Tavis Smiley interview
Sorvino discusses her newest project, a BBC America production titled Intruders, in this interview for PBS.
It’s like if you’re watching a Hitchcock film in the first eighth, think of this as like if you thought of it like a Hitchcock film. Each episode is an eighth of the film. So in the first eighth or two-eighths of the film, he would never give away what you’re going to find out later.
Tavis Smiley interview
Takei discusses his family’s internment during WWII, his musical Allegiance, a dramatization of that internment, and To Be Takei, a new documentary about his life, in an interview with PBS.
Well, we want them to know about that dark chapter of American history, but what that taught me, that experience and my father’s guidance, taught me is that in our democracy you’ve got to be actively engaged and bring support to those people that cherish the ideals of our democracy. All men are created equal, endowed with an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and to be engaged and support that.
Tavis Smiley interview
Bailey discusses his musical career and new memoir, Shining Star, in this interview for PBS.
Well, I’m from Denver, grew up loving jazz, but listening to country and Elvis Presley and pop and folk, Carole King, Three Dog Night, you know, singing in bands and stuff that were mixed, and singing all those different genres of music. So when I got into the band, I was the one that recommended doing the song, Make It With You, Where Have All The Flowers Gone because that was the stuff that, you know, I was hearing.
Tavis Smiley interview
Crews discusses what drives his current and upcoming projects, including hosting Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and writing a book, in an interview with PBS.
Now for me, you know, every label that someone tries to put on you is a stamp so that they can put you in a box and put you over here. Well, I have totally decided you will never be able to label me. You will never be able to define me. Every individual on this earth is way too complex to put in whatever box it is. It’s kind of funny because we as African Americans tend to do that to ourselves.
Tavis Smiley interview
Blades discusses his career in music and his new CD, Tangos, in this interview for PBS.
We thought about it, Carlos Franzetti and I – Carlos is the arranger and producer – about doing this for about 39 years, the first time we spoke about it, and it had to do with the lyrics basically. I was very curious about how the lyrics would be affected by the tango atmosphere and instrumentation. What would happen to the lyric? I think that was the main source of the interest for me. How would the lyric be affected by the atmosphere that tango provided?
Tavis Smiley interview
Butler discusses his career and his new CD, Living My Dream, in this interview for PBS.
Man, you know, I really didn’t think that I had this record in me. But one is, it’s a declaration. I mean, at 52 years old, I’ve been singing and traveling since I was seven years old. You know, that’s how I felt.
Tavis Smiley interview
Bridges discusses his career and his current shows, CBS sitcom The Millers and Showtime drama Masters of Sex, in this interview for PBS.
Well, you know, one of the wonderful things about show business is the unpredictability of it all. I mean, I had no idea and these two great opportunities came, The Millers by my friend, Greg Garcia, who is the show runner and he did My Name is Earl. I played Earl’s dad on that, so I know Greg. He’s one of the best show runners going. And then Masters of Sex is, you know, the total opposite of that, a full-on drama.
Tavis Smiley interview
Biggs discusses his role in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black in this interview for PBS.
You know, before anyone has watched this show, I think it’s safe to say for the most part there’s a stigma associated with prisoners, you know. So it’s hard to, you know, relate, certainly. So what I think has been so incredibly captivating, certainly for me, you know, I’ve watched those prison scenes and I watch these characters. And part of it is the diversity of the cast as well and these amazingly beautiful, diverse women characters that we have in there.
Tavis Smiley interview
Ebert discusses her involvement in the new documentary, Life Itself, about her late husband, film critic Roger Ebert.
But I think that his philosophy on life, on empathy, on walking in another person’s shoes, you know, trying to get into the head of a person of a different race, a different gender, different circumstances, different economic situation, having empathy, you know, being your brother’s keeper, your sister’s sister, that’s what I hope. I mean, things like that are really the things that I think are the most important.
Tavis Smiley interview
Laurie discusses his newest CD, Didn’t It Rain, a collection of jazz and blues songs, in an interview with PBS.
Muddy Waters, I suppose, was my first great hero. You know, every boy wants to be a guitar player and Muddy Waters was just the king. He was the King Bee. He was it.
Tavis Smiley interview
Puck discusses his career and healthy eating tips in this interview for PBS.
Exactly. I want people to eat a little bit with their head too. So when they go shopping, for example, I have two small children at home. I mean, they’re seven and eight. But, you know, we go to the farmers market. We buy really good things and then cook them simple.
Tavis Smiley interview
Wyle discusses his career and his TNT series, Falling Skies, in this interview for PBS.
Television is this sort of ongoing narrative that you never really know what’s coming around the corner, and you have to keep your own continuity. You have to keep it fresh for yourself. You have to keep the character evolving and maturing in a way that may not be even reflective in the writing. So I’ve always felt that creatively I’ve been more challenged having a career in television than I may have had elsewhere.
Tavis Smiley interview
Leifer discusses her career and new book, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Crying, in this interview for PBS.
Well, you know, when you have a passion to want to be in comedy, there is no stopping you. Whatever sex you are, whatever anything is, you are just going to go for it. You know, they say that peoples’ greatest fear is talking in front of large groups of people? I always say that a comedian’s greatest fear is not speaking in front of large groups of people because it’s got to be in your DNA to want to get out there.
Tavis Smiley interview
Braxton discusses her career and memoir, Unbreak My Heart, in this interview for PBS.
I didn’t figure it out. I just said I’m just going to write what I feel and I talked to my mom about it. Because a lot of it is my parental situations for me. It’s not as much about my sisters and my siblings. I’m being raised the way I was raised, a PK, a preacher’s kid and the guilt you always feel associated with religion and trying to find your own way. It’s kind of challenging to find your own way because you’re bogged down with – it’s a sin to do that, so it’s hard to differentiate what’s real for you, your own reality.
Tavis Smiley interview
Gregg discusses his career and newest project, independent movie Trust Me, in this interview for PBS.
I was writing a bigger piece after my first film about children who kind of were acting like grownups and grownups who were acting like children in Los Angeles. But it was about eight stories and it was gonna be an epic that probably would never have moved out of my computer. There was one of them in particular that felt different. It felt like a kind of unusual mash-up between kind of a show biz comedy of desperation and a film noir.
Tavis Smiley interview
Janney discusses her two, very different, current roles: Bonny Plunkett on the CBS sitcom Mom and Margaret Scully on the Showtime drama Masters of Sex, in an interview with PBS.
It was so funny. My mother, when I told her I was doing this way back before it came out, she couldn’t even – she was just mortified by the title. Her friends were saying, “What’s your daughter up to in there?” “Oh, she’s doing this lovely show for CBS called Mom and then she’s doing this other show that’s called – well, it’s with Beau Bridges.”
Tavis Smiley interview
Maslany discusses her career and series Orphan Black in this interview for PBS.
They kind of work with the blank slate of me, but then get to, how can they change how my face looks, how can they change the structure of things, how can they help me express these people differently. It’s very much a collaboration with all of us.
Tavis Smiley interview
Via an ASL interpreter, Matlin discusses her career and role in the series, Switched at Birth, in this interview for PBS.
I grew up watching television with my family, not understanding what was going on, not understanding what was being said, and my parents and my brothers would laugh at certain things that were being said or they would watch, watching a cop show, and I would have to ask someone to interpret for me. So when Closed Captioning came along, just the beginnings of it, before it became law for all networks to have to closed caption, I just had to sort of make up lines with what people were saying, whatever they were saying on television.
Tavis Smiley interview
Huffington discusses her career and latest book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom and Wonder, in this interview for PBS.
When we connect with the fact that it’s not just about money and power and our jobs, but that we have this incredible source of strength and wisdom in us, but we don’t take the time to connect with it, then you realize that whatever your circumstances, whether you’re at the top of the world or struggling to make ends meet, we need to reconnect with ourselves. And that requires disconnecting from our devices.
Tavis Smiley interview
Marley discusses his career and his newest CD, Fly Rasta, and his debut children’s book, I Love You Too, in this interview for PBS.
Yeah, you have to be creative with it. And it’s like that was one of the things I thought about when I was writing that song in particular. In general, the whole album, you have to be creative. You have to think outside of the box and you have to just use your imagination, metaphors and things like that.