Dwayne Johnson talks about his once in a lifetime role, Emily Blunt says The Devil Wears Prada is fun to come back to, Matthew McConaughey talks about being taken seriously, James Norton says his latest villain was delicious to play, and RAYE performs live in the studio.
On the first show (26th September), of his new series Graham welcomes Hollywood stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, Oscar-winning actor and writer Matthew McConaughey, great British actor James Norton, and singer-songwriter RAYE.
Dwayne and Emily chat about their true-life sports drama The Smashing Machine.
Asked about playing wrestler Mark Kerr, Dwayne says, “He had an unbelievable life and to play him is the role of a lifetime. I didn’t know the role was for me, or whether I could do it, but I had the opportunity and this little voice in me telling me to do it. For once I wasn’t chasing the box office and it has changed my life.”
Emily, talking about playing Dawn, Kerr’s wife, says, “She was heartbreaking and fierce. They had a complicated relationship with brokenness and vulnerability, and I hope the movie is healing for them.”
Asked about working with her friend, she says, “Dwayne is the antithesis of the Rock persona everyone imagines – he is quiet, shy, gentle, and curious, and has a reservoir of untapped stuff – if you want to be fed by an experience, this role is like the Sunday roast of a performance.”
Talking about the upcoming second instalment of The Devil Wears Prada, Emily says, “People are so excited about it, it’s incredibly sweet. We thought the first one was funny, but it had this meteoric rise which was amazing, and it is fun to come back to.”
And on working with her husband John Krasinski again, she says, “He is writing another Quiet Place thing now, but I don’t know if I am in it!”
Matthew, talking about the struggle to be taken seriously as an actor, says, “The truth hit me that I wanted work that challenged me, but I was told to stay in my lane, so I had to stop and re-brand myself. I went 20 months refusing romcoms,
which I think sent a message to Hollywood, and finally serious offers started rolling in.”
Asked about his new thriller The Lost Bus, he says, “It is based on a true story of a father and son’s survival. It is also a horror movie with the fire bearing down on you like Jaws. Personally, my character’s choices have taught me never to be tardy with my children.”
Talking about his new book Poems and Prayers and why he wrote it, he says, “Belief is in short supply now, you look at the news and there’s not much to believe in or reasons to believe. I promised myself not to become cynical and this book is my answer to that.”
Matthew recites one of his humorous poems.
James, talking about Steven Knight’s new period drama House of Guinness, which he describes as, “A smoky, sexy, and irreverent romp,” says, “I loved playing Sean Rafferty – he is a bad-ass. It was delicious being him.”
Asked about his impressive Dublin accent, he says, “I was terrified of getting it wrong and worked really hard on it – I didn’t want to be held to account. My problem was getting out of the accent because I loved the character so much.”
RAYE performs her new single Where is My Husband live in the studio before joining Graham for a chat about her upcoming album and tour.
The Graham Norton Show, BBC One, Friday 26th September 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 (3rd October) Graham’s guests include Taylor Swift, Cillian Murphy, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, Domhnall Gleeson, and Lewis Capaldi
For further information please contact Mary Collins 07769 670516 or at mary@marycollins-pr.com
26th September 2025
