Awards Chatter

10 years after the end of 'Mad Men,' the Emmy-winning actor who brought to life Don Draper reflects on his difficult youth (he lost both parents before turning 21), the rewards and pain of playing one of the greatest anti-heroes of the platinum age of TV, how comedy came to figure so prominently in his next act, and why he was so drawn to playing a man who has everything and then loses it all on his new Apple TV+ series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In front of an audience at the Miami Film Festival, the English film and TV actor reflects on the pros and cons of playing Lucius Malfoy in the 'Harry Potter' film series, the heartbreak of the cancelation of 'The OA' and his rollercoaster journey with Mike White's hit HBO drama series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The former Los Angeles Times film critic reflects on his path from Brooklyn to Hollywood, the current state of film criticism and the LA Times, and what inspired him to spend four years writing the first dual-biography in 50 years of MGM's two most legendary executives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In front of an audience at Chapman University, the 'Dropout' Emmy winner and 'Mank' Oscar nominee reflects on early breaks like 'Mean Girls' and 'Mamma Mia!,' navigating the transition from child to adult star, and why she's so passionate about her latest project, a Peacock limited series in which she plays a cop investigating the disappearance of her own sister. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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