Kieran Culkin

From WHYY in Philadelphia, I'm Terry Gross with Fresh Air Weekend. Today, Jesse Eisenberg talks about writing, directing, and starring in the film A Real Pain. Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin play cousins who go to Poland on a Jewish heritage tour. One of the stops is the Majdanek death camp. We'll talk about the questions the film raises, like...

From WHYY in Philadelphia, I'm Terry Gross with Fresh Air Weekend. Today, Jesse Eisenberg talks about writing, directing, and starring in the film A Real Pain. Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin play cousins who go to Poland on a Jewish heritage tour. One of the stops is the Majdanek death camp. We'll talk about the questions the film raises, like...

Also, we hear from Pamela Anderson in the new film The Last Showgirl. She stars as a veteran Vegas dancer who must face the end of her legendary show. Anderson became a pop culture phenomenon in the late 80s, in part because of her role on the series Baywatch. That's coming up on Fresh Air Weekend.

Also, we hear from Pamela Anderson in the new film The Last Showgirl. She stars as a veteran Vegas dancer who must face the end of her legendary show. Anderson became a pop culture phenomenon in the late 80s, in part because of her role on the series Baywatch. That's coming up on Fresh Air Weekend.

Also, we hear from Pamela Anderson in the new film The Last Showgirl. She stars as a veteran Vegas dancer who must face the end of her legendary show. Anderson became a pop culture phenomenon in the late 80s, in part because of her role on the series Baywatch. That's coming up on Fresh Air Weekend.

This is Fresh Air Weekend. Three years later, when he was 21, he was a star of the film The Squid and the Whale. He played Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network about the early days of Facebook. He played the journalist interviewing writer David Foster Wallace in The End of the Tour. He starred in the 2022 miniseries Fleischman is in Trouble.

This is Fresh Air Weekend. Three years later, when he was 21, he was a star of the film The Squid and the Whale. He played Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network about the early days of Facebook. He played the journalist interviewing writer David Foster Wallace in The End of the Tour. He starred in the 2022 miniseries Fleischman is in Trouble.

This is Fresh Air Weekend. Three years later, when he was 21, he was a star of the film The Squid and the Whale. He played Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network about the early days of Facebook. He played the journalist interviewing writer David Foster Wallace in The End of the Tour. He starred in the 2022 miniseries Fleischman is in Trouble.

In A Real Pain, he plays a husband and father who goes on a Jewish heritage tour in Poland with his cousin, played by Kieran Culkin, who was like a brother when they were growing up. The trip is funded by their beloved, recently deceased grandmother, who left money in her will for the trip so that they could see the home she fled when the Nazis were in power.

In A Real Pain, he plays a husband and father who goes on a Jewish heritage tour in Poland with his cousin, played by Kieran Culkin, who was like a brother when they were growing up. The trip is funded by their beloved, recently deceased grandmother, who left money in her will for the trip so that they could see the home she fled when the Nazis were in power.

In A Real Pain, he plays a husband and father who goes on a Jewish heritage tour in Poland with his cousin, played by Kieran Culkin, who was like a brother when they were growing up. The trip is funded by their beloved, recently deceased grandmother, who left money in her will for the trip so that they could see the home she fled when the Nazis were in power.

Each cousin is dealing with mental health issues, which are exacerbated by the trip. Eisenberg's character is introverted and takes meds for his OCD. He's constantly hurt and embarrassed by his cousin's inappropriate behavior.

Each cousin is dealing with mental health issues, which are exacerbated by the trip. Eisenberg's character is introverted and takes meds for his OCD. He's constantly hurt and embarrassed by his cousin's inappropriate behavior.

Each cousin is dealing with mental health issues, which are exacerbated by the trip. Eisenberg's character is introverted and takes meds for his OCD. He's constantly hurt and embarrassed by his cousin's inappropriate behavior.

Culkin's character is dealing with depression, but when around other people, he becomes extroverted, manic in ways that can be seen as charismatic or incredibly annoying and intrusive. Both extremes are intensified by the disconnect Culkin's character experiences between the first-class train car the tour travels on and the cattle cars that brought Jews to their death.

Culkin's character is dealing with depression, but when around other people, he becomes extroverted, manic in ways that can be seen as charismatic or incredibly annoying and intrusive. Both extremes are intensified by the disconnect Culkin's character experiences between the first-class train car the tour travels on and the cattle cars that brought Jews to their death.

Culkin's character is dealing with depression, but when around other people, he becomes extroverted, manic in ways that can be seen as charismatic or incredibly annoying and intrusive. Both extremes are intensified by the disconnect Culkin's character experiences between the first-class train car the tour travels on and the cattle cars that brought Jews to their death.

He's also troubled by the disconnect between the nice restaurants the tour takes them to while at the same time the death camp Majdanek is on the tour. Our critic John Powers wrote, quote, It's worth mentioning that the film also has comic touches. Jesse Eisenberg, welcome to Fresh Air and congratulations on the film.

He's also troubled by the disconnect between the nice restaurants the tour takes them to while at the same time the death camp Majdanek is on the tour. Our critic John Powers wrote, quote, It's worth mentioning that the film also has comic touches. Jesse Eisenberg, welcome to Fresh Air and congratulations on the film.

He's also troubled by the disconnect between the nice restaurants the tour takes them to while at the same time the death camp Majdanek is on the tour. Our critic John Powers wrote, quote, It's worth mentioning that the film also has comic touches. Jesse Eisenberg, welcome to Fresh Air and congratulations on the film.