Awards Chatter

One of TV's all-time great comedy actresses, a six-time Emmy winner, reflects on why she walked away from her first hit show, 'Designing Women,' mid-run; why she thinks she's had some of her greatest successes over the past decade, at an age at which many actresses can’t find any work; what she finds to be the greatest challenges and rewards of playing standup comic Deborah Vance; and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 24 March 2025

In front of an audience at the Boulder International Film Festival, one of the all-time great comedic scene-stealers reflects on having her career breakthrough at 40 with the first of her four Christopher Guest collaborations, shooting to stardom as Sue Sylvester on 'Glee' and, most recently, playing the stunt double of Steve Martin's character on Hulu's hit ensemble series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 19 March 2025

In front of an audience at the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival (the first part of this interview) and via a 2025 Zoom (the second part), the Korean master and three-time Oscar winner reflects on his path to filmmaking, the magical journey of 'Parasite' and his new film starring Robert Pattinson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 12 March 2025

The head of the 97-year-old organization behind the Academy Awards reflects on his path from Baltimore to Hollywood, teases details about Sunday's Oscars telecast and answers tough questions about the Academy's future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 27 February 2025

In front of an audience at Chapman University, one of the most exciting young actresses in the business — a newly-minted best actress Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner — reflects on her decision to abandon competitive horseriding for acting, breakthrough roles on 'Better Things' and in 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' and bringing to life the character of a sex worker in Sean Baker's latest film. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 18 February 2025

The veteran Aussie actor and first-time Oscar nominee reflects on how a childhood tragedy may have set him on the path to becoming an actor; how his experience with early TV stardom influenced the sorts of projects that he did and didn't pursue after he established himself internationally via 'L.A. Confidential' and 'Memento'; and why he’s as proud of his latest film as any he has been a part of. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 15 February 2025

One of Hollywood's most dependable filmmakers — always good for an entertaining and solid, if not showy, film, with great performances, regardless of genre — reflects on how, at 21, his career took off like a rocket, then crashed, and then was rebuilt; how he learned to work with actors, including the biggest names in the biz (among them Stallone, Cruise and Chalamet), and guided two (Jolie and Witherspoon) to performances for which they won Oscars; and what it meant to him to personally land three Oscar noms — for producing, writing and, for the first time in his career, directing — for his new film about Bob Dylan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 12 February 2025

In front of an audience at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the revered English stage and screen actor reflects on how Shakespeare led him to his path; what he learned from collaborators like Steven Spielberg ('Schindler's List'), Robert Redford ('Quiz Show'), Anthony Minghella ('The English Patient') and Kathryn Bigelow ('Strange Days' and 'The Hurt Locker'); and what went into his latest — and, some believe, greatest — perfromance, as the dean of the College of Cardinals overseeing the election of a new Pope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 12 February 2025

One of the biggest pop stars on the planet, who is now an Oscar-nominated actress, reflects on how she broke into showbiz as a kid, each of her studio albums, how music has helped her through tough times, why she yearned for years to play Glinda, how her fame helped her to understand the pros and cons of being "Popular," plus much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 3 February 2025

The actor/writer/director reflects on why he, a socially-awkward kid, became a child actor, how the explosion of his acting profile (he was Oscar-nominated for 'The Social Network') coincided with his increased interest in writing and why, for his second outing as a director, he cast Kieran Culkin in the role that he originally intended to play himself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 28 January 2025

The thrice Oscar-nominated actor, who is widely regarded as among the best of his generation, reflects on the explosive start to his screen career, collaborations with his era's greatest auteurs and why he was so impressed with his latest film's helmer, James Mangold, and star, Timothée Chalamet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 10 January 2025

The enigmatic Scottish Oscar winner, who doesn't consider herself an actress, reflects on her formative collaborations with Derek Jarman, how she wound up juggling the artiest of art house films with the biggest of big studio films and why she was so drawn to working with Pedro Almodóvar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 9 January 2025

The legendary English filmmaker reflects on the origins and specifics of his mysterious method of writing and directing; why he was forced to spend 17 years between his first and second theatrical features working in television, and the pros and cons of that; and how it feels to see his latest film, which was rejected by the Cannes, Venice and Telluride film fests, being so well received. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 8 January 2025

In a conversation that was both epic and emotional, like his best films, the 51-year-old American actor — who at 29 became, and remains to this day, the youngest-ever best actor Oscar winner, for 'The Pianist,' and who on Sunday won a best drama actor Golden Globe for his latest film — looks back on an odds-defying, rollercoaster of a life and career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 7 January 2025

The master of family-friendly fare — he wrote 'Gremlins' and 'The Goonies' and directed two 'Home Alone' and two 'Harry Potter' films — reflects on working with Steven Spielberg in his twenties, how Chevy Chase driving him to quit 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation' proved to be one of the best things that ever happened to him and why, in recent years, he and his daughter, Eleanor, began producing films by rising directors including Robert Eggers, whose latest opens on Christmas Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 25 December 2024

The iconic actress reflects on growing up the daughter of Oscar-winning actor Joel Grey, the making of 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' and 'Dirty Dancing,' challenges that followed, and now, at 64, getting to be a part of a third instant-classic, Jesse Eisenberg's new dramedy about a group touring Holocaust sites in Poland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 20 December 2024

The Englishman, who has been one of our finest screen actors for some 30 years — he was twice Oscar-nominated before he was even 30 — reflects on his special relationship with director Anthony Minghella, the sorts of roles that he deliberately avoided and why he has done some of his best work in recent years, including as an FBI agent pursuing white nationalists in Justin Kurzel's new film. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 16 December 2024

The legendary singer/songwriter reflects on his path from small-town Alabama to the biggest stages in the world, first with the Commodores and then as a solo artist; the hits on which he worked along the way, and why so many of them center on love; and why “We are the World,” in particular — the subject of an Emmy- and Grammy-nominated and Oscar-eligible Netflix documentary — means so much to him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 13 December 2024

One of the great leading men of the last 50 years — think about his work in 'Days of Heaven,' 'American Gigolo,' 'An Officer and a Gentleman,' 'Pretty Woman' and 'Chicago' — reflects on how gymnastics and music helped to make him a better actor; how, over the decades, the sort of projects to which he's been drawn hasn't changed, but the industry's desire for them has; and what it was like reuniting with Paul Schrader, 44 years after their first collaboration, on his latest film. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 12 December 2024

The iconic Playboy model and 'Baywatch' babe, who is now a Golden Globe-nominated actress thanks to her performance in Gia Coppola's new film, reflects on the odds-defying way in which she was discovered, how the infamous sex tape derailed her career for decades and what sparked the 'Pamaissance' of the last two years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 9 December 2024

The 40-year veteran of movie stardom reflects on her difficult childhood and path to acting, the backlashes that she faced after her pregnant Vanity Fair cover and becoming the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, and what it's like aging in Hollywood, both in her hit new film and in real life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 2 December 2024

In front of an audience at Chapman University, the British A-lister reflects on how his background in theater has helped him in film, his 15-year run as James Bond and playing, in Luca Guadagnino's new adaptation of William S. Burroughs' semi-autobiographical novella, a gay American living in 1950s Mexico City who is addicted to booze, drugs and sex. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 30 November 2024

In front of an audience at Chapman University, the actress, singer, songwriter, businesswoman and philanthropist reflects on child stardom, the hurdles of transitioning to an adult career and her 2024 acting gigs, which have brought her, respectively, a piece of the Cannes Film Festival's best actress prize, the first acting Emmy nom of her career and the opportunity to return to the world of the show that put her on the map in the first place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 25 November 2024

In front of an audience at the Newport Beach Film Festival, the Scotsman, who burst on to the scene in 1995's 'Trainspotting,' reflects on his early collaborations with Danny Boyle, his uncertainty about committing to do George Lucas' second 'Star Wars' trilogy and why, in recent years, he has increasingly gravitated toward TV limited series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 18 November 2024

The legendary Aardman animator and filmmaker best known for creating Wallace and Gromit reflects on his path to animation, what inspired his most famous plasticine characters and why — in his latest project, for Netflix, and for only the second time ever — he decided to feature them in a feature-length film. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 15 November 2024

In front of an audience at the Miami Film Festival's GEMS event, the star of two of 2024's most widely discussed and debated films reflects on his journey from Romania to America, how he landed the part of Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and what it was like to play — and what he really thinks about — Donald Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 11 November 2024

In front of an audience at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, the actress, now marking 25 years in the business, reflects on escaping from a painful childhood through acting, how she wound up the queen of the sci-fi blockbuster and why it meant so much to her to be given the chance to show that she could do other things in Jacques Audiard's highly-unconventional musical for which she and three costaras shared the 2024 Cannes Film Festival's best actress prize. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 4 November 2024

In front of an audience at the Newport Beach Film Festival, the veteran character actor describes his accidental path to acting, working with brother-in-law Jake Gyllenhaal and his pair of films about journalistic ethics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 28 October 2024

In front of an audience of film students at Chapman University, the 'Rustin' Oscar nominee and 'Euphoria' Emmy winner reflects on his decades of work before anyone was paying attention, how close he came to walking away from the profession in 2014 and the career renaissance that he was enjoyed over the past decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 20 October 2024

The trailblazing Chinese actress reflects on childhood stardom in China, coming to America and starting from scratch, building a career in films like 'The Last Emperor' and 'Heaven & Earth' and, decades later, garnering some of the best reviews of her career — and Oscar buzz — for her portrayal of an immigrant mother in Sean Wang's feature directorial debut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 15 October 2024

In front of an audience at the Burbank International Film Festival, the creator of the influential TV series 'Freaks and Geeks' and director of the landmark film 'Bridesmaids' reflects on his path from geekhood to standup to acting to writing/directing, what it was like working on TV shows like 'Arrested Development' and 'The Office' while he was in "directors' jail" and why he is so committed to centering funny women in his work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 4 October 2024

The Oscar-winning fan favorite reflects on his rollercoaster life and career; his experiences with Marvel during the Iron Man era, and his plans to return to its cinematic universe as Dr. Doom; and what it was like juggling five different characters in Park Chan-wook's HBO limited series about Vietnam, for which he is now Emmy-nominated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 20 August 2024

The beloved actress/comedienne, who is now nominated for four Emmys, reflects on her seven seasons at 'SNL,' playing an out-of-touch billionaire on an Apple TV+ comedy series and the past and future of her Kamala Harris impersonation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 19 August 2024

The beloved actress/comedienne, who is now nominated for four Emmys, reflects on her seven seasons at 'SNL,' playing an out-of-touch billionaire on an Apple TV+ comedy series and the past and future of her Kamala Harris impersonation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 19 August 2024

The British playwright and screenwriter known for imagining what goes behind the walls of power reflects on his unexpected journey to writing, how he came to focus on the royals in numerous projects, and what he hopes will be the legacy of the landmark six-episode Netflix drama series that he wrote about Queen Elizabeth II and those around her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 12 August 2024

In front of an audience at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, the English stage and screen actor reflects on his path from a rough childhood to his star-making role in 'Croupier'; why he wasn't excited about the prospect of playing James Bond; what it was like playing different characters in the stage and screen versions of 'Closer'; why, since 'The Knick,' he has increasingly worked in TV; and more. This episode is presented by Lasvit, a Bohemian design and artisan house that creates sublime artworks of glass that can be found all around the world; and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 10 July 2024

In a rare interview, the man often described as the greatest actor of his generation reflects on how his blacklisted father, brilliant acting teacher and early theater director set him on his path; why he grew less attracted to working in front of the camera and more attracted to working behind it; and how he came to be cast in — and approached playing — some of the most memorable roles of his career, including his most recent, as a chatty cab driver probing Dakota Johnson's mysterious passenger in Christy Hall's directorial debut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 3 July 2024

The beloved legend of TV ('The Dick Van Dyke Show'), movies ('Mary Poppins') and theater ('Bye Bye Birdie') reflects on his journey from small-town Missouri to America's living rooms, how he has faced challenges ranging from alcoholism to outliving almost all of his friends, and why he was so gratified by last December's CBS variety special tribute to him timed to his 98th birthday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 26 June 2024

The TV icon best known for ‘Ally McBeal’ reflects on being a stage actress plucked from obscurity and catapulted to sudden fame, the effects of harsh media scrutiny on her psyche and her subsequent career trajectory, and why she was lured out of semi-retirement by the prospect of playing Lee Radziwill opposite Tom Hollander’s Truman Capote in an FX limited series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 17 June 2024

Six Broadway standouts — nominated for 'Mary Jane,' 'Days of Wine and Roses,' 'Purlie Victorious,' 'Appropriate,' 'Merrily We Roll Along' and 'Cabaret,' respectively — discuss their paths to the Great White Way, the challenges and rewards of the parts for which they're nominated this year, what audience members do that most annoys them, plus more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2024

The actor who made his name on TV series like 'White Collars' and in films like 'Magic Mike' reflects on his journey as a gay man in Hollywood, his many collaborations with Ryan Murphy (including 'The Normal Heart,' for which he won Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards) and the 2023 Showtime limited series in which he plays a closeted State Dept. official in a secret decades-spanning relationship with another man (for which he has already received Golden Globe, SAG, Critics Choice and People's Choice award noms). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 10 June 2024

The veteran British character actor reflects on starting his screen career at just 14, juggling art house projects (e.g. 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'In the Loop') with big-studio franchise films (e.g. 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Mission: Impossible' installments) and, in just the last two years, finding himself in the center of the zeitgeist as a central part of both season two of 'The White Lotus' and, most recently, FX's limited series about writer Truman Capote and the society ladies in his life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 1 June 2024

The Colombian actress best known for 'Modern Family' reflects on her accidental entry in showbiz at 17, her rollercoaster journey through the TV business en route to landing the role of Gloria Delgado-Pritchett and the very personal reason she fought for years to play the 'Godmother of Cocaine.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 27 May 2024

In front of an audience in the Campari Lounge at the Cannes Film Festival, the legendary actor and Oscar-winning filmmaker reflects on the projects for which he was most (and least) celebrated, what's going on with 'Yellowstone' and why he has put millions of his own dollars towards a four-film Western epic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 22 May 2024

In front of an audience in the Campari Lounge at the Cannes Film Festival, the legendary actor and Oscar-winning filmmaker reflects on the projects for which he was most (and least) celebrated, what's going on with 'Yellowstone' and why he has put millions of his own dollars towards a four-film Western epic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 22 May 2024

In front of an audience at Chapman University, the standup comedian and comedic actress reflects on her greatest influences, how she was changed by getting on and off Adderall and what it's like acting for the first time on a Max comedy series opposite the legendary Jean Smart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 13 May 2024

In front of an audience at Chapman University, the British actress best known for their award-winning portrayal of Princess Diana on season four of Netflix's 'The Crown' reflects on their path to that career-making role, their gender journey and their acclaimed portayal of a Gen Z amateur detective on FX limited series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 6 May 2024

In front of an audience at Chapman University, the Japanese actress, whose performance on FX’s smash-hit limited series has catapulted her to stardom, reflects on her days in a J-pop girl group, reaching an international audience for the first time through ‘F9’ and the unique challenges and rewards of playing Lady Mariko. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 27 April 2024

In front of an audience at Chapman University, the Japanese actress, whose performance on FX’s smash-hit limited series has catapulted her to stardom, reflects on her days in a J-pop girl group, reaching an international audience for the first time through ‘F9’ and the unique challenges and rewards of playing Lady Mariko. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 27 April 2024

The Japanese actress, whose performance on FX’s smash-hit limited series has catapulted her to stardom, reflects on her days in a J-pop girl girl, reaching an international audience for the first time through ‘F9’ and the unique challenges and rewards of playing Lady Mariko. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcribed - Published: 27 April 2024