TRACY LETTS - Actor / Writer

Team Deakins

James Ellis Deakins

Tv & Film, Filmlighting, Deakins, Movies, Filmmaking, Production, Film, Cinematography, Film Interviews

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 154 - Tracy Letts - Actor / Writer

In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with actor and writer Tracy Letts (AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, BUG, HOMELAND). Born and raised in Oklahoma, Tracy struck out for Chicago after high school to find work as an actor in the city’s active theatre scene, and we learn why Tracy began writing plays himself. We also discuss cinema’s role as a messenger for exposing the stories of the stage to rural American communities without access to the theatre, and he shares his mixed experiences adapting his plays into films, from director William Friedkin’s tense vision of BUG to the Hollywood ensemble version of his Pulitzer Prize winning play AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY. An accomplished actor as well, Tracy reflects on seeking advice for performing for the camera from his seasoned HOMELAND castmates Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin, and he reveals how he felt when, after being replaced on a film he had written, he was asked to act in additional scenes invented for his character. Plus, Tracy quotes a critical review that ironically sold out the remaining shows of his first play KILLER JOE.

This episode is sponsored by Barco & Aputure

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi and welcome to season two of the Team Deacons podcast, a collection of informal conversations between Roger and James Deacons and a guest.
0:13.7	We never know where the conversation will take us, so listen in and see where it goes.
0:21.5	This episode is sponsored by HDR by Barco, where the magic of cinema reaches
0:28.5	breathtaking heights with cutting-edge, high dynamic range, HDR, laser projection.
0:36.2	Don't miss the opportunity to immerse yourself in a spectacular world of deep shadows,
0:42.1	dazzling highlights, and vibrant colors at select theaters near you.
0:46.9	Buy your tickets, learn more, and experience extraordinary today.
0:51.8	Visit hDR by barco.com.
0:58.0	This episode is sponsored by Aperture and its new Storm XT52,
1:04.4	the industry's most powerful LED point source light.
1:08.6	Brighter than a 6K HMI empowered by Aperture's revolutionary Blair light engine,
1:15.2	the Storm XT-52 is both a tunable white light
1:18.8	and also the brightest ever adjustable color LED.
1:23.3	Storm XT-52, unrivaled output, only from Aperture.
1:31.9	Today we're speaking with an actor who is also a writer.
1:36.1	His written work includes Bug, Killer Joe, and August Osage County,
1:41.0	and his acting credits include Deepwater, Little Women, and the series Homeland.
1:47.3	We're pleased to welcome Tracy Lutz.
1:50.3	Tracy, thank you for doing this.
1:52.6	Yes, welcome.
1:53.5	Thank you so much.
1:54.3	Thanks for having me.
	...

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