On this week’s the show (20th February), Graham welcomes Oscar-winner Benicio del Toro, Hollywood star Jennifer Garner, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, award-winning singer-songwriter Charli xcx, and American rock band Foo Fighters.
Benicio, talking about his critically acclaimed film One Battle After Another, says, “Its themes are surprisingly timely. We made it two years ago so everything that has happened with migrants in the States was not on fire like it is now and the movie deals with a lot of that.”
Asked about working with Leonardo DiCaprio, he says, “I was trusted with his life in a driving stunt. I was going at only 35 or 40 miles per hour, but when Leo is hanging out of the car I knew I had to take care of that diamond – I didn’t want to drop the diamond, so I was very focused!”
And, on the 14 Bafta and 13 Oscar nominations for the film he says, “It’s a lot!” Adding jokingly, “Supporting Actor is up early on so I can get away!"
Jennifer Garner, talking about her returning TV mystery thriller The Last Thing He Told Me, and asked about being reunited with her 13 Going on 30 co-star Judy Greer, she says, “When people see Judy they go nuts for her because she’s been in so many great films, and then, when they see us together, it makes people lose their minds. Now more than ever 13 Going on 30 causes a sensation.”
Asked about Alias and all the fight stunts she did, she says, “In every episode they asked me to do something new – it was very stunt heavy. It was wild and back in the day when nobody really cared you were doing such big stunts.” Asked if it was true that CIA recruitment went up after the show, she says, “It did – a bunch of young women signed up – it was called the ‘Sydney effect.’”
Charli xcx, talking about starring in pop mockumentary The Moment, says, “I had just come out of this huge change in my life where I’d made the album Brat, which opened me up to a whole new audience. I’d not experienced that scale of interest in what I had to say before and it was heavy, confusing and a very vulnerable change.
“My response was to make art, so when I was asked to make a real documentary – a concert film, I wanted to poke fun at myself and that world. The music industry is ripe for satire, and I really enjoyed doing it.”
Asked if she had always aspired to act, she says, “I realised even when I am making music I am not listening to music. I’ve always watched and got inspiration from films so, after a while, I thought, ‘how could I work in that world.’ I don’t feel I have to decide which world I work in. I want to do what makes me feel good in the moment.”
And, on the success of her Wuthering Heights album, she says, “I still can’t believe it’s happening. I feel very lucky and happy.”
Gordon talking about his new restaurant documentary series Being Gordon Ramsay, says of his new restaurant, “It is such a massive project I don’t think I could have done it 10 or 15 years ago. It’s definitely got the wow factor. It’s pretty incredible.”
Asked whether he was nervous about filming with his family, he says, “I think it’s an important insight – a 360 – into the pressure and the family time. I wanted that to come across, and I think it does beautifully.”
Foo Fighters perform Your Favorite Toy live in the studio before Dave Grohl joins Graham for a chat.
The Graham Norton Show BBC One and iPlayer Friday 20th February 10.40pm
Next week (27th February) Graham introduces the first of two compilation shows featuring highlights of the recent series, including a host of stars including Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Matthew McConaughey, Taylor Swift, Cillian Murphy, Greta Lee, Domhnall Gleeson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Julia Roberts, Colin Farrell, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Lawrence, Kim Kardashian, Bryan Cranston, Keira Knightley, Malala Yousafzai, Glen Powell, Michelle Yeoh, Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Ben Stiller, Glenn Close, Kate Winslet, Timothée Chalamet, Emma Thompson, Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Jessie Buckley and many more.
Picture credit: BBC/So Television/The Graham Norton Show/Christopher Baines
