On this week’s show (24th January) Graham welcomes Hollywood stars Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell, pop icon and actress Ariana Grande, British actor Don Gilet, and singer and actor Olly Alexander.
Reese and Will chat about their new screwball wedding comedy You’re Cordially Invited.
Asked about working together, Reece jokes, “We met on Saturday Night Live in 2001 and 22 short years later we came up with an idea!” Adding, “I actually said yes to the movie and working with Will before I knew what the plot was, I just wanted to do it.”
Will says, “I had the best time, and it would be a dream to work together again.”
Talking about his oddest gig, Will recounts, “I was doing improv at the Groundlings Theatre in LA at the same time the OJ Simpson trial was going on. The jury was sequestered for a long time and couldn’t go anywhere, so someone came up with the idea of performing our sketch show for them in the court to lighten the mood. It was just us and the jurors. They seemed mildly entertained, but it was very bizarre.”
Reece, recalling her own jury service, says, “About seven years after Legally Blonde came out I was called up to do two solid weeks. When we went to deliberation and it came to choosing a foreman, the entire jury picked me. When I asked them why, they said it was because I went to law school!”
Asked about her hugely successful book club, she says, “In 2013 I read a truly terrible script that was so negative towards women, and I thought I could do better. I put my money into a company and the first three books I bought were Gone Girl, Wild, and Big Little Lies. I pick one book a month and turn some into shows. What I hadn’t understood is how featuring a book can change the author’s life in terms of economics. It is the meaningful and unexpected part of starting the company.”
Talking about his critically acclaimed documentary, Will & Harper, Will says, “The reaction has been surprising – we really didn’t know what we had. It has been a remarkable time for Harper. She was so brave to tell her story, and she has become a centrepiece for continuing to fight for trans rights around the world and especially in the United States right now.”
Ariana, talking about her Oscar nomination for her role of Glinda in the hit film Wicked, says, “It was so surreal – I did not expect at all. It is overwhelming I have been sobbing all day. It has been really emotional, and I am so grateful for our Wicked family and for Cynthia being celebrated. It is very special.”
Asked about her long held dream to play Glinda, she says, “I started preparing for it before I even had an audition. There were murmurs about the role, so I started working with voice and acting coaches – I wanted all the tools in the box to be available to me. I thought if I did the work then maybe I would have a chance. I was so nervous that I wouldn’t get the role, and I cried so much in the final screen test.”
Don, talking about becoming the lead detective in the BBC’s hit series Death in Paradise, and asked about working in tropical conditions, he says, “The heat and the mosquitos are an issue, but the heat of the place becomes a character itself. We are all under the same sun, we are all sweltering, so we just get on with it.”
Asked if him playing the role is open ended, he says, “I have signed up for a certain amount of episodes, but I will keep doing it for as long as they want me to.”
Olly performs his new single When We Kiss live in the studio before joining Graham for a chat about his new album.
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 24th January 10.40pm. Also available on BBC iPlayer.
Next week (31st January) Graham is joined Renée Zellweger, Leo Woodall, Sterling K Brown, Anthony Mackie, Lola Young and Cyndi Lauper.
Graham Norton Picture credit: BBC/So Television/Christopher Baines
