We spoke to Patrick Fabian amid the release of The Way We Speak, an acclaimed new film that showcases Fabian’s leading-man chops and reminds us of his vast talents. If Fabian looks familiar, that’s not just because of his recent, awards-caliber turn across six seasons of AMC’s hit series Better Call Saul. He’s guest-starred on just about every hit show you’ve binged in the past couple of decades, from The Morning Show to Grey’s Anatomy, which begs the question: Which has been his favorite guest-starring appearance out of the long list?

“Well, I have to be honest with my response. I’ve been asked that question before, and the first thing that comes to my mind is Xena: Warrior Princess, played by Lucy Lawless,” Fabian tells MovieWeb. “It was a wonderful gig. I got flown down to New Zealand, I got to wear leather chaps, and a pirate shirt. I beat up the bad guy, and I kissed the girl. And my dad questioned me and said, ‘They paid you for that?’ Yes, they did. So it wasn’t curing cancer, but it sure was fun.”

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Patrick Fabian Gets Shakespearean in New Movie
The Way We Speak (2024) 3.5/5 Release Date July 23, 2024 Director Ian Ebright Cast Patrick Fabian , Diana Coconubo , Kailey Rhodes , Ayanna Berkshire , Lowell Deo , Ricco DiStefano , and Reed Diamond Runtime 1h 27m Writers Ian Ebright Expand

Years later, Fabian is gripping as the lead in The Way We Speak. It’s an aptly titled new movie that focuses on a series of debates that run haywire after his troubled character Simon lashes out at his younger opponent Sarah (Kailey Rhodes) in a number of unnerving ways on stage. Leading up to this drama, we see Simon recite his calculated thoughts to the audience with utter eloquence, which reminds us of the power of professionally run debates.

“I’ve been alive long enough to have watched a whole lot of debates, and what I found interesting in the debate aspect of it is that these are basically giant monologues, like Shakespearean monologues,” says Fabian. “They’ve got their beginning, middle, and ends, and they take little tangents, and they justify, and they roll over with emotion, and sometimes they contradict themselves, you know, which is really great… I had a lot of fun on stage debating with Kaylee and the character of Sarah. It was really invigorating.”

Then there’s Kailey Rhodes, also a standout in The Way We Speak as Sarah, a prestigious writer and Simon’s debate nemesis who continually preaches the power of God’s presence in our modern world. He says, “I do really identify a lot with what Sarah preaches. Without disclosing my faith status, I do feel like Sarah’s core message of, like, ‘Please explain to me the evolutionary point of love. Please explain to me scientifically why love evolved because it kind of seems a little counterproductive.’ I think that that is a really cool argument.”

Fabian continues:

“And it’s really difficult for someone like Simon, who has put a lot of things before his interest in love. It’s hard for him to comprehend that question. But I also think that in watching the film, I was then — and this is a complement to the writing — kind of shocked at how patently they’re not listening to each other, how they’re just reading their prepared statements, and how that is what we see on every debate stage nowadays.”

The Way We Speak is now available on demand and digital. Watch our interview with the cast and crew below.