As a mother, her latest role really hit home, but a post-filming cocktail — and Bafta and Oscar nominations — make it all worth it
Add If I Had Legs I'd Kick You and the Bafta Film Awards to your watchlist On the small screen, Rose Byrne has tackled comedy in Platonic and hard-hitting biographical drama in Mrs America. On the big screen, the versatile Australian actress has petrified audiences in the Insidious horror franchise and cracked up crowds with the slapstick humour of Bridesmaids. Later this month, the 46-year-old tackles her most acclaimed role to date in the psychological drama If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Byrne plays a mother facing an existential crisis in a visceral performance that has earned the star a stack of awards and Bafta and Oscar nominations… It’s the Bafta Film Awards on Sunday, and you’re also nominated for an Oscar. What do you make of all the awards buzz for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You? It’s extraordinary and very surreal. I mean, this is a tiny film and I’m honoured that it’s being acknowledged in this way. In the past, I’ve had more chances to do complex roles on television – but this is by far the most complex role I’ve had on film. This really stretched me and changed me. It’s been a highlight for sure. View Green Video on the source website What does working in television give you that the big screen usually doesn’t? I like the opportunity to develop a relationship with an audience on television. I think that’s wonderful. I love shows that you invest in season after season, shows that you often want to revisit. Whether it’s classics like Seinfeld or The Sopranos, you want to revisit that group of people and see them again. In the film, you play an anxious mother whose world starts to fall apart. How did you find this headspace? I’m a mother, so this role hits home for me. I mean, there’s nothing more confronting than being a parent, because kids see the best of you and the worst of you – and it’s so much about your own limitations. There’s that cliché of your child ending up teaching you more about yourself than anything, but they are the greatest teachers. It’s exactly the same in this film. Your co-star A$AP Rocky’s partner is Rihanna. Did you meet her? When I met Rocky, I immediately asked, “Where’s your wife? Is she coming to set?” We were all waiting quietly, but she was a bit busy with a newborn. She didn’t come, but Rocky is lovely and his performance in this movie is very nuanced and funny. How do you unwind after working on such an emotional character? I drink a lot of alcohol. To be honest, it’s sometimes as simple as having a cocktail after a long day on set or switching on the TV. Everyone has different coping mechanisms. A lot of people have a spiritual practice or a religion but I don’t have any of that. Bobby [Cannavale, Rose’s actor husband] and I have a very simple life. We’re not surrounded by a lot of people. We have a community that we rely on at home in Brooklyn. It’s those things that I gravitate towards. I’m from a very close family who I lean on more and more. How difficult is it to switch off when you head home? Obviously, this is demanding subject matter, but I think I’m very good at keeping work at work and keeping home at home. It’s great to have that separation. My children couldn’t care less if I’ve had a long day – but in the best, most refreshing and grounding way. When I come home, I am now in the role of mum. Have your children — Rocco, 10, and Rafael, 8 — seen many of your films and television shows? Oh, no. I am married to an actor and they are not that interested in watching us on screen. They have a healthy disinterest in it, which I greatly respect. They have seen the Peter Rabbit films that I did, which were really fun, but that’s it. They have a very healthy distance from it all. You’ve tackled horror, comedy, cartoons, drama, sci-fi and more. How do you choose your projects? I want to constantly challenge myself and be scared. Without that, there’s no point. You have to feel like you’re on the brink every time. You have to want to continue. At times, I feel like you have to fail to then rediscover yourself and to have a continued career. I think failure is just as important as success, if not more important. I’ll return to the theatre and do a play or go home to Australia to find a smaller project if I want to change it up. Or I’ll try to shepherd projects through with my production company. What career would you choose if you weren’t an actor? Without acting, I’m not sure how I would be as a person. For me, it’s my saviour in many ways. I’m always grateful to get another job. That never leaves. And if it did leave, what then? I just don’t understand that feeling of security. What’s next for you? I’m doing a Noël Coward play in New York. My friend Scott Ellis is directing and I’m acting opposite Kelli O’Hara, who is a Tony Award-winning Broadway actress. She is brilliant. The play is called Fallen Angels and I’ve never done a broad comedy on stage, so I’m terrified – but I’m also excited. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is in cinemas from 20 February. The Bafta Film Awards are on Sunday 7pm BBC One
BAFTA nominee Rose Byrne talks unwinding after emotional and demanding new role: "I drink a lot of alcohol"
On the small screen, Rose Byrne has tackled comedy in Platonic and hard-hitting biographical drama in Mrs America. On the big screen, the versatile Australian actress has petrified audiences in the Insidious horror franchise and cracked up crowds with the slapstick humour of Bridesmaids. Later this month, the 46-year-old tackles her most acclaimed role to date in the psychological drama If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Byrne plays a mother facing an existential crisis in a visceral performance that has earned the star a stack of awards and Bafta and Oscar nominations… It’s the Bafta Film Awards on Sunday, and you’re also nominated for an Oscar. What do you make of all the awards buzz for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You? It’s extraordinary and very surreal. I mean, this is a tiny film and I’m honoured that it’s being acknowledged in this way. In the past, I’ve had more chances to do complex roles on television – but this is by far the most complex role I’ve had on film. This really stretched me and changed me. It’s been a highlight for sure. What does working in television give you that the big screen usually doesn’t? I like the opportunity to develop a relationship with an audience on television. I think that’s wonderful. I love shows that you invest in season after season, shows that you often want to revisit. Whether it’s classics like Seinfeld or The Sopranos, you want to revisit that group of people and see them again. In the film, you play an anxious mother whose world starts to fall apart. How did you find this headspace? I’m a mother, so this role hits home for me. I mean, there’s nothing more confronting than being a parent, because kids see the best of you and the worst of you – and it’s so much about your own limitations. There’s that cliché of your child ending up teaching you more about yourself than anything, but they are the greatest teachers. It’s exactly the same in this film. Your co-star A$AP Rocky’s partner is Rihanna. Did you meet her? When I met Rocky, I immediately asked, “Where’s your wife? Is she coming to set?” We were all waiting quietly, but she was a bit busy with a newborn. She didn’t come, but Rocky is lovely and his performance in this movie is very nuanced and funny. How do you unwind after working on such an emotional character? I drink a lot of alcohol. To be honest, it’s sometimes as simple as having a cocktail after a long day on set or switching on the TV. Everyone has different coping mechanisms. A lot of people have a spiritual practice or a religion but I don’t have any of that. Bobby [Cannavale, Rose’s actor husband] and I have a very simple life. We’re not surrounded by a lot of people. We have a community that we rely on at home in Brooklyn. It’s those things that I gravitate towards. I’m from a very close family who I lean on more and more. How difficult is it to switch off when you head home? Obviously, this is demanding subject matter, but I think I’m very good at keeping work at work and keeping home at home. It’s great to have that separation. My children couldn’t care less if I’ve had a long day – but in the best, most refreshing and grounding way. When I come home, I am now in the role of mum. Have your children — Rocco, 10, and Rafael, 8 — seen many of your films and television shows? Oh, no. I am married to an actor and they are not that interested in watching us on screen. They have a healthy disinterest in it, which I greatly respect. They have seen the Peter Rabbit films that I did, which were really fun, but that’s it. They have a very healthy distance from it all. You’ve tackled horror, comedy, cartoons, drama, sci-fi and more. How do you choose your projects? I want to constantly challenge myself and be scared. Without that, there’s no point. You have to feel like you’re on the brink every time. You have to want to continue. At times, I feel like you have to fail to then rediscover yourself and to have a continued career. I think failure is just as important as success, if not more important. I’ll return to the theatre and do a play or go home to Australia to find a smaller project if I want to change it up. Or I’ll try to shepherd projects through with my production company. What career would you choose if you weren’t an actor? Without acting, I’m not sure how I would be as a person. For me, it’s my saviour in many ways. I’m always grateful to get another job. That never leaves. And if it did leave, what then? I just don’t understand that feeling of security. What’s next for you? I’m doing a Noël Coward play in New York. My friend Scott Ellis is directing and I’m acting opposite Kelli O’Hara, who is a Tony Award-winning Broadway actress. She is brilliant. The play is called Fallen Angels and I’ve never done a broad comedy on stage, so I’m terrified – but I’m also excited. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is in cinemas from 20 February. The Bafta Film Awards are on Sunday 22 February at 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Baywatch star is delighted to have started a whole new career — and be taken seriously
The Last Showgirl is in cinemas now. Add it to your watchlist Pamela Anderson is enjoying a much-deserved return to the spotlight, after securing Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for her role in the acclaimed independent movie The Last Showgirl. The Canadian-born actor and former Playboy model rose to fame as bathing suit-clad lifeguard CJ Parker in Baywatch in the 1990s, but has now become a make-up-free arthouse movie darling. Her path to awards recognition has been long — but she’s now being praised for her art rather than her assets… Your comeback story is filled with award nominations and rave reviews. What do you make of all this buzz? I’m blown away! I’m very excited and I’m very honoured – no one expected this. I’m just taking it day by day and enjoying it. This experience has taught me that your past doesn’t dictate your future. It’s never too late to start again. You were tipped for an Oscar nod, too. Were you disappointed not to be nominated? I don’t know. For me to even be in the conversation has been a blessing. I mean, come on… This is crazy! This is wild. What a great thing for me, although I feel like I have a lot more to give. I can’t wait to do more films. Was a meaningful role in an independent film like The Last Showgirl always your goal? People often ask me, “Why didn’t you do things like this before?” Well, no one was offering me these roles before. Being a part of pop culture can be a blessing, but it’s also a bit of a curse because you start at a deficit. I had to constantly prove myself to be more than just a red swimsuit. That’s why I decided to go back to Canada and reassess my life. I said to myself, “I’m going home to my garden on Vancouver Island because I need to re-evaluate everything. I want to look at the choices I’ve made. I want to think about what I’m going to do next and how I’m going to do it.” I reinvented myself, but I really just turned back into me. On recent red carpets you’ve made an impact by wearing minimal make-up. Was this part of your reinvention? This is something I’ve been doing for myself. It felt unrealistic to be made up every time I left the house, whether it was to walk a red carpet or to walk around the corner. I thought, “Why am I playing a character in real life when I should be playing them on screen?” It didn’t look that great on me anyway. What were some of the biggest misconceptions about you during those Baywatch years? I don’t think people understood that back in the Playboy and Baywatch days I was sitting at Samuel French [a long-gone, beloved Hollywood bookshop for actors] reading Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neill plays. I was completely drawn to this world, but I didn’t know how to get there. I just wasn’t taken seriously. Now that I’m here, I feel like this is the tip of the iceberg for me. This is hopefully a new beginning. View oEmbed on the source website Do you have any regrets about the Baywatch years? Doing Baywatch was wonderful. I could bring my dog to the beach and I had a lot of fun, but I never really got to apply myself. I think I needed life experience to be able to draw on in order to play other roles. When I look back now, I think this was the way it was meant to happen. There are no regrets. There’s only opportunity. Did you ever feel despondent about not being taken seriously as an actor sooner? I come from a tiny town in Vancouver and I didn’t expect to be in this business, so everything has been a blessing. Of course, my life took different twists and turns. Being in the public eye, I felt that maybe being an actor wasn’t on the cards because certain things happened in my personal life – but that changed eventually. What did you think of Pam & Tommy, the 2022 drama about your relationship with your ex-husband Tommy Lee? I didn’t have anything to do with it. I didn’t even know they were doing it. I was focused on other things. Do you have any plans to return to the small screen? My kids [Anderson has two sons in their late 20s with Lee] always say to me, “Mom, don’t give up on TV.” I have a little cooking show that’s coming out and I’m always all over the place because I love to work. I’m a workhorse. I’m better when I’m busy. There are some really great limited series out there, so let’s see what happens. What about working in the UK? You did Chicago on Broadway. Maybe the West End is calling? I love musical theatre. I would absolutely love to do more theatre and I’d happily do it in the West End. I’d also be happy on Broadway again. I’m open to it all. I’m eager for everything. Even though I’m 57, I feel like I’m just beginning. I feel like a little kid. I’m soaking up the world like a sponge. I always say there’s a five-year-old in me that deserves this. There was this little girl I once was and then life happened – but now, here she is again. What an exciting time.
Pamela Anderson on The Last Showgirl's Oscars absence and 'not being taken seriously'
The former Baywatch star leads the cast of the acclaimed new film from Gia Coppola.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Pamela Anderson is enjoying a much-deserved return to the spotlight, after securing Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for her role in the acclaimed independent movie The Last Showgirl. The Canadian-born actor and former Playboy model rose to fame as bathing suit-clad lifeguard CJ Parker in Baywatch in the 1990s, but has now become a make-up-free arthouse movie darling. Her path to awards recognition has been long — but she’s now being praised for her art rather than her assets… Sponsored by Vue Save up to 30% on the latest releases at Vue in 2025 Are you a movie lover who always wants to be up to date with the latest releases? Then you're in luck, as RadioTimes.com readers can enjoy new films at Vue Cinemas for less. Customers will receive up to 30% off films with Vue Pass, as long as they have a RadioTimes.com account. It's a great time for new releases, with films such as Wicked, Nosferatu, The Brutalist and Moana 2 taking UK cinemas by storm. Head to your nearest Vue to catch these movies and more for up to 30% less if you're signed up as a RadioTimes.com member. Save up to 30% with Vue Pass Your comeback story is filled with award nominations and rave reviews. What do you make of all this buzz? I’m blown away! I’m very excited and I’m very honoured – no one expected this. I’m just taking it day by day and enjoying it. This experience has taught me that your past doesn’t dictate your future. It’s never too late to start again. You were tipped for an Oscar nod, too. Were you disappointed not to be nominated? I don’t know. For me to even be in the conversation has been a blessing. I mean, come on… This is crazy! This is wild. What a great thing for me, although I feel like I have a lot more to give. I can’t wait to do more films. Was a meaningful role in an independent film like The Last Showgirl always your goal? People often ask me, “Why didn’t you do things like this before?” Well, no one was offering me these roles before. Being a part of pop culture can be a blessing, but it’s also a bit of a curse because you start at a deficit. I had to constantly prove myself to be more than just a red swimsuit. That’s why I decided to go back to Canada and reassess my life. I said to myself, “I’m going home to my garden on Vancouver Island because I need to re-evaluate everything. I want to look at the choices I’ve made. I want to think about what I’m going to do next and how I’m going to do it.” I reinvented myself, but I really just turned back into me. On recent red carpets you've made an impact by wearing minimal make-up. Was this part of your reinvention? This is something I’ve been doing for myself. It felt unrealistic to be made up every time I left the house, whether it was to walk a red carpet or to walk around the corner. I thought, “Why am I playing a character in real life when I should be playing them on screen?” It didn’t look that great on me anyway. What were some of the biggest misconceptions about you during those Baywatch years? I don’t think people understood that back in the Playboy and Baywatch days I was sitting at Samuel French [a long-gone, beloved Hollywood bookshop for actors] reading Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neill plays. I was completely drawn to this world, but I didn’t know how to get there. I just wasn’t taken seriously. Now that I’m here, I feel like this is the tip of the iceberg for me. This is hopefully a new beginning. Do you have any regrets about the Baywatch years? Doing Baywatch was wonderful. I could bring my dog to the beach and I had a lot of fun, but I never really got to apply myself. I think I needed life experience to be able to draw on in order to play other roles. When I look back now, I think this was the way it was meant to happen. There are no regrets. There’s only opportunity. Did you ever feel despondent about not being taken seriously as an actor sooner? I come from a tiny town in Vancouver and I didn’t expect to be in this business, so everything has been a blessing. Of course, my life took different twists and turns. Being in the public eye, I felt that maybe being an actor wasn’t on the cards because certain things happened in my personal life – but that changed eventually. What did you think of Pam & Tommy, the 2022 drama about your relationship with your ex-husband Tommy Lee? I didn’t have anything to do with it. I didn’t even know they were doing it. I was focused on other things. Do you have any plans to return to the small screen? My kids [Anderson has two sons in their late 20s with Lee] always say to me, “Mom, don’t give up on TV.” I have a little cooking show that’s coming out and I’m always all over the place because I love to work. I’m a workhorse. I’m better when I’m busy. There are some really great limited series out there, so let’s see what happens. What about working in the UK? You did Chicago on Broadway. Maybe the West End is calling? I love musical theatre. I would absolutely love to do more theatre and I’d happily do it in the West End. I’d also be happy on Broadway again. I’m open to it all. I’m eager for everything. Even though I’m 57, I feel like I’m just beginning. I feel like a little kid. I’m soaking up the world like a sponge. I always say there’s a five-year-old in me that deserves this. There was this little girl I once was and then life happened – but now, here she is again. What an exciting time. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. The Last Showgirl is now showing in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Timothée Chalamet on transforming into Bob Dylan for A Complete Unknown, in cinemas from 17 January
A Complete Unknown is nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor. Add it to your watchlist When Timothée Chalamet signed up to play Bob Dylan in the Oscar-tipped biopic A Complete Unknown, he had no idea production would turn into a five-and-a-half-year epic. The Dune star joined the project in 2019, but delays to the shoot, caused by the pandemic and industry strikes, allowed the 29-year-old to dive deep into his research. View oEmbed on the source website “I just immersed myself into the subject matter,” Chalamet tells RT. “In the early 60s, video material of him is super sparing. So, I went to his birthplace in Duluth [Minnesota], and Hibbing, which is where he grew up. I went to Minneapolis, where he went to college briefly. And I spent all that time learning how to play the guitar and harmonica. I had five and a half years to turn over every stone. It became my day and night.” A Complete Unknown charts the life of the acclaimed musician from 1961 to 1965 in a script based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! The text also served as a powerful resource tool for Chalamet, along with YouTube videos, music lessons and the 1967 documentary Don’t Look Back. Director James Mangold says Chalamet’s research paid off: “Timmy can completely transform. There is no way that I can make Timmy or anyone else look or sound exactly like Bob Dylan. If you want to see the real Dylan performing, there are beautiful documentaries that can do that. The point here is to get into the vibe. Timmy is an agile actor who profoundly understands the lens. He has the energy, intellect and creativity for the role.” The real Dylan is a famous recluse but took to X to lend his support, calling Chalamet a “brilliant actor”. Chalamet smiles: “It was like Bob coming down from the mountaintop to drag his thumb across my forehead or something,” he says. “It was a huge affirmation.”
Timothée Chalamet on becoming Bob Dylan: "I had five-and-a-half years to turn over every stone"
Chalamet is playing the iconic singer-songwriter in Oscar-tipped biopic A Complete Unknown.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. When Timothée Chalamet signed up to play Bob Dylan in the Oscar-tipped biopic A Complete Unknown, he had no idea production would turn into a five-and-a-half-year epic. The Dune star joined the project in 2019, but delays to the shoot, caused by the pandemic and industry strikes, allowed the 29-year-old to dive deep into his research. “I just immersed myself into the subject matter,” Chalamet tells RT. "In the early 60s, video material of him is super sparing. So, I went to his birthplace in Duluth [Minnesota], and Hibbing, which is where he grew up. "I went to Minneapolis, where he went to college briefly. And I spent all that time learning how to play the guitar and harmonica. I had five and a half years to turn over every stone. It became my day and night." A Complete Unknown charts the life of the acclaimed musician from 1961 to 1965 in a script based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! The text also served as a powerful resource tool for Chalamet, along with YouTube videos, music lessons and the 1967 documentary Don’t Look Back. Director James Mangold says Chalamet’s research paid off: "Timmy can completely transform. There is no way that I can make Timmy or anyone else look or sound exactly like Bob Dylan. If you want to see the real Dylan performing, there are beautiful documentaries that can do that. "The point here is to get into the vibe. Timmy is an agile actor who profoundly understands the lens. He has the energy, intellect and creativity for the role." The real Dylan is a famous recluse, but took to X to lend his support, calling Chalamet a "brilliant actor". Chalamet smiles: "It was like Bob coming down from the mountaintop to drag his thumb across my forehead or something," he says. "It was a huge affirmation." The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. A Complete Unknown will be available to watch in UK cinemas from 17th January 2025. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Hollywood star took her parents’ advice and has been unstoppable ever since
Add Unstoppable to your watchlist So, Jennifer, what’s the view from your sofa? I watch a lot of TV in my bedroom. I have a sofa in front of my bed, but mostly I watch television from bed. I love watching all the latest series. It’s usually just me and the TV. What have you watched recently? I just finished the Alfonso Cuarón show Disclaimer. I really enjoyed that. I’m also watching Shrinking right now, which is cool and funny – it always makes me laugh. Who controls the remote? It all depends on who’s with me! To be honest, I don’t have to control the remote. Some people are really obsessive about it and they have to be in control, but not me. Anybody can take charge… What’s your first memory of television? My first memory of sitting in front of a TV was probably watching West Side Story with my mother at Thanksgiving. This was before we had access to watch whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. But every Thanksgiving, they would play West Side Story on TV, and my mother made us watch it! Are you one of those people who always has a TV playing in the background, or do you monitor your screen time? No, it’s not always on. I used to have to sleep with it on, but I’ve shifted out of that in the past ten years. Now I like the quiet. If I turn it on, it’s because there’s a movie or TV series on I want to watch. Do you watch any reality television? Yes, sometimes. I watched Love Is Blind recently. In your new movie, Unstoppable, you play the mother of Anthony Robles, a champion wrestler born with one leg. How did you prepare for the role? I was able to speak to the real person who inspired the role, Judy Robles. She talked to me about how she felt the first time Anthony walked on to the mat and the way the adults looked at him, as well as the way the kids looked at him. She was really helpful. When you’re playing a real person, which I’ve done a few times, there’s a fine line between doing an imitation and just soaking up the essence of who somebody is. I’d write notes in a big binder, which became bigger and bigger as we went on. What surprised you the most about your conversations with her? She felt it was her fault that he was born that way. Still to this day, they don’t really know why he was born with one leg – but she carried that her whole life. Have you ever felt unstoppable? As a kid, I was an athlete. I used to run track. I was one of those kids who wanted to achieve something in some way, so there was always a voice in my mind. Well, it was my mom’s voice in my mind – and my dad’s – saying, “You can do anything. If you want to be the president of the United States, you can be the president of the United States.” And I believed them. You’ve been working in Hollywood for decades — do publicity campaigns like this still feel daunting? When I first started, I used to do eight- and nine-hour junket days. Now I say, “I can give you two or three hours. We can get it done in that time.” Over the years, you learn and you see what’s most effective. But they still like to run you into the ground a little bit. Do you prepare for interviews? I prepare by thinking about what I want to say and what I want to share. I want to let people know when I’m proud of something I’ve done, and I want to make sure people come out and see it, so I try to make it as fun and joyful as possible. There are long days, and there’s a lot of saying the same things over and over again – but it’s all part of the job. Maybe it’s not the best part of the job, but it’s part of the job!
Jennifer Lopez on Unstoppable: 'I’d write notes in a binder that just kept getting bigger as we went on'
Lopez opens up about her TV habits and preparing for her role in Unstoppable, where she portrays the inspiring mother of champion wrestler Anthony Robles.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Taking a break from her busy schedule to share her TV habits, favourite shows, and cherished viewing memories – from her love of binge-watching the latest series to her laid-back approach to the remote control – superstar Jennifer Lopez gives us a glimpse into her life on and off-screen. Plus, she opens up about her preparation for her inspiring new role in Unstoppable and what it means to feel truly unstoppable. So, Jennifer, what’s the view from your sofa? I watch a lot of TV in my bedroom. I have a sofa in front of my bed, but mostly I watch television from bed. I love watching all the latest series. It’s usually just me and the TV. What have you watched recently? I just finished the Alfonso Cuarón show Disclaimer. I really enjoyed that. I’m also watching Shrinking right now, which is cool and funny – it always makes me laugh. Who controls the remote? It all depends on who’s with me! To be honest, I don’t have to control the remote. Some people are really obsessive about it and they have to be in control, but not me. Anybody can take charge… What’s your first memory of television? My first memory of sitting in front of a TV was probably watching West Side Story with my mother at Thanksgiving. This was before we had access to watch whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. But every Thanksgiving, they would play West Side Story on TV, and my mother made us watch it! Are you one of those people who always has a TV playing in the background, or do you monitor your screen time? No, it’s not always on. I used to have to sleep with it on, but I’ve shifted out of that in the past ten years. Now I like the quiet. If I turn it on, it’s because there’s a movie or TV series on I want to watch. Do you watch any reality television? Yes, sometimes. I watched Love Is Blind recently. In your new movie, Unstoppable, you play the mother of Anthony Robles, a champion wrestler born with one leg. How did you prepare for the role? I was able to speak to the real person who inspired the role, Judy Robles. She talked to me about how she felt the first time Anthony walked on to the mat and the way the adults looked at him, as well as the way the kids looked at him. She was really helpful. When you’re playing a real person, which I’ve done a few times, there’s a fine line between doing an imitation and just soaking up the essence of who somebody is. I’d write notes in a big binder, which became bigger and bigger as we went on. What surprised you the most about your conversations with her? She felt it was her fault that he was born that way. Still to this day, they don’t really know why he was born with one leg – but she carried that her whole life. Have you ever felt unstoppable? As a kid, I was an athlete. I used to run track. I was one of those kids who wanted to achieve something in some way, so there was always a voice in my mind. Well, it was my mom’s voice in my mind – and my dad’s – saying, 'You can do anything. If you want to be the president of the United States, you can be the president of the United States.' And I believed them. You’ve been working in Hollywood for decades — do publicity campaigns like this still feel daunting? When I first started, I used to do eight- and nine-hour junket days. Now I say, “I can give you two or three hours. We can get it done in that time.” Over the years, you learn and you see what’s most effective. But they still like to run you into the ground a little bit. Do you prepare for interviews? I prepare by thinking about what I want to say and what I want to share. I want to let people know when I’m proud of something I’ve done, and I want to make sure people come out and see it, so I try to make it as fun and joyful as possible. There are long days, and there’s a lot of saying the same things over and over again – but it’s all part of the job. Maybe it’s not the best part of the job, but it’s part of the job! The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Unstoppable comes to Prime Video on 16th January – sign up for a 30-day free trial of Prime Video and pay £8.99 a month after that. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
After chemo and Covid, The Old Man star is back fighting and dancing
Add The Old Man to your watchlist What’s the view from your sofa? We’ve just moved to a new house where there’s a big screen in my living room. I’ve always wanted one. I don’t know quite how big it is, but it’s enough. What have you enjoyed watching lately? We watch a lot of TV at home. I know it’s not new, but have you seen Pen15? That’s a really great show. Maya Erskine is absolutely wonderful in it. She’s in Mr & Mrs Smith, too. A great star. Of course, Succession is a fantastic series. I also really enjoy True Detective. View oEmbed on the source website Are you into reality TV? Do I watch the reality stuff? Politics, man! I mean… Oh, God. What’s going to happen this year? It’ll be intense. You’ve worked in both television and movies — which do you prefer? It’s fascinating to compare the two. Back in the day, my dad [actor Lloyd Bridges] made many a TV show. I saw how he struggled with not having as much time as he needed to create the quality he really wanted. But that’s all changed now. I don’t see any difference between television and movies today, except you don’t know where the story’s going with a TV show and you have more time to learn about the characters. You don’t have to rush anything with TV. What’s your earliest TV memory? If you watched a show called Sea Hunt and saw an eight-year-old kid on screen, that was probably me. That was my dad’s show in the late 50s. I remember him sitting me on his bed to teach me all the basics of acting. How crazy is that? He approached his work with so much joy, which left a big impression on me. You’ve struggled with some serious health issues over the past few years, including a cancer diagnosis in 2020. How are you doing today? I feel great now, but it’s been tough. In the middle of shooting the first season [of The Old Man], the pandemic broke out and we took a break from filming. Then I discovered a nine-inch by 12-inch tumour in my body. I went through chemo, but then the treatment centre notified me that I’d been exposed to Covid. Chemo had stripped my immune system, so I had no immunity. Covid made the cancer look like nothing. How did you get back on your feet? To be honest, I didn’t think I could do it. I was out. I mean, I couldn’t walk – but I decided to give myself little goals. The first was standing up. I think 90 seconds was my record. Next, my goal was to walk to the other side of the room. Eventually, I came up with another goal. My daughter, Hayley, was getting married and I said, “Oh, do you think I can walk her down the aisle?” So I trained for that. Did you reach the wedding goal? It turned out that not only could I walk her down the aisle, but I could also dance with her. Then I’d have to quickly return to my seat and get my oxygen in. I kept getting progressively better. It certainly helped that I had a wonderful trainer. I’m good now. I feel terrific. Has your return to good health helped you tackle the stunts and fight scenes in the new series of The Old Man? Oh, yes. Doing fight scenes is a lot of fun. Throughout my career, I’ve been involved in quite a few fights. The older you get, it gets a little harder. But we’ve been very fortunate to have some master stunt co-ordinators involved and they’ve gifted us the most beautiful fight scenes. I’ve done many in my career. Next up, you’re revisiting Tron in a new Disney movie with Jared Leto. What can you tell us about it? That was a lot of fun to shoot. Jared is the star of the show and I got to play my old character Kevin Flynn again. It was wild. I brought my original Tron helmet to set one day. It’s a reworked hockey helmet, but I presented it to Jared as a passing of the torch. I think it’s going to be a wonderful movie.
The Old Man's Jeff Bridges on health struggles: "I couldn't walk"
The big-screen legend discusses what he's watching on his small screen...
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. Jeff Bridges - the icon of cinema known for The Big Lebowski, Iron Man and more - discusses the view from his sofa in the latest issue of Radio Times. Read on for that, reality TV, movies vs TV and more... What's the view from your sofa? We’ve just moved to a new house where there’s a big screen in my living room. I’ve always wanted one. I don’t know quite how big it is, but it’s enough. What have you enjoyed watching lately? We watch a lot of TV at home. I know it’s not new, but have you seen Pen15? That’s a really great show. Maya Erskine is absolutely wonderful in it. She’s in Mr & Mrs Smith, too. A great star. Of course, Succession is a fantastic series. I also really enjoy True Detective. Are you into reality TV? Do I watch the reality stuff? Politics, man! I mean… Oh, God. What’s going to happen this year? It’ll be intense. You've worked in both television and movies — which do you prefer? It’s fascinating to compare the two. Back in the day, my dad [actor Lloyd Bridges] made many a TV show. I saw how he struggled with not having as much time as he needed to create the quality he really wanted. But that’s all changed now. I don’t see any difference between television and movies today, except you don’t know where the story’s going with a TV show and you have more time to learn about the characters. You don’t have to rush anything with TV. What's your earliest TV memory? If you watched a show called Sea Hunt and saw an eight-year-old kid on screen, that was probably me. That was my dad’s show in the late '50s. I remember him sitting me on his bed to teach me all the basics of acting. How crazy is that? He approached his work with so much joy, which left a big impression on me. You've struggled with some serious health issues over the past few years, including a cancer diagnosis in 2020. How are you doing today? I feel great now, but it’s been tough. In the middle of shooting the first season [of The Old Man], the pandemic broke out and we took a break from filming. Then I discovered a nine-inch by 12-inch tumour in my body. I went through chemo, but then the treatment centre notified me that I’d been exposed to Covid. Chemo had stripped my immune system, so I had no immunity. Covid made the cancer look like nothing. How did you get back on your feet? To be honest, I didn’t think I could do it. I was out. I mean, I couldn’t walk – but I decided to give myself little goals. The first was standing up. I think 90 seconds was my record. Next, my goal was to walk to the other side of the room. Eventually, I came up with another goal. My daughter, Hayley, was getting married and I said, "Oh, do you think I can walk her down the aisle?" So I trained for that. Did you reach the wedding goal? It turned out that not only could I walk her down the aisle, but I could also dance with her. Then I’d have to quickly return to my seat and get my oxygen in. I kept getting progressively better. It certainly helped that I had a wonderful trainer. I’m good now. I feel terrific. Has your return to good health helped you tackle the stunts and fight scenes in the new series of The Old Man? Oh, yes. Doing fight scenes is a lot of fun. Throughout my career, I’ve been involved in quite a few fights. The older you get, it gets a little harder. But we’ve been very fortunate to have some master stunt co-ordinators involved, and they’ve gifted us the most beautiful fight scenes. I’ve done many in my career. Next up, you’re revisiting Tron in a new Disney movie with Jared Leto. What can you tell us about it? That was a lot of fun to shoot. Jared is the star of the show and I got to play my old character Kevin Flynn again. It was wild. I brought my original Tron helmet to set one day. It’s a reworked hockey helmet, but I presented it to Jared as a passing of the torch. I think it’s going to be a wonderful movie. The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The veteran UK sitcom star on the joys of LA sunshine and working with his pal Kelsey Grammer on a revived US classic
Add Frasier to your watchlist As lovable “plonker” Rodney in Only Fools and Horses, Nicholas Lyndhurst reached comedy legend status in the UK. His star ascended further thanks to roles in sitcoms like Goodnight Sweetheart, The Two of Us and Butterflies, as well as turns in more serious fare like New Tricks and the comedy drama Rock & Chips. Now, the 63-year-old has traded Peckham for Hollywood, as he returns to play a slightly sozzled Brit abroad in series two of Frasier, the revival of the classic US sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer. From one classic sitcom to another — how did you end up working on Frasier? Kelsey and I worked together in Man of La Mancha at the London Coliseum. He was sensational. The Coliseum holds two and a half thousand people. It’s the largest stage in London and to watch what Kelsey did eight times a week was just stunning. In rehearsals, he said to me, “If Frasier ever comes back, would you be interested?” My response was, “Duh! Of course.” That was in 2019, so it’s been bubbling under for quite a long time – I’m very pleased to be part of it. Did the two of you hit it off immediately? I’d say so. We come from similar histories, so we have a lot in common. Frasier is filmed with a live studio audience. Do you get nervous? I’m quite used to the live audience, so that’s not been a problem. But the way Frasier is written and the way it’s shot are very different from the UK. The writing team is big here, and the rewrites happen every day. In the UK, if we were shooting in front of an audience on a Sunday, we’d lock in the script on a Friday, at the latest. At that point, you’d have at least a day to figure out what you’re doing. Here, the script changes daily. It even changes when the audience is in the building! How do you cope with that? You’ve got to keep on your toes! You can’t learn it too early because, personally, I find it difficult to forget a script. You keep one half of your brain going, “That’s probably going to change, so don’t set it in stone yet.” What sort of feedback do you get from the studio audience? Well, they love Kelsey. There’s a tangible feeling of love towards him in the studio every week – and rightly so. For me, it’s great because I can just get on with things. It’s lovely to be on a team again. Your character Alan Cornwall is incredibly English. Are you a Brit consultant for the writers? Maybe there are times when I will say to an American writer, “That’s not how we’d say it.” I’ll Anglicise some of the dialogue, but very rarely. The writers are good guys. They know what they’re doing. View oEmbed on the source website So, have you made the move to Hollywood for good? No, no, no. I’m just here for the duration of the show. I’ll go home to the UK afterwards, but it’s absolutely wonderful to be here for now. I’m in my mid-60s – at this stage of my career, I wasn’t expecting to be walking through the gates of Paramount Pictures every morning. I probably pinch myself every 20 minutes in this job, because working with Kelsey and working in this building is heartstoppingly wonderful. How do you like to unwind in Los Angeles? I love the sunshine, that’s been great; I like going to the beach. Apparently, the weather is horrible at home – here, it’s sensational. And if you look hard enough, there’s some great history to be found here. I’ve enjoyed going to see where Stan Laurel lived, he was always a hero of mine. Buster Keaton’s studio is literally down the road, too. I often think that if it wasn’t for Laurel and Keaton, we probably wouldn’t be here now. They were pioneers. I very much wanted to pay my respects. Do you have any more work lined up in LA? To be honest, this takes up quite a lot of the year. I’ve got no plans for anything else at the moment. Do you keep up with television back home in the UK? I actually haven’t watched television for quite a long time. My living room faces the garden, not the TV, because that feels a bit “worky”. I watch the news and I watch some documentaries, but otherwise I don’t turn on the TV very often. I don’t stream, or binge… I know that’s not the answer you want to hear – but no!
Nicholas Lyndhurst on Frasier season 2 and moving over to Hollywood for good
The Only Fools and Horses star speaks to Radio Times about the new season of Frasier.
As lovable “plonker” Rodney in Only Fools and Horses, Nicholas Lyndhurst reached comedy legend status in the UK. His star ascended further thanks to roles in sitcoms like Goodnight Sweetheart, The Two of Us and Butterflies, as well as turns in more serious fare like New Tricks and the comedy drama Rock & Chips. Now, the 63-year-old has traded Peckham for Hollywood, as he returns to play a slightly sozzled Brit abroad in season 2 of Frasier, the revival of the classic US sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer. From one classic sitcom to another – how did you end up working on Frasier? Kelsey and I worked together in Man of La Mancha at the London Coliseum. He was sensational. The Coliseum holds two and a half thousand people. It’s the largest stage in London and to watch what Kelsey did eight times a week was just stunning. In rehearsals, he said to me, “If Frasier ever comes back, would you be interested?” My response was, “Duh! Of course.” That was in 2019, so it’s been bubbling under for quite a long time – I’m very pleased to be part of it. Did the two of you hit it off immediately? I’d say so. We come from similar histories, so we have a lot in common. Frasier is filmed with a live studio audience. Do you get nervous? I’m quite used to the live audience, so that’s not been a problem. But the way Frasier is written and the way it’s shot are very different from the UK. The writing team is big here, and the rewrites happen every day. In the UK, if we were shooting in front of an audience on a Sunday, we’d lock in the script on a Friday, at the latest. At that point, you’d have at least a day to figure out what you’re doing. Here, the script changes daily. It even changes when the audience is in the building! How do you cope with that? You’ve got to keep on your toes! You can’t learn it too early because, personally, I find it difficult to forget a script. You keep one half of your brain going, “That’s probably going to change, so don’t set it in stone yet.” What sort of feedback do you get from the studio audience? Well, they love Kelsey. There’s a tangible feeling of love towards him in the studio every week – and rightly so. For me, it’s great because I can just get on with things. It’s lovely to be on a team again. Your character Alan Cornwall is incredibly English. Are you a Brit consultant for the writers? Maybe there are times when I will say to an American writer, “That’s not how we’d say it.” I’ll Anglicise some of the dialogue, but very rarely. The writers are good guys. They know what they’re doing. So, have you made the move to Hollywood for good? No, no, no. I’m just here for the duration of the show. I’ll go home to the UK afterwards, but it’s absolutely wonderful to be here for now. I’m in my mid-60s – at this stage of my career, I wasn’t expecting to be walking through the gates of Paramount Pictures every morning. I probably pinch myself every 20 minutes in this job, because working with Kelsey and working in this building is heart-stoppingly wonderful. How do you like to unwind in Los Angeles? I love the sunshine, that’s been great; I like going to the beach. Apparently, the weather is horrible at home – here, it’s sensational. And if you look hard enough, there’s some great history to be found here. I’ve enjoyed going to see where Stan Laurel lived, he was always a hero of mine. Buster Keaton’s studio is literally down the road, too. I often think that if it wasn’t for Laurel and Keaton, we probably wouldn’t be here now. They were pioneers. I very much wanted to pay my respects. Do you have any more work lined up in LA? To be honest, this takes up quite a lot of the year. I’ve got no plans for anything else at the moment. Do you keep up with television back home in the UK? I actually haven’t watched television for quite a long time. My living room faces the garden, not the TV, because that feels a bit “worky”. I watch the news and I watch some documentaries, but otherwise I don’t turn on the TV very often. I don’t stream, or binge… I know that’s not the answer you want to hear – but no! The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here. A new episode of Frasier is released on Paramount Plus every Thursday – sign up for Paramount Plus now. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what else is on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Undoing's Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman on why they jumped at the chance for "classic thriller" scripts
Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant tell Adam Tanswell about their upcoming thriller The Undoing, and how they switch off from the "unputdownable" scripts.
Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman have teamed up for new Sky Atlantic and HBO series, The Undoing. The pair play husband and wife Jonathan and Grace Fraser, who are wealthy New York parents about to be caught up in a disturbing crime. Over the course of six episodes, the series will unveil the real events of that dreadful night as the picture-perfect life in the Fraser household slowly falls apart... Radio Times caught up with The Undoing cast stars Grant and Kidman about their new series, and unwinding with a good episode of Antiques Roadshow. Hugh, for years you played hapless, lovelorn Englishmen, but now you’ve turned to serious roles. Are your romcom days behind you? I got too old and ugly for romantic comedies, but I feel like I’ve been able to spread my wings a little with roles in films like Cloud Atlas, Florence Foster Jenkins and Paddington 2. I really enjoy acting now. I always used to sit in press conferences and say, “If you want deep and dark, get Ralph Fiennes.” My role in The Undoing is pretty deep and dark – and it’s been fun to give it a go. A new challenge for me. Did you need much persuading? The scripts were unputdownable, which is incredibly rare. Generally speaking, I nap soundly while reading scripts – but these were riveting. They also came with a very classy package of talent: Nicole Kidman, Susanne Bier [The Night Manager director] and David E Kelley [creator of Big Little Lies]. I realised I was going to have to go to work, which is something I always dread. Have you worked with Nicole Kidman before? Never. Though we’ve both tried to murder Paddington. In many ways, The Undoing could be viewed as a Paddington origin story. But I’ve known Nicole, a little, for 25 years. We’re always bumping into each other. I’ve always felt strangely comfortable with her. Maybe it’s the Commonwealth? To be honest, I was slightly intimidated to work with her. She’s a genius. It was a bit like when I did Florence Foster Jenkins with Meryl Streep. These girls know what they’re doing. But at heart, Nicole is a silly Aussie girl with a great sense of humour. How do you look back on your romcom roles from the past? Look, I’m proud of most of those romantic comedies because they worked and they entertained people. I’m not going to diss them. They are not idiotic, or the vast majority of them are not idiotic. However, I certainly felt I had done enough of them and I’m glad I’m not doing them any more. In 2018 you played Jeremy Thorpe in the BBC One drama A Very English Scandal. How much do you enjoy working in television now? My initial reaction was one of horror; the idea of having to lower myself for television. [Laughs] But I actually enjoy it because it’s fast. I grind my teeth on film sets. Films can be painfully slow to shoot. What TV shows do you watch at home? I love sport on TV. I watch a little tennis and motor racing. And Antiques Roadshow. Do you like to unwind by playing sport? Or going to an antiques market? I’m glad to say that my golf addiction has been treated and is finally over, but it became really serious for a while. For 12 years, golf was my number one priority in life. It was like crack. I remember going to play golf for the very first time and I instantly thought, “I have got to get better at this.” I poured 12 years down the drain. Now, I’m addicted to tennis. My wife [Swedish-born TV producer Anna Eberstein] is a very good tennis player. View oEmbed on the source website You’re a family man now, and you play a father in The Undoing. How much has fatherhood changed you? I’m trying to be a young father in an old man’s body and it’s rough, but it’s absolutely worth it. It’s just damned nice, isn’t it? You need a family. I get that now. What are you like as a father? At some point, you turn into your own father. You don’t realise you’re doing it, but you do. I bark in exactly the same way that he barks at me. I make a ridiculous grimace when I’m doing very easy tasks, just like him. Stylistically, I’m probably more like my mother than my father. As children, she was quite silly with us with lots of silly voices. I do that with my children, but I’m not sure they enjoy it. They roll their eyes half the time. Do you enjoy fatherhood? Anyone with young children would probably agree that it’s simultaneously the worst time in your life and the best. On a day-to-day basis, as you tread on another broken toy with a hangover, it’s just awful. But when you look back at the photographs on your iPhone, you realise, “Oh, I have been extremely happy. This is very nice.” Do you take photos on your iPhone all the time? Oddly enough, I left my phone in my hotel room when I worked on The Undoing. I hate my phone. For the first time in ages, I spent 14 blissful hours at work without it. It was like being in 1994 again. Between set-ups, I studied my lines, I read a book or I talked to people. It was really nice. Phones are terrible things. They are toxic. I think they’re killing us. Nicole, what was the reason you became involved with The Undoing? I was given the first two scripts by David E Kelley [the creator of Big Little Lies, in which Kidman starred] and was instantly hooked. I love the fact that The Undoing is a classic thriller with lots of cliffhangers. It keeps you guessing until the very end. What’s Hugh Grant like to work with? He’s incredibly experienced, but he has a way of making everything look easy. Hugh can make me giggle like almost nobody else can. When did you first meet? I’ve known him socially since my early 20s. We have mutual friends and a lot of things in common. I remember going to dinner with Hugh when he was with Liz Hurley. At the time, I was doing The Blue Room [at London’s Donmar Warehouse], but I’d first met him before he did Four Weddings and a Funeral, when he was up and coming. Hugh describes you as silly. Are you? I think I’ve always been silly and funny, but mostly in the privacy of my own home. I was pretty shy when I was younger. I guess the silliness comes with age and thinking, “OK, I can be more myself now.” How would you describe Hugh? Hugh has the sharpest wit and a love/hate relationship with acting. His interest in acting ebbs and flows – but right now, he really loves it again. He came in very prepared and I loved his ability to map out a character. There’s this constant back and forth in the show about whether you believe him or not. He’s worked out the machinations of the psychological trajectory of who he is, what he is and why. You’ve had lots of movie and television husbands. Who’s the best? You can’t ask me that! I can’t kiss and tell. Listen, I have favourite projects, but I don’t think I have a favourite husband. That’s because I have my own husband, my Keith [Urban]. I have to be very careful here. I think I’ve been lucky that some of the greatest actors in the world have been willing to act opposite me. I’m very fortunate with that, but then I get to go home to my man; my real husband. Speaking of family… What do you enjoy the most about motherhood? Kids push you outside of your comfort zone. They make you do things you don’t want to do and I’m grateful for that. The introvert part of me prefers an intimate dinner, but the children want to go to big events. They push me in a good way. This interview originally appeared in the Radio Times magazine. For the biggest interviews and the best TV listings subscribe to Radio Times now and never miss a copy. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide.
Alan Cumming: it's important to see a healthy, successful same-sex marriage on screen
The Good Wife star also talks about feeling an outsider in the US and not owning a proper TV
What’s the view from your sofa? We’ve got a room at the top of our townhouse where we go to watch films and Netflix, but we don’t have a proper television. It’s lovely and chilled up there. There’s a screen on the wall that I connect to my phone or we use Apple TV. Don’t you miss having a real TV? It seems to upset other people more than me. My mother-in-law came to stay and she was going to add on a couple of extra days, but she decided against it. I asked her why and she said: “Well, it’s because you don’t have a TV!” Alan Cumming admits he wasn’t supposed to reveal his Doctor Who character this early Good Wife star Alan Cumming reveals his proudest moment: dislodging the Queen RadioTimes.com newsletter: get the latest TV and entertainment news direct to your inbox View oEmbed on the source website So how do you catch up on the latest news without a TV? I get my news from the radio and the internet. In America, one of the terrible things about the situation we’re in right now is that we’re so obsessed with the craziness of our own politics that we’re not really paying attention to other things going on in the world. For that reason, I listen to BBC World Service all the time. What was the last TV show you binged on? Daniel [Ings, husband] was in The Crown [as Prince Philip’s private secretary Mike Parker], so I watched that. And I also binged on Black Mirror, which was amazing but very dark. Will you ever return to the UK? I feel like my life is in New York now. I first came over to rehearse for Cabaret on Broadway 20 years ago. I love it here, but I’ve got a healthy attitude to the city. I feel like a bit of an outsider in New York, but I also feel like an outsider in Scotland, too. I think that’s quite a nice place to be. Do fans leave you alone in New York? Sometimes. I did Cabaret again on Broadway a few years ago, and people used to find it funny to shout out my character’s name [Eli Gold] from The Good Wife. At one point, I walked into the audience in a skimpy outfit, my hair all fluffy, wearing lots of makeup and my nipples were out – but people would scream, “Eli!” A lady once ran after me and asked me to sign my book. I said, “No. Nein!” Following The Good Wife, did you want to do another TV series? No – I thought, “I want to go back to being a peripatetic actor.” I was all over the place for a while, but I was excited to return to New York to make [crime drama] Instinct. I don’t want to be in LA for nine months of the year working on a long-running TV show. I’ll do a quick movie there, but not TV. Did playing an openly gay character add to the appeal of Instinct? This is the first US network drama to have a gay character as the lead, which is an incredible thing and also a terrible thing. I think it’s very important to see a character with a healthy, successful same-sex marriage on screen in an America where gay people are being persecuted again and their rights being removed. It’s the perfect time for a show like this and I’m really proud to be a part of it. Instinct starts on Thursday at 9pm on Sky Witness Sign up for the free RadioTimes.com newsletter
"This era of TV is very different": Sharp Objects' Amy Adams on the evolution of television
The star of Sky Atlantic's Sharp Objects on her viewing habits, the value of journalism and why she's resisted delving into social media
What’s the view from your sofa in Beverley Hills? Right now, we don’t have a sofa in our living room. Instead, we have two big beanbags. We got rid of our last sofa because I kept falling asleep on it and it was really bad for my back. I’ve ordered a new one but it’s taking ages to arrive. How often do you watch TV on your beanbags? Television is the way I unwind. I have a lot of shows to watch and I’m really grateful for streaming services that allow me to binge. Everything you need to know about HBO’s Sharp Objects Amy Adams stars in eerie first trailer for Gone Girl author’s new TV series Sharp Objects Amazon to air remake of Channel 4’s Utopia from Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn View oEmbed on the source website What’s your favourite right now? At the moment, Westworld is my show. I tune in every week and I get very excited. It’s so good. I’m also a big Law & Order fan. I tend to suffer from insomnia, so I often watch TV when everyone else is sleeping. In the middle of the night, I find The Golden Girls very comforting. What was the last show you binged on? My husband and I recently watched every season of Game of Thrones. A month-and-a-half ago, we hadn’t seen any of it – but we’re caught up now. On all seven series. For a while we had no life other than watching Game of Thrones. It was a great life. Who rules the remote control in your home? I’m in control of the remote. My daughter (eight-year-old Aviana) had control for a while, but then I wore thin of kids’ programming. We’ve started to get her into the History Channel and Travel Channel, with shows like Mysteries at the Museum. She’s slowly becoming a little more sophisticated in her tastes. What are your earliest memories of television growing up in Castle Rock, Colorado? They involve Sesame Street and a PBS programme called Clyde Frog Show. We also watched The Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday night, along with a lot of American football. My dad is a big sports fanatic. You play a journalist in your new drama, Sharp Objects. How do you consume news? I go a little crazy with news. I’m really into all news sources for about two weeks, but then I get overwhelmed and have to take a break. Soon enough, I go back and do it again. But journalism is very important. I hope we get to continue to consume news in a free and open way. Do you prefer making films or television? This era of TV is very different. I don’t feel like there’s a hard line between film and television any more. Plus, the way that people consume TV is very different today. You don’t have any social media accounts. Why? I’ve recently flirted with the idea of having a social media account because there are a lot of causes I’d love to bring attention to, but I really value my privacy. I feel like I’d be inviting people into my life. I know that makes me sound old fashioned, but I’m more comfortable with my current level of privacy. Amy Adams stars in Sharp Objects from Monday 16th July on Sky Atlantic at 9pm
'Sharp Objects is about female violence, female aggression': Gillian Flynn on her latest HBO thriller
The Gone Girl author discusses her latest book-turned-show, starring Amy Adams
American author Gillian Flynn has three best-selling novels under her belt: Gone Girl, Dark Places and Sharp Objects. Ben Affleck and Charlize Theron tackled the lead roles in the big-screen adaptations of the first two, but Sharp Objects remained untouched… Until now. In the gritty new Sky Atlantic drama, Amy Adams stars as a journalist who returns to her hometown to report on a series of brutal murders. RadioTimes.com caught up with Flynn to find out more… What was it like working with Amy Adams on Sharp Objects? Amy and I have been trying to do something together for a long time. In fact, Amy was originally going to do [the Charlize Theron role in] Dark Places, but then she got pregnant. After that, we got together and said, “Let’s try to do Sharp Objects.” We took the project to many studios together. We drove all over the place to try and get it sold as a TV show. Amy Adams stars in eerie first trailer for Gone Girl author’s new TV series Sharp Objects There could be a Gone Girl sequel, reveals Gillian Flynn Amazon to air remake of Channel 4’s Utopia from Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn View oEmbed on the source website Why a TV show and not a film? It was originally going to be a movie but thankfully, the project fell through. And in the meantime, we had the rise of HBO doing these great television series. When I started to write Sharp Objects, I very much intended it to be a story about female violence and female aggression, and what it looked like – but using a mystery to pull it along; to give it an engine. To me, the story of Sharp Objects is a character study wrapped up inside a whodunit. That’s why I’m glad it’s a TV series and I’m relieved that it took so long to come around, because I think we would have lost the character study in a film and it would’ve been much more of a mystery. What makes Amy Adams perfect for the role of Camille Preaker? Amy has this sweet vulnerability to her. You worry about her – but she also has this spine of steel. You don’t want anyone who’s so delicate that you can’t stand to watch them wander around [Camille’s hometown] Wind Gap. It is a tough place and Camille is put in tough positions – but at the same time, you feel for her. Do you think the #MeToo movement has affected how your novels are read? My novels don’t necessarily have anything to do with sexual harassment, although Amy [the lead character in Gone Girl] does claim she’s been raped as part of a villainous plan, so there is that sexual vein. And there are sexual overtones with Camille debating an underage assault. Certainly, her early sexuality is a part of the story and the question is: Is a girl’s sexuality her own? And at what age does it become her own? These questions are now more relevant in the background of the #MeToo movement. What conclusions do you come to in the drama? What I like about Sharp Objects is the fact that the story isn’t about trying to understand or solve those questions. It’s not saying, ‘There is an answer to this. We’re going to solve this and thereby fix this woman.’ Instead, it’s saying, ‘This is a question that most women actually ask themselves at some point and it’s part of her story.’ Let’s see where it takes us. Sharp Objects will first air on Monday July 9th at 2am (it will be repeated on the same day at 9pm) Sign up for the Free RadioTimes.com newsletter
James Corden on turning veggie, his mischievous youth and bringing The Late Late Show back to the UK
When it comes to TV, the British chat show host is enjoying Ozark and The Handmaid's Tale - but what he's really obsessed with is a decent night's sleep
With James Corden's popular US chat show The Late Late Show about to get a special run in the UK this summer, RadioTimes.com catches up with the actor/presenter... What’s the view from your sofa? I rarely sit on the couch, I’m always in bed. With three children [Max, six, Carey, three, and six-month-old Charlotte], I’m happiest if I’m asleep at half past nine. Right now, in our house, sleep is everything. What do you like to watch on TV, in bed or otherwise? I really enjoyed The Crown and Ozark on Netflix, and my wife [Julia Carey] and I adore The Handmaid’s Tale – but I’m not on a quest for a new show to binge on; I’m on a quest to shut my eyes for a little longer. James Corden reveals the music star who refused to do carpool karaoke BBC comedy The Wrong Man with James Corden set for US remake Sign up for the free RadioTimes.com newsletter View oEmbed on the source website You’re back for a UK series of your US chat show The Late Late Show. Have you missed home? I love the UK. Los Angeles can be really weird. People seem to put work, career, money and power above lots of other things – but I know I’m very lucky to be there. You can be very mischievous on your talk show. Have you always been cheeky? I was naughty every now and then when I was young, because I didn’t take well to authority. But I was never spiteful. I just wanted to have fun, and I didn’t think Geography was fun. I thought we could make it more fun with jokes, which was my problem. Did you imagine you’d be a star? No one is more surprised than me. But I always knew I wanted to perform. The only time my school attendance record was 100 per cent was when we were rehearsing a play. What’s your favourite TV dinner? My current vice is bread. I’ve just given up eating meat. At Christmas, I read a story about the mistreatment of elephants and realised I was upset about animal welfare while eating a bacon sandwich. I thought, “Well, you really can’t be upset about elephants and not think about the pigs.” I hope I can keep it up. I will certainly try. I’m going to try to phase out fish next. It’s going to be a gradual process. What does music mean to you? It’s always made me feel I’m not on my own. At moments of heartbreak or sadness, there are songs and artists that reach out to you and say, “You are not on your own with this.” I always find it weird when anyone on Facebook “likes” music. It’s not even something you should have to say. My father was a musician in the Air Force. His father was a musician, and his father too. There’s always been a lot of music in my family. Where do you see yourself in five or even ten years’ time? Let’s not get too deep. I don’t know. I hope I’m happy and the people I love are healthy. I think it’s so strange to go, “Oh, I’d like to be here doing this.” Be careful what you wish for. The Late Late Show UK Special begins Tuesday 19th June at 10pm on Sky 1, and is also available to stream on NOW TV. Corden is also in Begin Again, Sun BBC2 Sign up for the free RadioTimes.com newsletter
Top Gear host Matt LeBlanc: I still watch Friends with my daughter
The comedy star reveals his TV loves and hates, and also talks about the differences working in the UK compared to the US
Tell us about your TV set… I have four televisions in my house in LA. In my lounge, I have a 65-inch screen, which could be bigger. I have a 90-inch television at my ranch. That’s cool, but only because the prices have come down a lot. Televisions are cheap now. What’s your sofa like? It’s huge, dark red, suede and down-stuffed. I love it. If you fall asleep watching TV on this sofa, your back doesn’t hurt when you wake up. That was the objective. There’s not much else in the room. You’ve got a monster TV and a comfy sofa – so what are you watching at the moment? I don’t watch any shows religiously. I tend to watch television that you can jump in and out of quickly. I tend to find myself watching documentaries. If there’s a silly show about the search for Big Foot, I’ll take a look. And I like fun shows about extraterrestrial life, like Ancient Aliens. View oEmbed on the source website Who is your perfect TV companion? I love to spend time with my daughter. She’s 12 years old, so we don’t have the same taste in shows – I want to catch up on the news in the mornings, while she wants to watch My Little Pony. Do you watch Friends together? Sure. It’s still on all the time, so we’ll stop and watch it if we’re channel surfing and it pops up. She loves to ask me questions about it. She’ll say: “Was that real? Did you really eat that? What did that taste like? Ooh, you ate that off the floor? That’s gross! You’re so funny, Dad.” It’s fun to sit and watch it with her. She used to call it The Joey Tribbiani Show – but now she knows to call it Friends. Between Episodes and Top Gear you’ve been working in the UK a lot. Any drawbacks? The food. I’m sure this is no secret, but people often comment that the food in the States is much better than the food in the UK. However, they get a lot more work done in the UK on any given day because nobody sits around eating all day. It’s a catch-22 situation. How do British shows compare to American shows? English humour is more subtle than American humour. American comedy often assumes the audience is unintelligent and we really have to spell things out. Do you keep up on politics at home while travelling? I try not to, but I’ve noticed that our President doesn’t have a lot of fans in the UK. Anyway, nobody really cares about my opinion, so I keep it to myself. It keeps me out of trouble. Top Gear is on Sunday at 8pm on BBC2
Oprah Winfrey: Why I won't be running for US President in 2020
The American talk-show queen prefers English muffins, walks in the woods and yachting holidays with the Obamas
What’s the view from your sofa? I have the most fantastic TV room. We call it a screening room, but it used to be a garage. The screen is the size of a wall and it has doors on the front that open and close when you hit a little button. I love it in there! Is your sofa also supersized? Yes! It fits at least four people and has lots of cosy pillows. But it’s the same gold colour as my English cocker spaniel [Sadie], so it’s hard to see her when she’s lying on there. I have to be careful not to sit on her when I’m watching TV. Daniel Kaluuya told Graham Norton the BEST story about meeting Oprah Winfrey View oEmbed on the source website So what shows do you like to watch on your huge screen? I enjoy shows like Scandal and This Is Us, and I absolutely loved Big Little Lies. Could you believe the ending? Wow! I am not going to spoil it for people but I was hooked – it was fantastic! Do you live a very extravagant lifestyle? I live a relatively simple life. I love to stay in with my five dogs. I’ll take them for a walk in the woods and let them find dead birds, then come home, bathe them and make a meal. My idea of a good time involves an English muffin and some tea. That’s all I need. Hanging out on big boats with friends is also enjoyable, but it’s not something I do very often. Is that a reference to the yachting holiday you took last year with Tom Hanks, Bruce Springsteen and the Obamas? We have an unwritten rule about that. We always say, “What happens on the boat, stays on the boat.” For that reason I can’t tell you exactly what happened – although I will say there was a lot of swimming, paddleboarding, snorkelling and jet-skiing. There was also lots of laughter, conversations and great fun because Tom Hanks is a hoot. Do you enjoy staying up to date on the news? I used to watch the news on my treadmill, but it became too much for me so I’ve started to avoid it. You can end up making yourself depressed if you watch the news all the time. Now I watch enough to stay informed, but that’s it. So we won’t see President Oprah in the future? No. No, you will not. I don’t feel that I am qualified to take on the responsibilities of what that means, which is to run the world. Nor do I feel like I have the amount of energy that it would take to do it. I don’t feel like that is my calling. Operah stars in A Wrinkle in Time which opens in UK cinemas on Friday 23rd March
Mosaic star Sharon Stone on recovering from her devastating stroke: "I had to learn to speak again"
"I couldn’t write my name for almost three years," says the actress. "I couldn’t get my arm to listen to my mind, so I had to learn to read and write again"
What’s the view from your sofa? It’s exactly the same view as it was when I was growing up. Back then, there was a fireplace next to the TV. Now it’s an electric fireplace. I grew up watching television from the floor of a gigantic living room in our big farmhouse in Amish country. I think my mother would have preferred a sophisticated life in the city, which is why she had a black mid-century sofa and a coffee table, but that was it. The rest of the room was empty. What were you watching on television back then? Every Saturday morning, I sat on the floor watching what we now call “film noir”. My father would say, “Go outside and get the stink blown off you.” But all I wanted to do was watch television. I loved it. Shetland star Mark Bonnar: “Strictly often reduces me to tears” Kirsty Young on swotting for Desert Island Discs and how she winds down from “intense” interviews Do you still enjoy TV as much? I’m obsessed with television. I can’t get enough of it, especially now I can watch so many international shows. It’s really exciting seeing life in every country in the world. Plus, we can now watch everything everywhere. It’s thrilling. What have you enjoyed recently? The Crown is brilliant. I love crime shows set in small towns in other countries – it’s fascinating to see how people interact. I also loved British dramas like Marcella, River and Broadchurch. Oh, and I love Sherlock. Yes, I’m a Cumberbitch! Anything aside from drama? A documentary was recommended to me about a woman’s life after a brain haemorrhage, called My Beautiful Broken Brain – and it’s so touching and true. It’s remarkably similar to my own experience. In 2001, I had a stroke and a nine-day brain haemorrhage that changed my life forever. I had a five per cent chance of surviving. Are you fully recovered now? When I came home after the stroke, I could barely walk. My hip was unstable. I couldn’t see out of my left eye and I couldn’t hear out of my left ear. I couldn’t write my name for almost three years. I couldn’t get my arm to listen to my mind, so I had to learn to read and write again. I had to learn to speak again. It took years for the feeling to come back to my left leg, but it finally came back. My vision also came back and my directional hearing is much better, although every now and then I still ask people, “Can you please sit on the other side?” Was it hard returning to work? I started by doing a guest role on Law & Order: SVU [in 2010], which was really humbling and strange. I’d lost my photographic memory, so I didn’t know how to do my lines, but now I’m really together. Everything is good and it’s exciting to be back with this Steven Soderbergh show, Mosaic. Do you predict more television projects in your future? Do I want to do more TV? Yes. Would I do TV anywhere? Yes, but it’s about finding the right project. I am looking, but it’s a hard search. Mosaic airs on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV from Saturday 16th Feburary at 10pm
Daisy Ridley reveals how Star Wars changed her life
The actor who plays Rey talks about what's happened to her in between The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi
Does the story of Star Wars: The Last Jedi pick up immediately after The Force Awakens? It’s no secret that we returned to Ireland to shoot on Skellig Michael again [where the final scene of The Force Awakens was shot], so we will see what happened there. The journey we go on is unexpected. Even though a lot of questions are answered in The Last Jedi, there’s still a lot of discovery. Luke Skywalker mentors Rey in The Last Jedi. Did real life mimic the movie with Mark mentoring you on the film set? No. That’s what was amazing about the first movie, where I was working more with Harrison Ford. It was a huge movie, but I never wanted to disturb him with questions. We would have conversations about life away from Star Wars, but I never asked for advice on set. Can you imagine returning to the Star Wars franchise in 30 years, like Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford did with The Force Awakens? Never say never, but we’ve still got another one to do in this trilogy. Hopefully I’ll get through that next year. After that, we can talk about the future. Daisy Ridley reveals why she quit Instagram Star Wars: The Last Jedi is “incredible”, say ecstatic first audience Mark Hamill reveals “the most important line” in Star Wars: The Last Jedi Do you think the franchise will still be going strong in 30 years? Sadly, I’m a bit cynical about the world at the moment, so I can’t see the year 2050. At that point, I feel like we’ll either be living in things built above the rising sea levels and travelling around in hovercrafts or we’ll be living in space. What will you be like in the year 2050? Older! I hope to have a degree by then. Maybe I’ll step behind the camera a little by then, too. My mum has said to me that I should be a director because I’m so bossy. I keep telling her that’s not what constitutes a good director! How much has Star Wars changed your life? Life suddenly got a bit different. I’m definitely recognised more, but I find the whole taking pictures thing weird. I’d prefer to have a conversation than someone asking for a picture, but I guess people feel the need to prove they’ve had the interaction through social media. I don’t do social any more. Why did you stop? I came off it last September and I will never go back on. The more I read about teenage anxiety, the more I think it’s highly unhealthy for people’s mental health. It’s such a weird thing for young people to look at distorted images of things they should be. Have you treated yourself to anything special with your Star Wars pay cheques? I was talking to [Spider-Man star] Tom Holland the other day. He was asking me if I’d bought myself a watch or anything like that. I replied, “No, but I bought a plane ticket home recently, which was awesome because I got to go home for the day.” Do you travel the world in first class? When we did the press tour for the first Star Wars movie, I got very used to having a fancy seat. It was awesome. But I’ve travelled home to see my family a couple of times in economy and I’m like, ‘Oh, this is how normal people travel.’ I’d forgotten. What do you always pack on your travels? I’ve become a light traveller, but I always pack warm socks for the plane. I also travel with two crystals, which were given to me. They are my tokens of love and protection. They come with me everywhere.
Angelina Jolie: "When you have six kids, you are the boss of nothing!"
The Hollywood star talks about home life and working with son Maddox on her latest film, Netflix's First They Killed My Father
You’re a Hollywood star with six children aged nine to 16 – describe your TV set-up at home. We’ve just moved into a new house where all our televisions are connected – I don’t know why, that’s just the way it is. I will turn on the news and then, suddenly, Disney Channel will come on. At that point, it’s over for me. The kids take control. Who’s in charge of the remote control in your home? Very often it’s Vivienne [Angelina’s nine-year-old daughter with Brad Pitt]. It’s never me. Do you ever get to watch your favourite shows? If I want to watch something, I have to watch it on my computer when the kids are asleep. Otherwise, it’s very hard. There should be a parent box set up for me. View oEmbed on the source website The kids are all in bed, what are you watching? I like to watch the news on CNN or the BBC. I also love The Walking Dead. I’m really looking forward to the next season. Dinner time must be hectic with six children running around? I’m not the best cook. I am going to cooking classes and I’ve been trying to cook more at home, because the kids all hang out together when I do that. They love it, but they often take over. I’m very impatient and a little erratic – but I am getting into it now. Do you have a speciality dish? I don’t. My best recipe is when I accidentally put something together and it just happens to work out. I get really excited when that happens. Personally, I can’t follow a recipe. I am one of those people. I don’t like to follow the rules. Do the children help out around the house? The children are amazing. It’s so moving to see how much they help each other. The big brothers help the little kids, and all of them help me. They have really come into their own. View oEmbed on the source website Your eldest son, Maddox, is an executive producer on the new film you’ve directed, First They Killed My Father. How did that come about? I met Maddox in Cambodia when he was three months old and I’ve always wanted him to tell a story from his country. I told him, “Son, one day you’ll be ready. You will tell me when it’s time to go deeply into your country. But I need your help. You’ll have to work and you’ll have to be there every day with me.” And one day he said, “I’m ready.” How involved was Maddox in the movie? He’s 16 now and he has known Loung Ung, the woman upon whose childhood under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia the film is based, all his life. He went deep into the research and into the edit. He was great. And also, because the movie is from a child’s point of view, it was really helpful to have him there to say, “You are losing my attention in this scene.” As a film director, you have to take control. Does that mean you’re a bossy person? When you have six kids, you are the boss of nothing! First They Killed My Father is available now on Netflix
The Code Black star is a news junkie struggling to break the habit
In American films, people always watch TV in bed. Do you? The one thing I don’t do is watch TV in bed. I like to go to bed without the distraction of television. If I had it my way, I wouldn’t even have a TV in my bedroom – but I would lose that fight with my wife. Do you have the television on during the day? No. The way that I listen to music, the way that I read books, the way that I watch television and the way that I watch movies is the same. Whenever I’m doing these things, I’m really focused. Other people will get up in the middle of a show to grab something from another room. They will take a phone call. They will have a conversation. I don’t do any of those things. My television is not on for background noise; I want it on to watch something, and then I want it off. Talk us through your TV set-up... I have a TV outside by the fireplace. That is my lounge; my man cave. It’s literally outside, so there are no walls. It’s a porch with a big, beautiful, outdoor fireplace. The TV is attached to the fireplace, so that’s all there is out there – but it’s great because the weather is so wonderful in California. I can be outside all year around. How comfy is the sofa in your man cave? My sofa can seat around ten people. It’s pretty small! I relax in there with a dog sitting next to me and a cigar in my hand. Code Black How many TVs do you have? Too many. My wife [make-up artist Sheryl Berkoff] never met a room she didn’t want to put a TV in. What are you watching on TV? I tend to watch a lot of news on television, but I’m trying to break the habit. I don’t think all this news is good for me, especially in the current political climate. The good thing is that I now know absolutely everything about what’s going on in the world at any given moment. The bad thing is that it’s killing me from the inside out. Who’s your go-to companion for a night on the sofa? I love to watch TV with my oldest son, Matthew [23]. Lots of people have guilty pleasures; reality shows like The Bachelor. I’m not into that. My guilty pleasures are shows like Ancient Aliens, Finding Bigfoot and America’s Most Haunted. You play a military doctor in the medical drama Code Black. Are you all right with all the blood and gore in the operation scenes? I’m pretty good with it, but my long-time make-up and hair person struggles. They won’t come near me when I have fake blood on me. In one episode, we do an emergency caesarean. When we screened it, the audience gasped. It looks exactly like it is. I have seen the real thing – I have two kids and one of them was by caesarean. You’ve got a free hour at home. How do you spend it? I’ll head to the gym or I’ll go for a run – or I may even go paddle boarding. I tend to do something active with my spare time. And I’ll play with the dogs. I’ve got five of them at home. Code Black is on Wednesdays at 9pm on the W channel
David Duchovny says he and Gillian Anderson "both went a little nuts" thanks to The X-Files
The actor discusses the sci-fi phenomenon that made his name, conspiracy theories and family life
Hard to believe, but it's been 14 years since David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson played bickering FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully in the super-successful US sci-fi series, The X-Files. It was 2002, the year of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones had opened in cinemas. Friends still had a couple of years left – but it was curtains for The X-Files. After nine series and 202 episodes, the longest-running sci-fi show in US TV history was cancelled – and David Duchovny breathed a sigh of relief. Towards the end, rumours emerged of on-set arguments between the two stars. The drama about unexplained phenomena was riven by unexplained personal difficulties. “We’d spent eight or nine years working together 12 to 14 hours a day,” Duchovny tells RT. “On top of that, we went from complete obscurity to worldwide stardom. Not just America. I think we both went somewhat crazy. It’s such a big change in someone’s life and such a strain on one’s time to make a show like that, so we both went a little nuts. You’d have to, right? “At times we were nuts with one another, where she [Anderson] was acting crazy or I was acting crazy, or we were both acting crazy. But the thing about being crazy is you don’t know you’re crazy. I look back now and say, ‘Oh, I was a little nuts.’ And I think Gillian would say the same. We both appreciate why the other was crazy. We get it, and forgive.” Duchovny also finds the third “star” of The X-Files – the show’s conspiracy theories – a little crazy to deal with. "People can't keep secrets," he declares. "I've never known anybody, not one person, to keep a secret. I find it hard to believe that they're keeping aliens from us because it's pretty juicy. You come home from work and you go, 'Honey, I've got to tell you something but you've got to promise not to tell anyone. They're here! I saw an alien today.’ She’s like, ‘I won’t tell anybody.’ And is then straight on the phone to her mom. That was my problem with JFK. There was no way. If there was a conspiracy to kill the president, somebody talks. Somebody along the way opens their mouth. There are too many people, too many secrets to keep. It’s not human nature. I don’t believe in it.” Audiences last saw Mulder and Scully in the 2008 feature film The X-Files: I Want to Believe — but the storyline received mixed reviews from critics and a third movie was canned. However, Duchovny promises a return to form for the new six-part TV series, premiering on Channel 5 this week. “The X-Files is very flexible and malleable in that we’ve got many genres within the show,” he says. “There’s the horror X-Files. There’s the thriller X-Files. The mythology X-Files. A romantic element creeps in every now and then – and then there’s the comedic X-Files. In the second episode [of the new run], Mulder is a complete goof. He’s always losing his gun and falling over. He’s always turning the wrong way when something is happening. It’s not the same guy as the heroic Mulder in the first episode.” Early on in The X-Files, Mulder was revealed as an Oxford graduate — and, just like his character, Duchovny is well-educated. Born in New York in 1960, he went to school in Manhattan before he went to Princeton University, where he was rewarded a BA in English Literature in 1982. Soon after, he went to Yale to obtain an MA — although his PhD work remains unfinished; seemingly abandoned in order to pursue an acting career. His father was a writer and publicist and his mother was a teacher originally from Aberdeen, although his family history also has roots in Poland and Ukraine. Despite a high-profile relationship with Hollywood actress Téa Leoni – they wed in 1997 – Duchovny’s profile dipped in the UK after The X-Files. While Gillian Anderson enjoyed success in a string of literary adaptations on BBC1 (Bleak House, Great Expectations), he spent most of his time working on lesser-known movie projects – although he eventually returned to the TV spotlight in 2007 with the eyebrow-raising comedy Californication. It saw Duchovny tackle the raunchy – often naked – role of sex-obsessed author Hank Moody. The US show won rave reviews and bagged him a Golden Globe but was a drastic change from the family-friendly sci-fi hit that had made him a household name. “In some ways, I was reacting against The X-Files,” the 55-year-old laments. “I wanted to do a comedy and saw the pilot script of Californication. I thought, ‘I can do that.’ ” The scandalous character and salacious storylines spun many heads in Hollywood – but when Californication creator Tom Kapinos first came up with the story of the alcohol-swilling, drug-taking womaniser, Duchovny wasn’t on his mind. “I didn’t think about anyone,” Kapinos admits. “I just wrote it as a writing sample, and had fun with it. But when we got picked up, there was a shortlist and, of course, David was at the top for me. There are so few guys who can actually pull this off; be charming and funny and good-looking. Girls love him and men don’t begrudge him that.” After the first series of Californication finished in the US, tabloid stories speculated that Duchovny’s relationship with Leoni was on the rocks, and in 2008 – as if emulating a script from his show – the actor confirmed he’d entered a rehabilitation centre. “I have voluntarily entered a facility for the treatment of sex addiction,” he said in a statement released through his lawyer. “I ask for respect and privacy for my wife and children as we deal with this situation as a family.” The tabloids commented that life was imitating art, but Duchovny put on a brave face. On television, the show soared and continued for seven successful years – but behind closed doors, Duchovny’s marriage came to an end in 2014 when the pair filed for divorce. The two actors remain committed to their children: 13-year-old Kyd and 16-year-old Madelaine. Both teenagers visited Duchovny on the Vancouver set of Channel 5’s sci-fi reboot. “They’re happy about The X-Files because they’ve heard so much about it, but they didn’t really have any personal experience with it,” says the proud father. “My son has seen quite a few episodes, but my daughter is into Game of Thrones and I kept telling her, ‘We’re just as good as they are.’ I took her boyfriend on set with me every day because he wants to learn about film-making. I got him enlisted in the project.” Duchovny is also working on the second series of the Charles Manson-inspired crime drama Aquarius – but admits that at the start of his career he never imagined he’d be in such a successful and lucrative position. “When I was younger, I never looked ahead. No, I just wanted ‘a pot to p*** in’, as my mum would say. I was always afraid that I’d end up in the gutter. That was our fear growing up; not to have any money and to end up homeless.” He pauses before adding: “I mean, it wasn’t like that was imminent – but my mother was born during the Depression in Scotland and it was different. Just to have a place to live and food to eat was enough, which was a good attitude to have. “I always wanted to be engaged, creative and imaginative – and to not have to go into an office every day. That was the life that I wanted. I didn’t want to wear a suit and tie, which is the f*****-up thing about having to play Mulder again. When I went in to work, I had to wear a suit and tie. It happened with Aquarius, too, so I’ve really screwed myself. I’ve got two shows where I have to wear a suit and a tie, which is what I didn’t want to do with my life – but there you go.”
He invented Iron Man, Thor and Spider-Man - and now the 93-year-old has created a superhero for TV in Stan Lee's Lucky Man
It’s midday in Beverly Hills and we’re sitting in a sixth-floor office overlooking perfect, palm-tree-lined streets. Perched behind the oversized desk in the sun-drenched room is a 93-year-old man who beams with pride within his surroundings: a multitude of toys, trinkets, pictures, keepsakes and comic books... all manner of items that commemorate his trailblazing work in the entertainment industry over the past eight decades. It’s been an astounding career that has had a monumental impact on popular culture. There’s a life-size Spider-Man figure in one corner of the room and a superhero pinball machine from the 1980s in another. A vibrant painting of the Silver Surfer springs out from the wall behind him and numerous photos of A-list celebrity friends are framed around the room. This is the office of Stan Lee, a man whose inspiring imagination has helped create scores of superheroes including the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor and (his personal favourite) Spider-Man. With all his creations around him, it’s clear to see how this media and entertainment impresario made an impact on everyone on the planet. “Every time I go to a comic-book convention, at least one fan will ask me, ‘What is the greatest superpower of all?’ I always say that luck is the greatest superpower, because if you have good luck then everything goes your way. For example, if a villain shoots you and you’ve got luck, he will miss. It’s perfect. After I explain this to people, I’m often asked, ‘So why don’t you have a superhero who’s got the power of luck?’ Well, it’s an idea that’s been percolating for a few years now and we’ve finally worked it out for this new TV show. “Luck is something that affects everybody, and everybody can relate to it,” he adds. “I feel very lucky to be sitting here chatting to you about it because this show is very different to anything I’ve done before. Each episode looks beautiful and it’s a thrilling story with a surprise in almost every scene. I think it’s going to be a major hit. At least, I hope so.” View oEmbed on the source website Stan Lee’s Lucky Man follows the story of Harry Clayton, played by James Nesbitt, a London detective who is given a mysterious bracelet that is said to imbue the wearer with immense luck – but this is not a superhero saga along the lines of the Avengers or Fantastic Four. There are no caped crusaders or masked vigilantes swooping in to save the day. “If you class James Bond as a superhero then Harry Clayton will definitely be a superhero because he’s larger than life and he fights beautifully,” admits Lee. “There’s a lot of action in the show and he’s an inspiring character to watch as he goes through his paces – but he’s not a superhero like Iron Man or Spider-Man. Instead, he’s an action television-show hero with a lot of luck on his hands.” Over the years, Lee’s co-creations have spawned multibillion-dollar movie franchises and made him a household name across the globe – but his big break came in 1939 when he landed an assistant position at Timely Publications. At first, his job involved filling inkwells and fetching lunch for the team – but Lee slowly raised through the ranks and was ultimately named president of Marvel Comics, the company that Timely had evolved into. Unfortunately for Lee, he left many years before Marvel Entertainment – the parent corporation – was sold to Disney in 2009 for close to £2.5 billion, but it’s interesting to note that despite cameo appearances and an executive producer credit on many of Marvel’s big-budget block-busters, the comic-book icon does not share in the profits of the films. Instead, Lee created a new company in 2001, POW! Entertainment, which is where he spends most of his working days conjuring up new creations and ideas. View oEmbed on the source website When Lee is asked about his influence, he is modest. “To be honest, I never thought I had that much impact,” he says. “We just sold a lot of books, but a lot of it had to do with the artwork and the subject matter. All of a sudden, people were starting to talk about me as if I was a prominent writer, which was nice – but I just get on with what I’m doing. I enjoy what I do and it’s pretty exciting to still be working. I just wish I were a little younger.” While many writers like to dismiss the notion that movies and comic books can be too violent for the younger generation, Lee has a surprising response. “Well, they used to be [violent]. When I first got into the business, my publisher would say to me, ‘Stan, don’t waste time worrying about characterisation and philosophy; just give me lots of action. Don’t waste time with the dialogue, either. Every time I turn a page, I want to see action scenes. That’s what the kids like.’ “And that’s what comics were like a million years ago when parents were objecting to them – but now it’s different. Now, we have very fine writers writing these comics and the dialogue is carefully crafted in the dialogue balloons. I’m happy to say it’s a whole different story today.” Despite his celebrity status, Lee hasn’t always been eager to embrace the fame that derives from a career in comics. “When I was young, I was embarrassed to tell people that I wrote comic books,” he admits. “I even changed my name because people hated them so much. My name used to be Stanley Martin Lieber, which was a very normal name. I cut it in half and made it Stan Lee because I didn’t want to use my real name on my work. I was saving it for the great American novel, which I never wrote.” Lee in 1991 The charismatic smile momentarily fades when asked if he still indulges in his first love: comic books. “You’ve hit on a very unfortunate subject,” he reveals with a sigh. “My eyesight has gotten terrible and I can’t read comic books any more. When I write messages to myself, I have to write them in huge letters and I use an electronic enlarger to read them – but I can’t read a comic book. The print is too small. Not only a comic book, but I can’t read the newspaper or a novel or anything. I miss reading 100 per cent. It’s my biggest miss in the world. “I can’t even read a script. I come up with ideas for stories and somebody writes an outline for me – but I can’t read it. I have to hope it’s good. If something is very important, they print it in very big type for me to read – but that’s all I can do. I have the same trouble with hearing. Apologies for asking you to repeat your questions at times, but my ears aren’t what they used to be. It’s awful to feel a thousand years old.” Finally, when asked what he considers his proudest achievement, Lee’s reply is typically modest. “I don’t know. There’s not one singular moment, although it’s always great when people come up to talk to me and they mention how much they like the characters I’ve created, or how much they’ve enjoyed the books and the movies. It’s a great feeling to hear that.” Stan Lee's Lucky Man begins on Sky 1 tonight (Friday 22nd January) at 9pm