On this week’s show (17th January) Graham welcomes Hollywood stars Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh, star of Bridgerton and Wicked Jonathan Bailey, and singer songwriter Griff.
Jamie and Cameron chat about their high-octane comedy Back in Action.
Cameron, talking about doing her own her stunts in the film, says, “There are so many amazing, dynamic stunts and it was so much fun. After performing so much in the past I think it is like muscle memory – it was as if I had never left.”
Jamie interjects, “I don’t do stunts – I don’t like to, but I do like to sit and watch others do them and make me look good!”
Asked about being back in the world of film after her decade-long hiatus, Cameron says, “I am back all thanks to Jamie. I had 10 years of not paying attention to anything; not accepting any advances, and then I got this script and thought that maybe it was time. If I was going to leave my family for 10 hours a day I wanted to do it with the most talented man in the entertainment business.
“It is a privilege to make films, and we are all so lucky to do what we do. That the door was even open for me after a decade was amazing. I loved those 10 years for me and my family, but I thought, ‘If I let this go away, if I don’t engage again, and if I don’t give it chance, I am a fool.’ It might be the beginning of something, but its here now and I am grateful for it.”
Jamie talking about the stroke he suffered two years ago, says, “I was very unwell but now I am back feeling good. It makes you realise that you need people that care and love you around to get you through it. I didn’t remember anything happening so when I came to 20 days later I thought I was being pranked. It was beyond crazy. I knew I had to get back and realised the way to do it was by being funny. I told so many jokes people thought I was mad, and then I would act as someone else – for three whole days I was Denzel Washington!”
Michelle, talking about Star Trek: Section 31, “When my character was killed off in the TV series, I wasn’t happy as I didn’t want her to be just a blip in the story, but they said I was coming back and when I read the script, I was very happy to be such a bad-ass character.”
Asked about Quentin Tarantino and the role he played in her life, she says, “I was in Hong Kong and depressed as I had had a bad accident while filming a stunt. I felt hopeless and was re-thinking the whole action thing and thought maybe I should take a step back. When I met him he was so enthusiastic and said that if you love something you have to find a better way to do it.
“I have never worked with him and when I asked him about Kill Bill and why he hadn’t thought of me, he said, ‘No one would believe Uma Therman could kick your ass!”
Jamie talking of his own experience of working with the director, says, “I worked with him on Django Unchained, and he was very strict. I was playing a slave, but he told me I was too cool to be a slave and that I needed to let all the trappings of my real life go. Once I stripped all those things away, the role made sense.”
Jonathan, talking about taking to the stage in Richard II, says, “It is an extraordinary play, with so much beautiful poetry. It is such a privilege to see Sir Nicholas Hytner direct the play. It is amazing to see how he interprets Shakespeare – the main thrust is to see how an audience would have received the play hundreds of years ago and to deliver an exciting version of it now. I am loving it.”
Asked about his transition from child actor to adult performer with the help of Sir Nicholas, he says, “By the time I was 13 I had done three plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company, I hadn’t been to drama school, and it was all a bit of a hobby. Nick offered me a job in Othello when I was 22 – it was such a vote of confidence and 10 years later here we are.”
Griff performs last night’s mascara live in the studio before joining Graham for a chat about her new single.
The Graham Norton Show, BBC One, Friday 17th January 10.40pm. Also available on BBC iPlayer.
Next week (24th January Graham is joined by Reese Witherspoon, Will Ferrell, Ariana Grande, Don Gilet, and Olly Alexander.
Graham Norton Picture credit: BBC/So Television/Christopher Baines
