Whether he was getting booked on The Tonight Show or becoming the first standup to have a hit sitcom based on his act or finding success as a professional poker player, Gabe Kaplan says it all happened in spite of his lack of ambition. Gabe tells Marc how he really wanted to become a professional baseball player, how his athleticism served him well in Battle of the Network Stars, and how his initial years in standup were spent opening for strippers and bellydancers. They also talk about the maki...
May 24, 2021•1 hr 21 min
Rickie Lee Jones is, first and foremost, a storyteller. She realized at a young age that she could process her feelings and tell her own story through the fiction of songs. As she tells Marc, that same impulse prompted her to write a memoir in which she could present her life story through the narrative of her extended family of vaudevillians. Rickie Lee and Marc also talk about her formative and tumultuous relationship with Tom Waits and why it's hard for her to reminisce about her early albums...
May 20, 2021•1 hr 12 min
American audiences know Eric Bana from his complex performances in movies like Munich, Black Hawk Down and Ang Lee's Hulk. But in his native Australia, Eric got his start doing standup and sketch comedy. Eric and Marc share their respective experiences of the Australian comedy scene and Eric explains how his gift for mimicry and impressions helped him transition from sketch to dramatic acting. They also talk about Eric's new movie The Dry, why the demise of movie theaters is greatly exaggerated,...
May 17, 2021•1 hr 14 min
Kristin Hersh needs to make music. Whether it's with her bands Throwing Muses and 50FOOTWAVE or in her solo albums, making music is a compulsion. But she only recently figured out that music was her way of managing trauma. Kristin tells Marc about a life changing car accident, her dissociative disorder, PTSD, “switching,” and how processing all of this helped her understand the music she'd been hearing in her head all her life. They also talk about her new book, Seeing Sideways, which deals with...
May 13, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Steve Miller didn't expect to become a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer with hit songs that stand the test of time, like The Joker and Fly Like An Eagle. He was just a kid from Wisconsin who loved the Blues and wound up with teachers like T-Bone Walker and his godfather Les Paul. Steve tells Marc how he got his first breaks in clubs run by the Chicago Mafia, how he learned an important lesson from Paul McCartney, and how he discovered a lost 1977 concert performance which he's finally releasing. Sign...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 26 min
Mark Normand is relieved to get back to the comedy clubs after a year of doing outdoor shows and other compromised sets during the pandemic. But Mark never considered stopping because comedy is something he has to do. Maybe it goes back to growing up feeling like an outsider in his own family of overachievers, or maybe it's how he coped with childhood anxieties like bedwetting, or maybe it has to do with being a victim of crime at several points in his life. He tries to get to the bottom of it w...
May 06, 2021•1 hr 24 min
Nancy Wilson is one of the world's great guitarists, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and creator, along with her sister Ann, of one of the great American rock bands, Heart. But after more than 40 years in the business, she's finally releasing her first solo album. Nancy tells Marc what led up to it, from opening for big rock acts to writing massive radio hits to headlining giant arena rock shows all over the world. Nancy explains how things got messy within Heart when romantic relationshi...
May 03, 2021•1 hr 20 min
Robert Smigel became best known for having a foul-mouthed dog puppet on his hand, but the truth is he's a defining force in popular comedy for the past 35 years. Robert tells Marc how he was on the path to becoming a dentist until a stand-up comedy competition changed his life. From there it was on to SNL where he forged relationships with people like Conan O'Brien and Adam Sandler, collaborating over the next decade to change the comedy landscape. Robert also explains the origin of Triumph and ...
Apr 29, 2021•1 hr 40 min
Richard Kind knows his face is memorable, but he still thinks he uses it too much. He knows his characters often exude warmth and joy, even though he is personally powered by dread and anxiety. He wants to be more like George Bailey, but worries he's closer to Willy Loman. Maybe this is why Richard and Marc connect so easily. They also talk about Richard being a part of the Coen Brothers' legacy, his friendship with George Clooney, and how he did most of his acting training in front of the camer...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 15 min
On the day this episode is released, John Waters is celebrating his 75th birthday. But he's still doing the same things that brought him cultural notoriety when he started making movies in the ‘60s: Celebrating filth, fighting censorship, and breaking any rule you can think up. John and Marc talk about those early movies like Pink Flamingos, as well as John's relationship with Divine. John also tells Marc why Hairspray was the most transgressive movie he ever made, why he prays to Pasolini, and ...
Apr 22, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Tom Jones doesn't feel like resting on his laurels. He tells Marc there's one main reason he's going strong, recording new music and performing live at the age of 80: Because he still has a point to prove. Tom and Marc talk about his big hits like It's Not Unusual, Delilah, and What's New Pussycat?, how he learned to belt them out by listening to gospel music, and the secret weapon he calls The Push. They also discuss his friendship with Elvis, his musical heroes, and his new album Surrounded by...
Apr 19, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Yo-Yo Ma remembers a moment in his childhood where it all began to make sense. As a seven-year-old prodigy, he was playing cello in front of an audience that included two U.S. Presidents. But it was an act of kindness and respect from the actor Danny Kaye that helped Yo-Yo look at the world in a different way. He also tells Marc how he found the meaning of art and culture in the Kalahari, why he developed a friendship with Mr. Rogers, and why he chose the title “Beginner's Mind” for his new musi...
Apr 15, 2021•1 hr 24 min
Sally Struthers is thinking a lot about the passage of time these days. For one, this year is the 50th anniversary of All In The Family premiering on CBS. She's also thinking that so many people she worked with in movies like Five Easy Pieces and The Getaway are no longer with us. And she's thinking about how all this downtime from the pandemic is keeping her from doing what she loves: touring the country in stage productions. Sally talks with Marc about how time catches up with all of us, but a...
Apr 12, 2021•1 hr 14 min
Katey Sagal is known by the public in ways she doesn't see herself. She's known as an actor, but always thought of herself primarily as a singer. She's known as a seminal comedic TV character, even though she didn't think of herself as funny. She's defined by brash, confrontational roles, but sees herself as reserved, even shy. Katey and Marc talk about these contradictions and how they played out in public - on Married... with Children, Sons of Anarchy, her new show Rebel - and in private - in ...
Apr 08, 2021•1 hr 18 min
Marc only knew Hunter Biden from what he saw in the news. He never heard him speak, he had no sense of who he really was, and he wasn't sure he cared much about the troubled son of a President. Then he read Hunter Biden's book. The sad, tragic, honest, disturbing and concerning story at the heart of the real Hunter Biden made Marc want to talk with him, face to face. Hunter and Marc have a conversation about grief, desperation, tragedy, trouble and deep drug addiction. It ends up in a good place...
Apr 05, 2021•1 hr 42 min
Daniel Kaluuya doesn't want to stop the journey. Getting nominated for Oscars, winning a Golden Globe, hosting Saturday Night Live. These are moments within the journey, but he doesn't want any of them to feel bigger than the journey itself. Daniel and Marc talk about this life perspective, how he draws a lot of it from his family in London and Uganda, and how he incorporated it into his portrayal of Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah. They also talk about Sicario...
Apr 01, 2021•1 hr 20 min
Writer-director Azazel Jacobs was born into the world of experimental film. But it was a combination of comic books, old radio shows, Mad Magazine and The Clash that helped him develop the sensibility he would later put on screen. Aza tells Marc how his parents passed along a love of art and a compulsion to create, why he believes the name they chose for him limited his professional options, and how he found out a world existed between Hollywood and the kind of films his father made. They also t...
Mar 29, 2021•1 hr 15 min
Eddie Huang has been fighting for things his whole life. Whether fighting for respect from a culture that is unwelcoming, or fighting for normalcy amidst a chaotic upbringing, or fighting for approval from his immigrant parents, all his achievements came with a cost. Now, with the first movie he wrote and directed under his belt, Eddie tells Marc why the film Boogie represents a collection of everything he's had to fight for. They also talk about his struggles with having his memoir Fresh Off Th...
Mar 25, 2021•1 hr 14 min
Christopher Lloyd has a career spanning more than 60 years on stage, TV and film. But Marc was enamored with stories about the first movie Christopher ever made, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Christopher tells Marc about the unique audition process, how they slept overnight in the institution, what it was like working with his idol at the time, Jack Nicholson, and more. They also talk about the first movie Christopher almost made, shooting lots of guns in the new movie Nobody, and what he con...
Mar 22, 2021•1 hr
Serj Tankian from System of a Down says he is dedicated to the truth in a very naive way. That basic need to tell the truth and be honest with himself comes through in his art, his activism and his personal life, all of which are depicted in the new documentary Truth to Power. Serj and Marc talk about how so much of Serj's life has been dedicated to telling the story of the Armenian genocide and how that mission informs his activism around the struggles in present day Armenia, as well as other h...
Mar 18, 2021•1 hr 15 min
Laraine Newman titled her memoir May You Live in Interesting Times, a phrase many people believe to be a curse. But Laraine thinks it's an appropriate framework for her life and career. She tells Marc what it was like to be a part of culture-changing comedy institutions as a founding member of both The Groundlings and Saturday Night Live. They also talk about her prolific career as a voiceover artist in animation which also began on serendipitous terms. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show...
Mar 15, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Hugh Grant thinks he's only getting better as an actor now. The work he's done for the past few years feels real to him, as opposed to felling like he was faking it when he made all those romantic comedies. Hugh and Marc talk about that realization and what happened in his life to make him finally feel less insecure as an actor. They also discuss his early comedy troupe, his recent habit of playing scoundrels and villains, and his mission to push back against the violating behavior of the Britis...
Mar 11, 2021•1 hr 2 min
In order for Eddie Murphy to become “Eddie Murphy” he had to become a comedian. Eddie tells Marc, comic-to-comic, what it was like being a Black teenager on Long Island building a standup act fueled by impressions and inspired by Richard Pryor. And now, with fatherhood at the center of his life, Eddie explains why he wants to bookend his career by going back on stage. Eddie also talks about the real reason he exploded on the movie scene, why he stopped doing standup before he turned 30, and why ...
Mar 08, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Jake Gyllenhaal knows he has a great job as a celebrated film actor. But the thing that brings him true joy is bursting into song as part of a stage musical. Jake talks with Marc about his love of theater, which ended up landing him three Tony Award nominations this year, one for acting and two for producing. They also get into why Broadway needs to evolve when it returns, why Jake was in awe of Heath Ledger, and why he was completely surprised by Marc after this episode started. Sign up here fo...
Mar 04, 2021•1 hr 23 min
Tim Allen has embodied enough different personas - Tim Taylor, Mike Baxter, Buzz Lightyear, Santa Claus - that he often doesn't know which guy he actually is. But at least he's no longer the directionless young man who made bad choices and ran afoul of the law. Tim tells Marc how he cleaned up his act and made it as a club comic before breaking out with one of the most popular sitcoms in network history. They also talk about how Tim's emotions are running high as Last Man Standing comes to an en...
Mar 01, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Michael K. Williams knows that a lot of people consider his character, Omar Little, to be the best character on The Wire. But he has a different opinion about the show's best character. Michael tells Marc about how he brought his struggles as an addict to his performance, how he relapsed while making the show, and how the cast gave him the support he needed to get clean. They also talk about Michael's scar and how it helped him land his first acting job, why he loves Rachael Ray so much, and why...
Feb 25, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Melissa Leo's acting style is a combination of gut instincts and a compulsive need to ask questions. It's a style that already earned her an Oscar and continual employment, but also keeps her from falling into the trap of business-as-usual. Melissa and Marc talk about her performances in movies like Frozen River The Fighter and the new film Body Brokers, how she played a character not unlike Mitzi Shore for the series I'm Dying Up Here, and what is the one type of part she refuses to play, even ...
Feb 22, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Sam Neill never had any ambitions as an actor, which is not true about his ambitions as a wine maker. Speaking to Marc from one of his vineyards in New Zealand, Sam talks about how he's still striving to make the greatest bottle of wine as he lives a sort of double-life as a very familiar face on screens big and small. They also discuss Sam's ideal music festival, their shared love of Randy Newman, the therapeutic reason Sam started acting in the first place, his new movie Rams, and his own ram ...
Feb 18, 2021•1 hr 6 min
Jodie Foster came out on the other side of being a child actor as a two-time Oscar winner, a celebrated director, a producer and someone who is content with her life. She tells Marc how she did it, which has a lot to do with her mother and establishing boundaries. They also talk about how Taxi Driver changed her conception of acting, the great lesson she learned playing Nell, why she loves David Fincher, and why she maintains strong relationships with a lot of her co-workers. Sign up here for WT...
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 21 min
Mark Harris is a writer, journalist, critic and lover of film, which is why Marc wanted to talk with him. After months of at-home movie watching, Marc is convinced that artistic appreciation and critical thinking around film is more important than ever. Mark Harris has devoted a large chunk of his life to doing that kind of work, including his books on Hollywood after World War II, filmmaking in the late 1960s, and his new biography about Mike Nichols. They also talk about censorship fights, pan...
Feb 11, 2021•1 hr 17 min
