Arrival' 'Nocturnal Animals')

The Hollywood Reporter's Full Producers 2017 Oscars Roundtable with Matt Damon ('Manchester By The Sea'), Darren Aronofsky ('Jackie'), Frank Marshall ('Sully'), Emma Tillinger Koskoff ('Silence'), Marc Platt ('La La Land'), and Todd Black ('Fences')

Writers 2017 Oscars Roundtable with Pedro Almodovar ('Julieta'), Allison Schroeder ('Hidden Figures'), Tom Ford ('Nocturnal Animals'), Kenneth Lonergan ('Manchester by the Sea'), Noah Oppenheim ('Jackie'), and Taylor Sheridan ('Hell or High Water')

Documentary Directors 2017 Oscars Roundtable with Werner Herzog ('Into The Inferno' 'Lo and Behold'), Roger Ross Williams ('Life Animated'), Raoul Peck ('I Am Not Your Negro'), Kirsten Johnson ('Cameraperson'), Josh Kriegman ('Weiner'), and Ezra Edelman ('O.J.: Made in America')

Songwriters Tori Amos, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Sting, Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams reveal their process and how to emotionally connect songs to movies.

Anthony Anderson ('Black-ish'), Kevin Bacon ('I Love Dick'), Ted Danson ('The Good Place'), Brian Tyree Henry ('Atlanta'), William H. Macy ('Shameless') and Kumail Nanjiani ('Silicon Valley') talk about tackling unlikable characters, what it's like making comedy in the current political climate and their proudest moments from their shows.

Pamela Adlon ('Better Things'), Minnie Driver ('Speechless'), America Ferrera ('Superstore'), Kathryn Hahn ('I Love Dick'), Issa Rae ('Insecure') and Emmy Rossum ('Shameless') talk about typecasting in Hollywood, male nudity vs. female nudity and their most embarrassing moments on set.

Riz Ahmed ('The Night Of'), Sterling K. Brown ('This Is Us'), John Lithgow ('The Crown'), Ewan McGregor ('Fargo'), Billy Bob Thornton ('Goliath') and Jeffrey Wright ('Westworld') talk about what scenes they were nervous to approach and the process of letting a character go.

2017 Comedy Showrunner Roundtable features the talented Gloria Calderon Kellett ('One Dat at a Time'), Scott Silveri ('Speechless'), Judd Apatow ('Girls', 'Crashing', 'Love'), Phoebe Waller-Bridge ('Fleabag'), David Mandel ('Veep') and Kenya Barris ('Black-ish')

This season's 2017 Drama Showrunner Roundtable features Ava DuVernay ('Queen Sugar'), Ryan Murphy ('Feud: Bette and Joan'/'American Horror Story: Roanoke'), Noah Hawley ('Fargo'/'Legion'), Lisa Joy ('Westworld'), Jenji Kohan ('Orange is the New Black') and David E. Kelly ('Big Little Lies').

This season's 2017 Reality Roundtable features Leah Remini ('Scientology and the Aftermath'), Kris Jenner ('Keeping Up With The Kardashians'), RuPaul ('RuPaul's Drag Race'), W. Kamau Bell ('United Shades of America'), and Sallyann Salsano ('Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party').

THR's Roundtable Series kicks off with superproducers including Jason Blum (Get Out), Eric Fellner (Darkest Hour, Baby Driver, Victoria & Abdul), Seth Rogen (The Disaster Artist) and Ridley Scott (All The Money in the World, Blade Runner 2049) debating tough decisions, surprise successes and sexual harassment in Hollywood.

Scribes behind six of the season's most unusual scripts — including Darren Aronofsky (mother!), Anthony McCarten (Darkest Hour), Emily V. Gordon (The Big Sick) and Fatih Akin (In The Fade) — reveal the struggles and satisfactions of bringing their words to the screen ("Rule number one: Don't bore an audience") and say nothing is off limits (even porn).