John Turturro Reflects on Four Decades of Cinema, Teases Severance Season 3, and Accepts Zurich Film Festival’s Golden Eye Award

Fresh off receiving the prestigious Golden Eye award at the 22nd annual Zurich Film Festival, veteran American actor and filmmaker John Turturro took center stage on Sunday for a comprehensive, career-spanning masterclass. Nestled comfortably beside his newly acquired trophy, the Emmy-winning star engaged in an intimate, extensive conversation with Deadline’s Melanie Goodfellow. The discussion touched upon his upbringing in an immigrant household, his enduring collaborations with legendary directors like Spike Lee and the Coen brothers, and his evolving perspectives on acting as he enters the fifth decade of his prolific career.

The masterclass followed a whirlwind weekend for Turturro in Switzerland, where festival organizers celebrated his formidable body of work. Joining fellow 2026 festival honorees Julianne Moore and Tom Hiddleston, Turturro’s presence underscored the international stature of the Zurich Film Festival, which runs from September 24 to October 4 and routinely draws global cinematic heavyweights.

A Masterclass in Craft and Current Acclaim

Much of the conversation centered around Turturro’s latest cinematic venture, Noah Segan’s The Only Living Pickpocket in New York. The Sundance Film Festival hit has rapidly generated considerable awards season momentum, positioning Turturro squarely in the conversation for best actor accolades—a notable milestone for an acclaimed performer who has famously remained outside the traditional Oscar nominee circle despite a decades-long pedigree of standout performances.

In the film, Turturro portrays Harry, a seasoned pickpocket whose meticulously structured existence implodes over a tense 36-hour window following a botched job. Reflecting on the unexpected critical praise and subsequent awards buzz, Turturro maintained a grounded perspective. He admitted that while he has never actively campaigned or "gone the whole hog" with traditional Hollywood awards circuits, he fully intends to support the film because of his deep personal connection to the project.

"I never really have gone the whole hog with it," Turturro told the rapt Zurich audience. "But now I’m the lead in the film, so I’m going to support the film because I love the film." He noted that navigating the awards landscape can be a pragmatic tool for securing future funding and creative independence, adding, "Is it nice to be acknowledged? Great, but that’s not why you do it… Just because a film is really popular doesn’t mean it will have staying power, but it’s nice to be in the conversation."

He expressed genuine surprise at the enthusiastic reception out of Sundance, remarking with characteristic humility, "Finally, I’m in something that people will see." Turturro elaborated on his philosophy of aging as an actor, asserting that unlike physical sports where abilities peak early, the acting profession uniquely benefits from the accumulation of human experience. Drawing upon his own life—navigating marriage, parenthood, loss, and the nuanced depths of genuine human affection—he explained how maturity allows performers to distill emotions in ways impossible during their youth.

Teasing Severance Season 3 and Reflecting on Iconic Television

Television audiences have enjoyed a resurgence of Turturro’s unique screen presence in recent years, notably through his work in high-profile streaming and cable series. During the masterclass, the actor offered a coy yet definitive confirmation regarding his return as the endearing, dutiful Irving Bailiff in the third season of Apple TV+’s critically acclaimed, Emmy-winning workplace thriller Severance, created by Dan Erickson and directed largely by Ben Stiller.

"Yeah," Turturro eventually conceded to the eager room when pressed about season three alongside co-star Adam Scott. "As long as they give me interesting things to do, then I’m interested."

This paved the way for Turturro to lavish praise on his close friend and co-star Christopher Walken, whose character, Burt Goodman, shares a poignant and tender romance with Irving in the show’s debut season. Turturro revealed that when he originally joined the project, producers floated the idea of pairing him with a younger romantic lead. Turturro immediately pushed back, advocating for Walken.

"I said, ‘Well no, I’ve worked with Chris Walken,’ and I said, ‘I want Chris, because I love Chris.’ And I don’t have to act that I love him because I love him," Turturro shared.

Despite joking that Walken initially struggled to grasp the complex, high-concept narrative of the dystopian series, Turturro served as a reassuring anchor for his veteran peer. Drawing on their extensive history—having worked together across multiple stage and film productions where Turturro directed Walken—the dynamic duo leaned into their genuine off-screen bond. Turturro commended Walken’s profound sensitivity and enduring childlike joy in performance, noting that such traits make creative breakthroughs possible.

The conversation naturally drifted toward another milestone in Turturro’s television resume: HBO’s 2016 crime miniseries The Night Of. Earning five Emmy Awards, the gripping legal drama featured Turturro as John Stone, a beleaguered defense attorney battling severe eczema and professional obscurity. Turturro received enthusiastic applause when discussing the project, noting that he deliberately avoided watching the original British series (Criminal Justice) upon which it was based to prevent outside influence. Although he expressed a strong desire to return for subsequent seasons alongside co-star Riz Ahmed, scheduling and creative consensus ultimately prevented the anthology series from expanding further, leaving The Night Of as a singular, highly regarded television achievement.

Four Decades of Defining Collaborations

Turturro’s expansive filmography reads as a masterclass in modern American cinema. Over a career spanning four decades, he has collaborated with an elite roster of visionary filmmakers, including Martin Scorsese, Robert Redford, Robert De Niro, Nanni Moretti, Pedro Almodóvar, and frequent partners Spike Lee and Joel and Ethan Coen.

His early international breakthrough arrived through his indelible collaborations with Spike Lee, anchoring crucial cultural touchstones such as Do the Right Thing (1989) and Jungle Fever (1991). Shortly thereafter, his work with the Coen brothers cemented his status as a cinematic chameleon. From the gritty period gangster drama Miller’s Crossing (1990) to his tour-de-force leading performance in Barton Fink (1991)—which earned him the prestigious Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival—to mainstream cult classics like O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) and The Big Lebowski (1998), where he famously embodied the fast-bowling fanatic Jesus Quintana, Turturro’s versatility has rarely been matched.

Reflecting on his trajectory during the masterclass, Turturro noted that European cinema has historically offered him more grounded, "normal" character roles compared to the more eccentric or villainous archetypes frequently pitched by Hollywood studios. He candidly revealed that he has repeatedly rejected film scripts that rely on gratuitous violence directed against women, prioritizing narrative integrity over routine commercial work.

Honoring the Journey: The Golden Eye Award

The masterclass served as a reflective capstone to the weekend’s festivities. Upon accepting the Zurich Film Festival’s Golden Eye award on Saturday night, Turturro delivered a poignant acceptance speech quoting Italian writer Cesare Pavese.

"He once said that the only great thing in life is to begin. I still consider myself a beginner in many ways," Turturro told the gala audience. "I’m very fortunate. I wanted to make a living doing something that interested me and to do interesting work—to share that with an audience, [and that] wouldn’t diminish their intelligence at the same time. I consider this an encouragement to continue."

Broader Industry Implications and Outlook

Turturro’s active presence in the current awards conversation through The Only Living Pickpocket in New York highlights a broader industry trend: the increasing viability of character-driven, independent cinema to command mainstream critical attention late in an artist’s career. As streaming platforms, international festivals, and specialty distributors continue to champion nuanced, mature storytelling, actors like Turturro are finding richer material that resonates across generations.

With production on Severance Season 3 on the horizon, continued acclaim for his latest cinematic lead role, and a lifetime of artistic risk-taking behind him, John Turturro proves that his self-proclaimed status as a "beginner" is less about inexperience and more about an insatiable, lifelong curiosity for the craft of storytelling.