Colman Domingo and Kieran Culkin take opposite approaches in their work. Domingo researches each role and sets his alarm for several hours before arriving on set, which Culkin teases him about. “If I get picked up at 5 a.m., do you know what time I wake up?” Culkin says. “5 a.m.” But, as you learn here, their hearts as artists are very similar. Domingo is one of the few professional actors in “Sing Sing”; His comrades are mostly formerly incarcerated men who play themselves in a story about a prison theater program. He plays their leader, whose confident demeanor falters when he tries but fails to overturn his wrongful murder conviction. In “A Real Pain,” Culkin plays the troubled, childlike Benji, who goes on a Holocaust tour with his cousin David (writer-director Jesse Eisenberg). As they travel through their late grandmother’s homeland, Poland, David becomes very concerned about Benji’s constant emotional outbursts. Here, the two actors compare notes on their morning routines, the joys of having (and not having) kids — and the annoying way some of their fellow actors describe their jobs.

KIERAN CULKIN: Did you start in the circus?

COLMAN DOMINGO: I did that. I was just trying to get a gig because I had only taken a few acting classes.

CULKIN: Did you find any of this helpful? The acting class? Some people say, “I have to listen to everything my teacher says like it’s the gospel.” And it’s not.

DOMINGO: Some things don’t work. But one of my first teachers told me, “I’m going to give you some tools and you can use them, but you also want to expand your toolbox.” Everything I do, it’s always like the first time. I don’t want to do anything the same way. I don’t have a method.

CULKIN: The moment you start doing it, you think, “I’ve gotten complacent and now I’m bored and don’t want to do this anymore.” That’s why I like auditions. Whenever I didn’t audition, I think, “You might not like this at all.” You just did it because some producer said, “You have to give this to this guy.” But when I did audition, at least you know , what you expect. When it came to “A Real Pain,” Jesse Eisenberg hadn’t seen “Succession.” He cast me without ever auditioning me or seeing me in anything. And he thinks that’s completely normal. He says, “I’ve met you before.” We met twice in passing. That’s not how you cast someone.

DOMINGO: Listen, I’ve passed you a few times. I got a feeling for you very quickly. Just like you make eye contact. You’re a bit… how should I put this?

CULKIN: Insane. Psychopath. Bipolar.

DOMINGO: I would actually say that you are a very dangerous actor. And that’s the kind of actor I like. Your work in “A Real Pain” is beautiful. For example: “I’m not sure whether I like him or not. Is he a bit narcissistic?’ But then there’s something about him that’s so honest.

CULKIN: Benji, I don’t think he even thinks before he does something. That’s why I made it a point not to plan. I would literally go on set and ask Jesse what scene we were doing, which would give him a panic attack. He says, “You’re giving a page-long speech!” I say, “I learn lines quickly. Let’s find out what the scene is by doing it.”

DOMINGO: Do you know where cameras are?

CULKIN: Vague, but that’s none of my business. On “Succession,” the cameras were always somewhere in the afterlife. You lean on the person you are with. I’m sure you’re used to this too. “Sing Sing” – one of the best ensembles I’ve seen in years, decades, possibly ever. And most of these people have never been in front of a camera. This is such an achievement.

DOMINGO: Greg Kwedar, our director, encouraged everyone to bring what they had and not judge whatever it was. I shot “The Color Purple” right before that and shot “Rustin” right after that, so I literally had 18 days. I had to be a little more raw there, in a way that made me uncomfortable. I really enjoy preparing. This was the first time I thought, “Oh no, I don’t need to know exactly what’s going on.” But for this film it made sense because here I’m working with people who have a lot of experience. There can be no polish. I have to lean into it them Where She Are.

CULKIN: Clarence Maclin is brilliant.

DOMINGO: He’s beautiful, isn’t he? There’s a shot, my favorite shot in the film, where he corners me in a small space and I offer him the word “beloved.” Then he just walked away. I say, “No, no, he really needs to let that word sink in.” So I leaned over to my director and said, “Could he just hold on?” And he did. I have to give it to Greg Kwedar. He rarely wanted to call it “cut.” Everyone wants to cut so quickly. I say, “Yo, give me a little.” There’s more. There are always more.”

CULKIN: Sometimes on “Succession” we just shot the whole shebang. By having the actors play siblings, we filled gaps between scenes. This made the thing feel a little fuller.

DOMINGO: Who was one of your favorite scene partners?

CULKIN: Sarah Snook. You shouldn’t have favorites; I have a favorite. There were times when I would argue her point just for fun and then give her a little sideways glance. And then the scene went on, and if it was my line, she took mine and said, “Gotcha, bitch.” Right before we finished filming, she asked, “Are you ready to cry?” No one will ever hire either of us for anything. We’ll never work together again.” I just yelled. When you’re on a show like this and we play brother and sister, people will always make that comparison. So she’s probably right.

DOMINGO: But do you still see each other often?

CULKIN: She lives in Australia so it’s hard to keep up. I’m not the best at making phone calls. I always trusted that there would be another season. But she is my son’s godmother and one of my favorite people in the world.

DOMINGO: I know a lot of people, but when it comes to the people close to me, it’s really small. Is your group rather small or quite large?

CULKIN: My wife and my two children. That’s it.

DOMINGO: What do you like about being a father?

CULKIN: Absolutely everything except dinner. I love everything else. It feels like nothing else matters. I’m a father now and my only role in life is this. This is real life. That’s all nice, but I’m just trying to get home. Do you ever want children?

DOMINGO: I wanted children in my 20s. Now I have a lot of really good furniture. Where are you going to recover from all this?

CULKIN: I don’t.

DOMINGO: I’m not going to try to become a psychologist, but I think you need some time to yourself. What time do you wake up in the morning?

CULKIN: I don’t think I’ve ever woken up at the same time.

DOMINGO: I woke up at 4:30 this morning. Because I need a good two to three hours just for myself before I can do all of this.

CULKIN: You’re crazy. Do you do that on set?

DOMINGO: No matter what character. A hero, a villain, whatever – I need time to myself.

CULKIN: I have a good question. Is there a note a director has ever given you where you say, “I can take this with me for anything”?

DOMINGO: George C. Wolfe gave me my opinion on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. He said, “You directed it, right? I can tell because you know exactly what the scene should be.” I said, “That’s good, right?” And he said, “Yeah, but I’m missing the discovery right now.” I want to watch behind your eyes , how you absorb information and how it changes you. Because you can’t recycle vulnerabilities.” He took me back to 21-year-old Colman, who was a little wilder and approached me.

CULKIN: I am against actors calling themselves “storytellers.” I don’t really like that. Sorry, Jeremy (Strong). I don’t believe I am tell the story. Jesse Eisenberg was really good at making sure everyone was involved, but he wrote it. He tells the story. We all help him. So, this note you have: If you’re aware of the story you want to tell and you’re trying to tell the story in the scene, that’s not really your job.

DOMINGO: We are not storytellers. We are servants of history.

CULKIN: Let’s fucking work together, man.

DOMINGO: I would like that. You’ve got a sparkle in your eye, man.

CULKIN: I’m not dead inside yet.

DOMINGO: You live.

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Production: Emily Ullrich; Light management: Max Bernetz; Director: Gille Mills