Joey Magidson
Skyler Gisondo has been steadily building his profile as an actor, really breaking through in the past couple of years. Gisondo has displayed some very notable comedy chops, especially in work like Booksmart, though a role like that in Licorice Pizza hinted at more. This year, he’s not only honing his comedic skills in Focker-in-Law (which I’ve seen but am currently embargoed on), he’s also given a career best performance in Primetime, which expands his dramatic resume. As he prepared to arrive at the 2026 SCAD Savannah Film Festival, right as I was about to head home, we connected on Zoom to talk about his career, his newest roles, and acting in general.
Later today at the 29th SCAD Savannah Film Festival, Gisondo will be one of the 2026 Breaking Big honorees, and it’s well deserved. An annual event put on by the festival, presented by Entertainment Weekly, it spotlights rising actors and breakout talent in both film and television. That sounds exactly like Gisondo, so featuring him among other honorees Adia, India Amarteifio, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Tom Rhys Harries, and Summer H. Howell just makes sense.
In my review of Primetime (here), I spoke of the cast, including Gisondo, like so:
Robert Pattinson arguably gives the best performance of his career here, and the same can be said of Skyler Gisondo, Matthew Maher, and Merritt Weaver (especially Gisondo). Those four are outstanding, really leaning in to both the grotesqueries of making this show, as well as the addictive nature of succeeding in nailing pedophiles. Pattinson especially is able to channel Hansen while also making him an even more ghoulish figure. It’s compelling and hypnotic, while still being funny and sad. It’s one of, if not the most, complete performances of his career. Gisondo gets to go darker and stretch in a way that makes you very excited to see what might be next for him.
Below, you can hear my chat with Gisondo. As he was very generous with his time, we move around his entire career, whether it’s massive films like Superman or early television work like The Bill Engvall Show. We keep coming back to Primetime, and if you’ve seen the film, you’ll understand why. Gisondo is funny, forthcoming, and a pleasure to talk to. Make sure to check out Primetime if you haven’t seen the movie yet, and be on the lookout for Focker-in-Law when it hits theaters on Thanksgiving. Once again, congrats to Gisondo for this honor from the SCAD Savannah Film Festival.
Here now is my interview with Primetime co-star and SCAD Savannah Film Festival 2026 Breaking Big honoree Skyler Gisondo. Enjoy:
Primetime is in theaters now!
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