Andrew Rannells

Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.6 • 728 Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week on Reclaiming, we sit down with actor and author Andrew Rannells for a candid, funny, and deeply reflective conversation about identity, family, and the roles—onstage and off—that have shaped his life. Andrew opens up about growing up gay and Catholic in Omaha, Nebraska, and how those early years informed both his sense of humor and his search for belonging. He shares what it was like to skyrocket to fame with his Tony-nominated performance in The Book of Mormon, and later, to challenge audiences (and himself) as Elijah on HBO’s Girls. But some of his most meaningful roles have been far from the spotlight—like learning how to be a stepparent and navigating adulthood on his own terms.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wondry Plus subscribers can listen to Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky early and ad free right now.
0:06.3	Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.
0:10.3	Or you can listen for free wherever you get your podcasts.
0:20.4	On today's episode, I sat down with actor Andrew Rannels, Rhymes with panels.
0:26.6	You'll get what I mean in a minute.
0:28.5	You might know Andrew from Book of Mormon on Broadway or as Elijah on HBO's girls.
0:34.6	We covered a lot of ground together from his altar boy upbringing to coming out as
0:39.5	gay his first year of college. Andrew's adventures in acting and life had me cracking up and I hope
0:45.7	they're going to do the same thing for you. We even got in a little naughty talk. I hope you
0:51.9	find something in the episode to connect to, and thanks for joining us on
0:55.7	reclaiming.
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	...

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