Awards Chatter

'Awards Chatter' is a podcast that features in-depth interviews with the most interesting and accomplished people in show business. Created and hosted by: Scott Feinberg

TV & Film
Film Interviews
451
Ricky Gervais - 'David Brent: Life on the Road'
The irreverent British comedy genius behind ‘The Office’ and ‘Extras’ explains how his life informs his work, what it would take for him to host the Oscars (he’s hosted four unforgettable Golden Globes) and what it was like to revisit his most iconic character — who, he believes, paved the way for Pres. Trump — 15 years after he last brought him to life.
66 min
452
Andrea Martin - 'Great News' & 'Difficult People'
Recently hailed by New York magazine as “the funniest woman alive,” the two-time Tony and Emmy winner reflects on being part of the landmark sketch comedy series 'SCTV,' why she feels much more at home on Broadway than doing improv and discovering that she helped to inspire the likes of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
60 min
453
Andrew Rannells - 'Falsettos' & 'Girls'
The fast-rising stage and screen star reflects on entering showbiz as an out gay man, how his Tony-nominated 'Book of Mormon' perf led Lena Dunham to hire him for her groundbreaking HBO series and why he'll always return to Broadway (where he's also starred in 'Hamilton').
51 min
454
Andy Karl - 'Groundhog Day'
On the heels of his third Tony nom in four years, the Broadway star reflects on his journey from dinner theater to the Great White Way, where he's starred in movie adaptations ('Saturday Night Fever,' 'Legally Blonde,' 'Rocky' and 'Groundhog Day') and theater phenomena ('Wicked' and 'Jersey Boys') and now is doing eight shows a week with a fully-torn ACL.
75 min
455
Geoffrey Rush - 'Genius'
The Oscar, Emmy and Tony winner reflects on defying the odds and finding fame after 40, jumping between art-house fare (including two best picture Oscar winners) and blockbusters (five 'Pirates' films) and starring in National Geographic's first scripted series.
62 min
456
Neil deGrasse Tyson - 'StarTalk'
America's favorite astrophysicist, who splits his time between running a planetarium and hosting the first-ever TV talk show about science, shares how he learned to be media-savvy, what he makes of the anti-science Trump Administration and why he remains optimistic about the future.
62 min
457
Warren Littlefield - 'The Handmaid's Tale'
The man who ran NBC during the 'Must See TV' era of the 1990s and then became one of TV's most successful producers discusses the secrets of programming a broadcast network, why his own shows go out via cable and streaming and what the future of TV will look like.
69 min
458
Mandy Moore - 'This Is Us'
The pop star turned Golden Globe-nominated actress reflects on her early music (she wishes she could refund everyone who bought it), personal and professional struggles that followed (she almost quit showbiz as recently as two years ago) and the "reboot" made possible by the success of NBC's top-rated series.
50 min
459
Peter Bogdanovich - Film Legend
Best known for 'The Last Picture Show' and 'Paper Moon,' one of the 'New Hollywood' filmmakers at the vanguard of '70s cinema discusses rubbing shoulders with legends, the murder of his actress-girlfriend and why TV is now better than movies.
63 min
460
Dick Cavett - TV Legend
The 80-year-old late-night legend on his journey from the Corn Belt to ABC, why the label "intellectual" did his career no favors and which of today's talk show hosts he admires most.
50 min
461
Carl Reiner - TV Legend
The 95-year-old actor/writer/director reflects on being a part of Sid Caesar's legendary 'Your Show of Shows' writers' room, how he and Mel Brooks created '2,000-Year-Old Man,' how a failed pilot came back to life as 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' and what keeps him writing, tweeting and laughing.
67 min
462
Kevin O'Connell - 'Hacksaw Ridge'
No person in Oscar history has received more nominations without a win than this sound mixer, whose 21 noms span 33 years, and who explains how he does what he does and why the Academy's voting process has room for improvement. (2/26/17 update: O'Connell finally won!)
52 min
463
Damien Chazelle - 'La La Land'
The 32-year-old, who already has directed two best picture Oscar nominees and is poised to become the youngest best director Oscar winner ever, reflects on the roots of his passion for music and movies, the Harvard pal who became his closest collaborator and the rollercoaster of a journey to realizing his dream of making an original movie musical.
54 min
464
Barry Jenkins - 'Moonlight'
The 37-year-old who could become the first black person ever to win the best director Oscar reflects on how his tumultuous childhood has informed his work, the film school pals who have been by his side ever since and the causes and effects of the eight-year gap between his debut feature and his taboo-busting masterpiece.
69 min
465
Isabelle Huppert - 'Elle'
The 'Meryl Streep of France,' finally an Oscar nominee at the age of 63, discusses her close collaborations with Claude Chabrol and Michael Haneke, her attraction to "perverse, manipulative, icy" characters and the controversial new film for which she's received the best notices of her career.
65 min
466
Lin-Manuel Miranda - 'Moana'
Poised to become, at 36, the youngest EGOT in history, the creator of 'Hamilton' reflects on that groundbreaking musical's origins and success, realizing his lifelong dream of writing music for a Disney movie while at the center of his show's "wonderful tsunami," the roots of his love of music and theater and the ambitions he has not yet fulfilled. (And yes, there will be a 'Hamilton' movie.)
50 min
467
Emma Stone - 'La La Land'
The 28-year-old critics' darling and fan favorite opens up about overcoming "debilitating" childhood anxiety through acting, moving to Hollywood at 15 (and changing her name and dyeing her hair), finding magical chemistry with Ryan Gosling in three films and, under the oversight of Damien Chazelle, breathing new life into the American movie musical.
60 min
468
Dev Patel - 'Lion'
The 26-year-old Brit reflects on the life-changing impact of 'Slumdog Millionaire' — good and bad ("It was like being in a gold-plated cage") — and why he so aggressively pursued and transformed himself for the film for which he just became only the third person of Indian descent ever to receive an acting Oscar nom: "A script like this — a journey like this — is never gonna come around again."
66 min
469
Ryan Reynolds - 'Deadpool'
The dashing star reflects on the ups and downs of 25-plus years in the biz, from the indie he calls "one of my favorite movies" to the studio bomb that "just never really understood what it was" to one of 2016's biggest blockbusters ("I was born to play this guy"), which could even land Oscar love ("I can certainly promise one fucking crazy reaction video").
44 min
470
Vince Vaughn - 'Hacksaw Ridge'
The fan favorite on breaking through in 'Swingers,' not being seen as funny until after 'Old School' and 'Dodgeball,' the intention of 'The Break-Up' ("I really designed it to go from comedy to drama"), his decade in the cold ("I didn't follow through") and his career-reboot in Mel Gibson's acclaimed war film.
70 min
471
Viggo Mortensen - 'Captain Fantastic'
The Oscar-nominated veteran reflects on his early years of struggle as an actor, the tumultuous 'Lord of the Rings' production ("I don't think anybody knew it was gonna be the huge success it became"), turning down an invitation to join the Academy ("I've changed my mind since then") and the odds-defying success of the film for which he's received best actor Golden Globe, SAG, BAFTA and Spirit noms.
100 min
472
Burt Bacharach - 'Po'
The legendary songwriter/composer behind 48 top 10 hits, including nine that topped the charts, opens up about the inspirations for his most beloved music, what caused his breakup with longtime collaborator Hal David and how his late daughter, who was afflicted with Asperger Syndrome, inspired him to write his first film score and song in years.
57 min
473
Denzel Washington - 'Fences'
The trailblazing two-time Oscar winner dishes on the advice Sidney Poitier gave him early in his career, his "formula" for whether or not to make a movie, the #OscarsSoWhite controversy ("You don't want to be nominated just because you're black") and why he agreed to direct and star in a big screen adaptation of the play for which he won a 2010 Tony.
65 min
474
Michael Keaton - 'The Founder'
The star of the last two best picture Oscar winners reflects on his groundbreaking pair of 'Batman' films ("If it went down, we were going down in a big way"), walking away from a third ("It sucked"), his years in the cold ("Not a whole lot of folks were knocking on my door"), almost starring in 'Lost' and his great run over the last three years ('Birdman,' 'Spotlight' and now a Ray Kroc biopic).
61 min
475
J. Ralph - 'Jim: The James Foley Story'
Only one person ever has been Oscar-nominated for multiple songs featured in documentaries: this 41-year-old former prodigy with a social conscience second-to-none.
71 min