On this week’s show (13th December), Graham welcomes former 007 Daniel Craig, Derry Girls and Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan, Oscar-nominated Jesse Eisenberg, Emmy-winner Kieran Culkin, and British girl band FLO.
Daniel, talking about his critically acclaimed performance in the gay love story Queer; says, “I’d read William S Burroughs’ Junkie and think I pretended to read Naked Lunch but didn’t know this story. Burroughs’ experience of life always involved a lot of drugs, so the movie sets out to be a bit of a trip. It is all slightly off kilter with a modern soundtrack and the feel of a movie from the 1940s.
“It blurs the lines around homosexuality which was illegal at the time. You had to have a male front and hide it away with no freedom of expression and I guess I’ve always been fascinated by the artifice of masculinity.”
Asked if he feels freer to make a film like this now Bond has come to an end, he says, “I couldn’t have done it during Bond. Not because I wouldn’t have wanted to, but because I would have felt really self-conscious with people thinking I was trying too hard be a good actor.”
Nicola, talking about appearing in the Doctor Who Christmas Special, and asked what the show is about, she says, “I can’t tell you anything, not because of secrecy but because I had no idea what was going on. I was brought up in Ireland so didn’t see it as a child so when I got the part, I looked it up on Wikipedia – it was like reading War and Peace and it was so confusing with monsters and time travel. It was a fun experience, and I had a lovely time. If they want me back, I would do it again.”
Asked about being cast in Bridgerton, she says, “I was 35 and I realised I had never played an adult, and I was like, ‘How do I do this?’ It was then so weird having to play the romantic lead and getting up to sexy things. My mother was so mad at me about those scenes – as if they were my fault, so I didn’t go to the screening with her!”
Jesse and Kieran chat about Jesse’s comedy road movie A Real Pain.
Jesse, who wrote, directed and starred in the film, says, “I was writing fiction, but it is semi-autobiographical about my family history in Poland, and I wanted it to be as authentic as possible.”
Talking about the premise of the movie, he explains, “The script was not going well until an ad popped up that said, ‘Auschwitz tours with lunch.’ Essentially it was middle class American tours of Holocaust sites which seemed so odd. This is my imagining of what those are. The tone of the film is watching these irreverent guys going to these hallowed places that warrant reverence.”
Talking about being cast in the film by Jesse, Keiran says, “It was weird. He cast me without an audition, and without having seen me in anything. That is not at all normal. It is odd.”
Jesse responds, “It’s his essence. It felt exactly right. It is the greatest acting in the world. He is amazing.”
Asked about performing in sex scenes in Succession, he says, “I’ve done a few but for some reason I am always asked to do unsuccessful strange sex – I’ve never had a good scene. My mom stopped watching!”
Jesse, revealing he met Mark Zuckerberg briefly after The Social Network came out, says, “He didn’t mention the film to me. It was a humongous elephant in a tiny room.”
FLO performs Access All Areas live in the studio, before Jorga, Stella and Renée join Graham for a chat.
And finally, Graham pulls the lever on more foolhardy audience members brave enough sit in the world-famous Big Red Chair to tell their funniest stories.
The Graham Norton Show, BBC One, Friday 13th December, 10.40pm. Also available on BBC iPlayer.
Next week (20th December) Graham’s guests include Timothée Chalamet, Colman Domingo, Andrew Garfield, James Corden, Ruth Jones, and Laufey.
Graham Norton Picture credit: BBC/So Television/Christopher Baines
