On this week’s show (6th December), Graham welcomes Hollywood star Sigourney Weaver, British actor Nicholas Hoult, stand-up comedian and actress Lolly Adefope, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, and supergroup Coldplay.
Sigourney Weaver talks Shakespeare, Nicholas Hoult says his own film scared him, Lolly Adefope talks about confusion on the set of her latest series, Jamie Oliver reveals what his eight-year-old son thinks of his cooking, and Coldplay perform live in the studio
Sigourney talking about her West End debut in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, says, “I am having the time of my life. I love working with Jamie Lloyd, who has a great, organic and supportive process, we have a wonderful company, and an exquisite theatre.”
Talking more about playing Prospero, traditionally a male role, she says, “It is about a woman being heard, seeking redress, justice, and retribution. I think it is going to be a spectacular production judging from the tech, which is very ambitious. It is also a funny and romantic play. There are so many things going on it and I think we do all of them justice.”
Asked what it is like being on stage for the first time in 12 years, she says, “Thank God it is like riding a bike and I am enjoying the Shakespeare so much. It feels so natural to me which is a nice discovery and the whole thing has been a wonderful surprise.”
Talking about Avatar and working with the notoriously difficult director James Cameron, she says, “We know each other, and we like each other. The best thing to do if you’re in one of Jim’s films is to do everything, he asks you to. I never ask questions but just say, ‘Well that sounds fabulous.’ And that’s how I said yes to free diving for five minutes!”
Nicholas, talking about starring in the remake of the classic gothic horror Nosferatu, says, “I didn’t want to do a scary film originally because it is highly stressful, and I was nervous. Everything felt so real which made it so scary for me – when I was at the screening in Berlin I actually jumped so badly at one scene.”
Sigourney interjects, “I hate watching scary films. I don’t mind acting in them, but I don’t want to see them.”
Asked about being reunited with Toni Collette, his About a Boy mother, after 22 years in Clint Eastwood’s new movie Juror #2 , he says, “It was beautiful, she is such a wonderful lady. She took such great care of me on About a Boy so now I am grown up and a different person it was strange being back with her, but I was very happy. She and Hugh Grant gave me such an amazing start to my career – they were great examples for me.”
Lolly, talking about the superhero-spoof series The Franchise, says, “It is really exciting, and I had a great time.”
Asked about the production within a production scenario, she says, “It’s very meta. The real crew had to wear yellow lanyards because the fake crew were being asked production questions, and when they shouted ‘action’ and ‘cut it was hard to know if it was real or a line in the script.”
Jamie, talking about his new cookbook Simply Jamie, says, “People are cooking less than ever – we have a fourth generation who have not learnt to cook so I want to hold people’s hands so they can get most out of food, waste as little as possible, and save money.”
Revealing his eight-year-old son is not impressed with his father’s success, he says, “The other night River said, and I have no idea where it came from, ‘Daddy, do you possess a Michelin star?’ I was like, ‘No, I don’t really like all that fancy food,’ and he shook his head and said, ‘You don’t like fancy food?’ I actually felt like I hadn’t worked hard enough!”
Chris joins Graham for a chat.
Asked about the 10 million tickets Coldplay has sold to date, he says, “I get very embarrassed talking numbers. It’s crazy and we are very grateful.”
Talking about performing in front of huge stadium audiences, he says, “It is so interactive with the audience that if feels collective and not about us at a certain point.”
And on their success, he says, “We have followed where we have been called to go and it is hard to take credit for everything – it’s just happened that way.”
Coldplay perform their current single All My Love live in the studio.
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 6th December 10.40pm. Also available on BBC iPlayer.
Notes to editors – All quotes in this release were made during the recording of the show but won’t necessarily appear in the final version.
Next week (13th December) Graham’s guests include Daniel Craig, Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, and Nicola Coughlan
For further information please contact Mary Collins 07769 670516 or at mary@marycollins-pr.com
6th December 2024
