Movie Interviews

Emma Stone has been nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Bella in Poor Things.

Arts

How 'Poor Things' actor Emma Stone turns her anxiety into a 'superpower'

1:43pm January 31, 2024

by Terry Gross

The Oscar-winning actor experienced her first panic attack at age 7. But Stone says acting helps with her anxiety, because it draws on her "big feelings" and forces her to live in the moment.

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Tracee Ellis Ross, shown here in Los Angeles in June 2022, plays a doctor in American Fiction. The film is up for five Academy Awards, including best picture.

Arts

If the part isn't right, Tracee Ellis Ross says 'turn it into what you want it to be'

1:58pm January 24, 2024

by Tonya Mosley

When it comes to Black women, Hollywood is "limited in its thinking" Ross says — so here's how she makes her roles her own.

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Ava DuVernay describes her new movie Origin, which is based on Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste, as "a film about a woman in pursuit of an idea."

Arts

With 'Origin,' Ava DuVernay illuminates America's racial caste system

5:00am January 15, 2024

by Tonya Mosley

Based on Isabel Wilkerson's book Caste, DuVernay's film draws a line between India's caste system, the hierarchies of Nazi Germany and the historic subjugation of Black people in the United States.

Paul Giamatti stars as Paul Hunham in Alexander Payne's new film, The Holdovers.

Arts

Paul Giamatti's own high school years came in handy in 'The Holdovers'

1:31pm January 10, 2024

by Sam Briger

Giamatti says his latest movie, filmed at various prep schools in Massachusetts and directed by Alexander Payne, triggered memories of the time he spent as a day student at a private school.

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Sterling K. Brown, shown here in January 2020, stars in the new film American Fiction.

Arts

Sterling K. Brown recommends taking it 'moment to moment,' on screen and in life

2:17pm January 08, 2024

by Terry Gross

Brown won an Emmy for his portrayal of Christopher Darden in The People v. O.J. Simpson, and another for his role in This is Us. He now appears in the film American Fiction.

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'Society of the Snow' director on his framing of the plane crash survival story

5:13pm January 07, 2024

The new film Society of the Snow revisits the infamous story of survival after a plane crash in the Andes. But director Juan Antonio Bayona wants the audience to see a different side of the survivors.

Arts

Remembering 'Full Monty' actor Tom Wilkinson

1:38pm January 03, 2024

by Dave Davies

The British actor, who died Dec. 30, appeared with Helen Mirren in the series Prime Suspect and later earned Oscar nominations for In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton. Originally broadcast in 2005.

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Bradley Cooper plays composer Leonard Bernstein in Maestro.

To become the 'Maestro,' Bradley Cooper learned to live the music

2:56pm January 02, 2024

by Terry Gross

In his new biopic Maestro, Cooper was determined not to imitate the legendary Leonard Bernstein. Instead, the actor worked with conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin to find his own rhythm.

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Clockwise from left: Brad Mehldau, Maryam Keshavarz, Samantha Irby, Lauren Fleshman, Ke Huy Quan and Christian Cooper.

'Fresh Air' staffers pick the 2023 interviews you shouldn't miss

9:18am December 29, 2023

Interviews with actor Ke Huy Quan, pianist Jason Moran, humorist Samantha Irby, and media critic Brian Stelter are among the conversations that stuck with the staff of Fresh Air this year.

World News

Director Andrew Haigh talks about love and loneliness in 'All of Us Strangers'

5:53pm December 26, 2023

Director Andrew Haigh speaks with NPR's Ari Shapiro about his new film All of Us Strangers.