Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino is attracted to the ways in which we’re all imperfect beings. That explains why a clash of personalities is central to so many of his movies, including A Bigger Splash, Suspiria and Challengers. Marc and Luca talk about those films as well as his new one, Queer, which is based on source material by someone who remains a fascination to both of them: William S. Burroughs.
Steve Furey’s path to comedy started with youth football. Once he realized he wasn’t great at football, he started selling drugs. Once he realized he wasn’t good at selling drugs, he started comedy. In between there were stories of border crossings, smuggling in Tijuana, gunpoint robberies in Stockton, Kansas overdoses and more. And then there were early standup gigs that, as both Steve and Marc confirm, could wind up being scarier than dealing drugs.
Anthony Jeselnik is back in the garage more than 13 years since the last time he and Marc talked on the mics. With many career successes and some failures in the rearview, Anthony talks with Marc about where he sees himself in the landscape of comedy today, as he releases his latest Netflix special and while both of them spend a lot of time thinking about the current perception of standup comedy.
Rosemarie DeWitt never really thought she would become an actor because she felt like no one was betting on her. In fact, later in life her father said, “I can’t believe that you’re successful.” Marc finds out what drove Rosemarie away from those low expectations and into a prominent career with credits like Rachel Getting Married, Mad Men, Little Fires Everywhere and the new film Out of My Mind. They also talk about why horror movies, like Smile 2, are fun to make and how the two of them share a bond due to their deep connections with Lynn Shelton.
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Cynthia Erivo has some tips for Marc on how to get more out of his time on set. For example, she always makes sure to get her steps in. So when you see her playing Elphaba in Wicked, she’s wearing her fitness watch under her witch costume. Cynthia and Marc share their thoughts about the vulnerability of singing, with Cynthia having studied the psychology of music before becoming an award-winning stage performer. They also compare notes on Aretha Franklin from their respective projects about the Queen of Soul.
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Josh Brolin is a natural guest to return to the garage for a second chat because he and Marc relate on many levels. They both find themselves chasing addictions even when they’re sober. They’re both constantly looking for ways to connect with people. And they both just encountered an intense journey for emotional truth. Marc through his recent acting, Josh through the writing of his new memoir, From Under a Truck, which he calls the most humbling experience of his life.
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Jessica Lange admits she’s always drawn to the darkness and madness of her characters, whether it’s Frances Farmer or Blanche DuBois or her most recent performance as The Great Lillian Hall, which dealt with the trifecta of grief, loss and loneliness. Jessica and Marc talk about how she enjoys plumbing the depths of emotion, but also enjoyed a life that’s taken her all over the world, a career that started in the palm of King Kong, and a body of work that includes Tootsie, All That Jazz, American Horror Story and more.
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Robby Hoffman knows she comes in too hot. But that kind of in-your-face enthusiasm helped her go from being one of ten kids in a Hasidic Jewish family to a burgeoning standup comic and television writer. Robby tells Marc about the challenges of her upbringing, including the socially hazardous way she was publicly outed as a teen. They also talk about her love of Uniqlo, Egg McMuffins, and her writing breakthrough on the children’s show Odd Squad.
Mo Mandel would like you to enjoy his new comedy special, see him perform live and, if you’re a studio executive, greenlight one of his scripts. But Mo also wants to make sure he doesn’t become too successful, otherwise he’ll lose the sweet deal of essentially being a stay-at-home dad. Mo tells Marc about adapting to his OCD, giving up on self-improvement, and getting sober at the same time he was hosting a show called Barmageddon.
Filmmaker Billy Corben got an early taste of show business as an aspiring child actor. That aborted career path eventually turned into a new vocation as a maker of documentary films, including celebrated projects like Cocaine Cowboys and The U. Billy and Marc talk about the persistent connection to Florida in Billy’s work and how his latest film, From Russia with Lev, is both a cautionary tale about the dangers of a Trump Administration and a meditation on the quintessential Florida Man.
The world learned who Robert Patrick was when he showed up as the T-1000 in Terminator 2, but prior to that break out, Robert saw himself as a failed athlete and alcoholic who was lucky to get a chance at success with this acting thing. Robert tells Marc how his personal struggles continued after T2, how being cast in The X-Files and The Sopranos turned things around for him, and how he’s now challenging himself in more productive ways.
Keith Urban may seem like an outsider who conquered Nashville, but as he tells Marc, he was an outsider in his home country, too. Coming from what he calls an oddball family in Australia who owned American cars and played American country music, Keith’s journey to international superstardom was not without its roadblocks, some due to the industry, some self-inflicted. Keith also talks with Marc about his eleventh studio album, High, and how he didn’t realize it was so personal until the songs were coming out of him.
Many films in the career of Robert Zemeckis, including his new one called Here, involve some form of time travel. As Robert explains to Marc, nothing does time travel better than movies. Robert talks with Marc about becoming a filmmaker thanks to Jerry Lewis, his partnership with Steven Spielberg, his collaborations with Tom Hanks, and the making of his beloved films like Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Forrest Gump and more.
Al Pacino created indelible memories for generations of moviegoers. But while he was writing his own memoir, Sonny Boy, Al kept coming back to mental scenes of his days in the South Bronx, running around the streets with friends, enjoying the small things in life. Al talks with Marc about his growth as an actor from the stage to the screen, his formative friendship with acting teacher Charlie Laughton, and his career realization that he can only perform in something he relates to. They also go deep into Al’s performances in The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, and Scarface.
Joe Boyd is part of the music industry in so many ways, as a producer, label founder and more, that his new memoir And The Roots of Rhythm Remain also serves as a history of global music, a political roadmap of popular music trends, and an education in traditional music forms. Joe talks with Marc about music as a way of piercing the past, including his own place in moments like Dylan going electric at Newport, Woodstock, and the beginnings of artists like Pink Floyd and Nick Drake.
Langston Kerman named his new Netflix comedy special Bad Poetry, harkening back to his time as a high school teacher. But as someone with an MFA in poetry, Langston knows enough about the dividing line between the bad and the good in both poetry and comedy, two things which are forever connected in his life. Langston and Marc talk about his days as a teacher, as well as his time in Boston, his trip to China with students, the best comedy clubs in America, and why John Mulaney directed his special.
Sebastian Stan believes creativity is the best therapy. So even when he's playing an unappealing person, like Jeff Gillooly in I, Tonya or Donald Trump in the new film The Apprentice, Sebastian knows there's always something to learn about humanity through his performances. Sebastian talks with Marc about fleeing from his home country of Romania at a young age, learning from master filmmakers like Jonathan Demme, seeking out unique material like the film A Different Man, and finding out that his portrayal of Bucky Barnes in the Marvel franchise has helped people through tough times.
Connie Chung’s consummate professionalism and journalistic rigor worked against her as she put together her new memoir. Her impulse is to report the facts, but her editors told her she needed to include other things this time, like feelings and emotion. But as Marc finds out, Connie was able to thoroughly explore not only her past, but her family, her husband Maury Povich, and the world-changing news stories she covered as a reporter and later co-anchor of the CBS Evening News.