The Ten Most Instantly Iconic Quotes From Patti LuPone's 'Actors on Actors'

“I’m not a big fan of me.”

Apr 22, 2025

Every once in a while, Variety Studios: Actors on Actors puts together a pairing that is, quite simply, appointment viewing. Viola Davis with Jane Fonda in 2015, Sarah Jessica Parker with Michelle Pfieffer in 2017, Tracee Ellis Ross with Sarah Paulson in 2019, Glenn Close with Pete Davidson in 2021, Nicole Kidman with Kristen Stewart in 2022, Jennifer Coolidge with Jeremy Allen White in 2023 and Kieran Culkin with Colman Domingo in 2024 are just an oversized handful of some of my favorites throughout the series’ 11-year stretch.

There’s something innately dazzling about the format which pairs two actors together in an extended conversation where they probe each other about their work, their process, their thoughts and their feelings. For one, there's the hidden lore of knowing how many agents and publicists must have fought for their client to be included and then tried to finesse a pairing that they felt was worthy of their client. (Sebastian Stan recently said, for instance, that he “couldn't find another actor to do it with him” when he was out promoting The Apprentice.) It’s fun trying to imagine if the pair actually get on or if this is merely a work commitment, why some videos are significantly shorter than others (and what that means) and which actors succeed at playing the role of inquisitor — something they’re rarely tasked with doing.

In a treat ahead of the Tony Awards on June 8, Variety yesterday announced (and today released) Episode 1 of a five-part Broadway themed version of the hit series featuring a number of notable stage icons such as Audra McDonald, Jonathan Groff and Cole Escola. And first up on the docket is one of the stage’s more enduring icons: Patti “The Wolf” (as Kathryn Hahn calls her) LuPone in conversation with George Clooney, who is currently starring in Good Night, and Good Luck on Broadway.

“You have had such an extraordinary career,” Clooney tells LuPone right off the bat.

“I have a great affinity toward singers — I grew up around them — and I watch people in musicals and I think, ‘That was great.’ And every once in a while, and it’s so rare, there is someone that actually levitates the audience. What you do, and the two times that I’ve seen you do it, it changes the atmosphere and the oxygen in the room. And so it is such an honor to be here with you because I just think that you are spectacular.”

And from that moment on, a visibly moved Patti locks in for a generous, boisterous and soulful conversation with a man who is not really a contemporary (Clooney is a bonafide movie star, after all), but something of an equal in terms of their magnitude within their chosen fields. And thus, the respect and admiration brims throughout their lively 51-minute discussion.

Below are ten of Patti’s best quotes. (Click here to watch the full video.)

10. “I’m an advocate of talent.”