Toronto/CMEDIA: TIFF is announcing this year’s iconic In Conversation With… series as part of today’s schedule launch expanding the Festival experience beyond the screen through in-depth onstage interviews with Festival artists in front of a live audience.
This year;s festival favourites are: Lee Min-ho, Rachel Morrison, Chris Rock, Andrew Scott, and Hudson Williams for intimate conversations on the stage about their creative journeys, craft, and careers.
“This year’s In Conversation With… series brings together trailblazers and extraordinary storytellers for conversations that will offer audiences a deeper look at their craft and careers,” said Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. “From Lee Min-ho, who became an icon of Korean drama long before K-dramas captured global audiences, and Rachel Morrison, the first woman nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, to multi-hyphenate Chris Rock, who has fearlessly redefined comedy, to Andrew Scott and Hudson Williams, whose groundbreaking performances have captivated audiences around the world.”
In Conversation With… Lee Min-ho at TIFF ’26 is an exclusive event celebrating the extraordinary career of global Hallyu icon Lee Min-ho.
Lee with his highly anticipated new film, The Assassin(s) joins us for his first North American onstage appearance in over a decade to discuss his defining career journey.
Co-starring Yoo Hai-jin (Exhuma) and Park Hae-il (Decision to Leave, TIFF ’22), and directed by Hur Jin-ho (A Normal Family, TIFF ’23) his new film, The Assassin(s) would be World Premiere in Toronto.
Lee Min-ho has been one of the defining figures of Korean popular culture for nearly two decades introducing generations of global audiences to the world of K-content. His iconic portrayals of Gu Jun-pyo in Boys Over Flowers (2009) and Kim Tan in The Heirs (2013) helped shape the global K-drama phenomenon, while City Hunter (2011) and the historical fantasy Faith (2012) showcased his remarkable versatility, moving effortlessly between stylish action and period drama.
With his first leading film role in Gangnam Blues (2015), he made a successful transition to the big screen before further cementing his global popularity as “the king of fantasy romance” through The Legend of the Blue Sea (2016) and The King: Eternal Monarch (2020), captivating audiences worldwide.
Lee pushed the boundaries of his craft by joining the acclaimed Apple TV+ series Pachinko (2022–present), earning an Independent Spirit Award alongside the ensemble cast and widespread critical recognition, and was named the most popular Korean actor in the Overseas Hallyu Survey for 13 consecutive years and was a recipient of 13 SBS Drama Awards. His undisputed “Hallyu King” regularly sells out arenas across Asia.
In Conversation With… Rachel Morrison
Following the acclaimed premiere of her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside, at TIFF ’24, Academy Award–nominated cinematographer and filmmaker Rachel Morrison returns to the Festival for the World Premiere of her highly anticipated sophomore feature, Love of Your Life, a romantic drama from Amazon MGM Studios starring Margaret Qualley, Aaron Pierre, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Basso, and Catherine Keener, and produced by Ryan Gosling and Jessie Henderson.
With expertise in photography and technical craft, Morrison has spent two decades moving across film, television, fiction, and documentary, establishing herself as a premier visual storyteller.
Following her recognition for her haunting, arresting cinematography on indie highlights like Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station and Dee Rees’ Mudbound (TIFF ’17) — where she made history as the first woman nominated for an Oscar in cinematography — she re-teamed with Coogler to shape the visual identity of Black Panther. Morrison further gained popularity with her directorial voice on hit series like The Morning Show and The Mandalorian before bringing the story of boxing legend Claressa Shields to the screen in The Fire Inside. Morrison joins us to discuss her remarkable journey from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts to shooting and directing award-winning indies and major studio blockbusters.
In Conversation With… Chris Rock
While presenting the TIFF ’26 World Premiere of his latest film Misty Green, Emmy and Grammy Award–winning director, writer, actor, producer, and comedian, Chris Rock joins us for a conversation about his multi-faceted career both in front of and behind the camera.
Following his success on Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s as part of an iconic cast that included Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, and David Spade, Rock re-defined the landscape of stand-up comedy with Bring the Pain (1996) which earned him two Emmys.
Tackling socio-political issues like race relations, class division, and the justice system, Rock has crafted an onstage persona over the past three decades. Beyond stand-up, his career spans Hollywood blockbusters, hit television series, and acclaimed independent filmmaking. He produced and starred in the lauded documentary Good Hair (TIFF ’09), which won the Special Jury Prize Documentary at Sundance, and later moved into the director’s chair for the deeply personal Top Five (TIFF ’14). He returns to the Festival with Misty Green, a film destined to further cement his status as one of Hollywood’s most original creative voices.
In Conversation With… Andrew Scott, presented by Redbreast
Andrew Scott’s standout performances at this year’s TIFF in Elsinore proves his versatility and captivating performers of our time. His role as the priest in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag introduced Scott to a wider audience, devoted fans had been following his work for years, including his electrifying turn as Moriarty in Sherlock, where he transformed the iconic villain into a captivating force of chaos. Scott first came to the Festival in 2014 with Matthew Warchus’ Pride, celebrating the history of LGBTQ+ activism in the UK, and returned most recently in 2025 as part of the acclaimed Knives Out franchise with Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery and Richard Linklater’s celebrated Blue Moon.
Having emerged as one of the leading actors, Scott brings complex queer experiences to the screen — from Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers, an intimate meditation on longing, grief, family, and memory, to his chilling transformation in Netflix’s Ripley, a dark reimagining of The Talented Mr. Ripley. Scott delivers In Elsinore, a film he produced a deeply personal and powerful performance as actor Ian Charleson, who in his final years summoned exceptional courage to overcome physical challenges and delivered on his performance of Hamlet at London’s National Theatre while living with AIDS.
Making Waves With… Hudson Williams
This ICW is part of TIFF Next Wave initiatives that centre under-25 creators and audiences
Join us for an intimate conversation with Hudson Williams, one of the stars of the Primetime series YAGA from Kat Sandler. Born and raised in British Columbia, Williams spent his youth balancing the arts and sports, training in theatre, music, and dance while also playing competitive basketball and practicing mixed martial arts.
After graduating from Vancouver’s Langara College Film Arts program in 2020, he continued his craft with professional theatre classes. Beginning to navigate the Canadian film and television industry. Hudson was also a disruptor by writing, directing, producing, and starring in independent short films with creative collaborators. His massive popularity was seen when he was cast as Shane Hollander in Jacob Tierney’s award-winning series Heated Rivalry, adapted from the bestselling novels by Rachel Reid. Since its debut in fall 2025, the series has become a global phenomenon, catapulting Williams to international stardom.
Williams joins us to discuss his roles in the Crave Original series YAGA and Heated Rivalry, as well as the upcoming independent feature Apparatus. The conversation also reflect on the early short films, community, and collaborations that helped shape his unique artistic voice.
In Conversation With… programming is led by TIFF Public Programming.
The Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, runs September 10–20, 2026.
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
