Elizabeth Banks: podcast appearances and interviews

Elizabeth Banks (née Mitchell) is an American actress and filmmaker born on February 10, 1974. She made her acting debut in the low-budget independent film Surrender Dorothy in 1998 and has since appeared in numerous films including Wet Hot American Summer, the Spider-Man trilogy directed by Sam Raimi, Seabiscuit, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Slither, Invincible, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Role Models, The Next Three Days, Man on a Ledge, What to Expect When You're Expecting, Movie 43, The Lego Movie series, Love & Mercy, Walk of Shame, Magic Mike XXL, Power Rangers, Brightburn, Call Jane, Migration, and Skincare. Banks gained recognition for her recurring role as Avery Jessup on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She also had recurring roles on the television series Scrubs and Modern Family; her work on Modern Family earned her a third Emmy nomination. On the 2015 miniseries Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp and its sequel Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, she starred in leading roles. Banks began hosting the ABC game show Press Your Luck in 2019. Her work extends behind the camera as well, having made her directorial debut with Pitch Perfect 2 in 2015, which set a record for a first-time director with its opening weekend gross of 69 million dollars. She directed the films Charlie's Angels in 2019 and Cocaine Bear in 2023. Banks is also the founder of the film and television production company Brownstone Productions, established in 2002 with her husband Max Handelman.