The Treatment

Guillermo del Toro won his first Oscar for directing the 2017 film 'The Shape of Water.' His latest film, 'Frankenstein,' received nine total Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Elvis chatted with Del Toro for an extended interview taped live at KCRW’s Annenberg Performance Studio. Del Toro discusses how experiences from his childhood have made their way into his films from 'Cronos' to 'Pan’s Labyrinth' and why he sees challenges in filmmaking as opportunities. Plus, Del Toro explains why we’re talking about film in the wrong way.

Actress Wunmi Mosaku’s performances are often quiet and contemplative. Her role as the spiritual healer Annie in Sinners landed her a first-ever Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. For her treat, Wunmi reflects on the Alua Arthur book Briefly, Perfectly, Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End. She says the book about death has helped her not sweat the small stuff in life.   Do you love listening to The Treatment? We want to hear from you! Please take a moment to share your feedback in this survey so we can make your listening experience better. Thank you!  

Elvis speaks with Emmy, Tony, and Grammy-winning actress Cynthia Erivo. She recently reprised her role as Elphaba in 'Wicked: For Good,' for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. Erivo can now be seen on stage in London in the one-woman adaptation of 'Dracula.' She talks about playing characters with duality, how Elphaba grows in 'For Good' and the exciting challenge of playing 23 characters in 'Dracula.'  Do you love listening to The Treatment? We want to hear from you! Please take a moment to share your feedback in this survey so we can make your listening experience better. Thank you!  This episode originally aired January 9, 2026.   

Actor and director Joel Edgerton often plays characters who question traditional notions of masculinity. His most recent role was as a soft-spoken logger at the turn of the 20th century in the film Train Dreams. The film is nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture. For his treat, Edgerton celebrates the Welsh musician Ren, who talks openly about his mental health struggles in his music.

Actress Wunmi Mosaku’s performances often say so much in the pauses in dialogue from her work in Lovecraft Country to Loki, and the 2010 film I Am Slave. Mosaku’s latest role is Annie, a Hoodoo healer and the estranged wife of Smoke in Sinners. Her performance garnered her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, one of 16 nods for the film. Mosaku talks to Elvis about why she is attracted to characters who are seeking freedom, what self-affirmation has done for her, and how the moments before a character speaks are often the most revealing.

Josh Safdie’s films often show the claustrophobic chaos of family life. His kinetic film Marty Supreme received nine Oscar nominations including Best Director and Best Picture. For his treat, he talks about a 1979 Oscar-winning film he used to navigate the chaos he was experiencing as a child.

In 2021, Chloé Zhao made history as the first woman of color to win the Best Director Oscar for her film Nomadland. Now, her latest film Hamnet is up for eight Oscar nominations including her second nod for Best Director. The film, an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel of the same name, stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley as William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes as they navigate the death of their child. Zhao spoke with Elvis at this year’s Sundance Film Festival where she was the recipient of the 2026 Trailblazer Award. Zhao talks about getting her start at Sundance, collaborating with Farrell on the screenplay, and how she uses her body in the writing process.    Do you love listening to The Treatment? We want to hear from you! Please take a moment to share your feedback in this survey so we can make your listening experience better. Thank you!  

Guillermo del Toro’s films often show the beauty even in their, at times, gothic horror. His latest is the Oscar nominated adaptation of Frankenstein, which is up for nine awards next month, including Best Picture. For del Toro’s treat, he celebrates the late director Ken Russell. Russell’s work often stoked controversy and was even censored, but as del Toro notes, it was also filled with dazzling beauty and craft.

The films of Yorgos Lanthimos cannot be neatly summed up and often take the viewer in surprising and unexpected directions. He’s the mind behind The Lobster, Poor Things, The Favourite and his latest, Bugonia. The film, starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, is up for four Oscars including Best Actress and Best Picture. Lanthimos tells Elvis why he enjoys working with non-professional actors, how Emma Stone prepared for the layered role, and why he likes a film that doesn't give all the answers.   

Director Joseph Kosinski’s films don’t exactly scream quiet solitude. He’s helmed the action packed Tron, Top Gun: Maverick  and most recently, the Oscar nominated F1, starring Brad Pitt. However, his films’ protagonists often have to do battle with themselves in the end. For his treat, Kosinski goes back to a painting he discovered as a young man in New York that captured the loneliness of being a director.  

Sinners is now the most Oscar nominated film ever with 16 nods including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. In 2025, Ryan Coogler sat down with Elvis for an extended conversation about the film. Elvis and Coogler delve into the musical spark behind Sinners, why his characters often have a complicated relationship with home, and why he sees films as an exercise in contrast.

Oscar nominated director Darren Aronofsky doesn’t shy away from gritty realism. From the ugliness of drug addiction in 'Requiem for a Dream' to the frightening discipline of a ballerina in 'Black Swan' to his latest thriller, 'Caught Stealing' starring Austin Butler. The film takes place in the pre-gentrified New York City of the 1990s. For his treat, Aronofsky pays tribute to another film that captured the dark side of the city as the backdrop for a bored guy’s never-ending night.  

Elvis welcomes Iranian director Jafar Panahi, whose film It Was Just an Accident received two Oscar nominations for Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay. The film earned critical acclaim when it won the Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. He talks about the obligations of a socially engaged filmmaker, letting the audience be the judge of his films' morality, and how he approaches casting.

Elvis welcomes director Josh Safdie whose latest project is the ambitious Marty Supreme. The film stars newly minted Golden Globe winner Timothée Chalamet as the hustling, talented table tennis player Marty Mauser. Safdie talks about why he used ‘80s music in a film set in the ‘50s, Chalamet’s crazy year of playing Bob Dylan and the fictional — but inspired by real life character — Marty Mauser back to back, and why he likes to keep the camera loose.

Actress Emily Blunt’s career has taken her from working with iconic actors, including Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise to playing iconic characters, such as Mary Poppins. Her latest role has her going toe to toe against one of the biggest stars of the screen. She plays real life Dawn Staples in The Smashing Machine opposite Dwayne Johnson and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance. For her treat, Blunt pays tribute to the inspiring (and mildly inappropriate films) that shaped her childhood.

This week on The Treatment, Elvis welcomes back Emmy, Tony, and Grammy-winning actress Cynthia Erivo. She’s hoping to add Golden Globe winner to that list this weekend as she’s up for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her role as Elphaba in Wicked: For Good. Erivo discusses playing characters with duality, how Elphaba matures in the Wicked sequel, and the quiet, powerful moments she loves most from the film.

 Actor Dwayne Johnson is crushing expectations with his latest role as an MMA fighter in 2025’s The Smashing Machine. He’s up for a Golden Globe for his raw portrayal of the real life Mark Kerr. For his treat, Johnson celebrates those closest to him and this new, exciting chapter in his career.  

This week on The Treatment, Elvis welcomes back actor and director Joel Edgerton. He recently earned a Golden Globe nomination for his role in Netflix’s Train Dreams. He's also appearing in the psychological thriller The Plague, now in theaters. Edgerton discusses his character's physicality in Train Dreams, the strong female characters in the film, and why he is drawn to parts that explore the complexity of masculinity.

Actor Jason Isaacs has had a long, pigeon-hole proof career with meaty roles from the villainous Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films to Colonel Tavington in The Patriot. Isaacs’ role as a tormented father in season three of the HBO series The White Lotus earned him a Golden Globe nomination and a primetime Emmy nomination earlier this year. However, it’s an early role on stage that he cites as a highlight of his career and a very tough act to follow.

This week on The Treatment, Elvis talks with Golden Globe nominee Emily Blunt. She recently got a nod for her supporting role as Dawn Staples opposite Dwayne Johnson in The Smashing Machine. Blunt talks about her joy working with Johnson on the film, the challenges of playing a real person, and the impact of working through her childhood stutter.