Hollywood’s awards-season conversation piece, Variety’s Actors on Actors, returns with a format built on unlikely pairings and generational collisions, where performers sit down to dissect craft and the cultural weight of their most defining roles. This year’s lineup brings together two television universes that shaped entirely different eras of global fandom: Game of Thrones and Friends.

Peter Dinklage and Kit Harington, central figures in HBO’s sprawling fantasy epic, appear alongside Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow, whose work helped define the rhythm and legacy of one of the most enduring sitcoms in television history.

2026 Variety’s Actors On Actors reunions

  • Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn | Scandal
  • Kit Harington and Peter Dinklage | Game of Thrones
  • Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow | Friends
  • Elizabeth Banks and Josh Hutcherson | The Hunger Games
  • Noah Wyle and Sally Field | ER

Full lineup for Variety’s ‘Actors on Actors’

  • June 3: Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow
  • June 4: Keke Palmer and Sharon Stone
  • June 5: Kit Harington and Peter Dinklage
  • June 6: Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn
  • June 7: Paul Anthony Kelly and Patrick Ball
  • June 8: Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott
  • June 9: Rhea Seehorn and Bryan Cranston
  • June 10: Marcello Hernandez and Tracy Morgan
  • June 11: Josh Hutcherson and Elizabeth Banks
  • June 12: Noah Wyle and Sally Field
  • June 13: Claire Danes and Richard Gadd
  • June 14: Colman Domingo and Sarah Pidgeon
  • June 15: Jamie Lee Curtis and Mariska Hargitay

What is Variety’s Actors on Actors series?

Variety’s Actors on Actors is an interview series where actors interview other actors in one-on-one conversations about their craft, roles and careers. Launched in 2014, the format was designed to move away from traditional press interviews and instead create a space where performers speak directly with peers who understand the demands of the industry from the inside.

Each episode pairs talent from different projects, genres and generations, often creating unexpected combinations that range from blockbuster leads to television veterans and rising stars.

The conversations typically focus on specific performances, behind-the-scenes decisions and the emotional or technical challenges behind major roles, making the series a staple of Hollywood’s awards-season ecosystem.

How Actors on Actors became one of the most important interview series

The rise of Actors on Actors is closely tied to its peer-to-peer format, which replaced journalists with fellow performers and reshaped how Hollywood talent promotes their work. Produced by Variety in partnership with PBS SoCal, the series quickly expanded beyond a promotional tool into a widely watched industry event during awards season.

Its importance grew as streaming platforms and prestige television reshaped the entertainment landscape, with the show becoming a space where actors from film and TV could reflect on their careers in a more open and technical way.

Unlike traditional interviews, the conversations often dive into method, preparation and career-defining moments, giving audiences a rare look at how performances are built from the inside.

Over time, Actors on Actors has featured some of the biggest names in Hollywood, and its curated pairings have turned into cultural talking points on their own.

The series now functions as both a promotional platform and an informal archive of modern acting careers, capturing how different eras of entertainment intersect in real time.