The Great Creators with Guy Raz: Recent Episodes
Guy Raz | Wondery
Where does creativity come from? Is it a gift, or can it be learned? Guy Raz puts those questions to some of the most celebrated creative people in the world. Each week, Guy sits down with notable performers – from legendary actors and comedians to chart-topping musicians – to trace their life’s journey, dive deep into their work, and illuminate the source of their creativity.
Mark Ronson’s work has found its way into tons of the biggest pop hits in the world over the past two decades. And in that time he became a new kind of artist: a producer whose style is so distinct that his name became the marquee name. In this episode, Guy talks with Mark about his start DJing in New York, his instant connection with Amy Winehouse while producing "Back to Black", and working with Greta Gerwig to produce the music for "Barbie".
Links from the show:
Here Comes the Fuzz
Everybody Got Their Something - Nikka Costa
Back to Black
Valerie
Uptown Funk
Nothing Breaks Like a Heart
Barbie Soundtrack
Barbie Score
Mark's TED Talk on the history of sampling
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The rapper Macklemore and his collaborator Ryan Lewis had their first two singles go straight to number one (Thrift Shop and Can't Hold Us). Even more amazing, they did it without being signed to a major label. Macklemore joined Guy in 2023 to discuss why they stayed independent, his battle with addiction, why he feels indebted to the originators of hip-hop, and how to make music that means something.
Macklemore's new album BEN came out March 3rd and can be ordered here.
Links from the show:
Video for "Otherside"
Video for "Thrift Shop"
Video for "Can't Hold Us"
Video for "Glorious"
Short Doc from tour with Imagine Dragons
Video for "Maniac"
Video for "Faithful"
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Andy Garcia is an actor (Ocean's 11, The Untouchables, The Godfather Part III) who is best known for playing the suave leading man alongside other Hollywood greats like Sean Connery, Diane Keaton, and Al Pacino. He talked in 2022 to Guy about fleeing the Cuban Revolution, waiting tables for celebrities in Beverly Hills, and the best advice he got from Mario Puzo on how to prepare for The Godfather Part III.
Links from the show:
- The "stroller scene" from The Untouchables
- Father of the Bride (2022) trailer
- Andy as Terry Benedict in Ocean's 11
- The Lost City trailer
- Andy's Instagram
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Jason Sudeikis is the co-creator and star of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. Earlier this year he told Guy about the origins of the football/soccer coach character, why the show has connected so deeply with audiences, and Ted's impact on Jason's own self-image. He also reflects on his Midwest roots, why his basketball coaches always knew he'd be a performer, years spent in Amsterdam and Las Vegas honing his craft, and how he transitioned from comedy writer to featured player on Saturday Night Live.
Links from the show:
- Jason's uncle George Wendt playing Norm in Cheers
- Jason sinks a 3-pointer at a Knicks game
- ComedySportz: how Jason got his start in sketch comedy
- Boom Chicago improv theater in Amsterdam
- SNL: Mitt Romney drowning his sorrows in milk
- Original commercial that launched Ted Lasso
- Ted Lasso Season 3 Official Trailer
Guy's Guest Appearance on Creator Science
At the beginning of the episode, Guy mentioned his appearance on Creator Science hosted by Jay Clouse. You can find that interview in the Creator Science podcast feed here!
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Shania Twain is often referred to as the Queen of Country Pop. And rightfully so - she's sold over 100 million records, more than any female country artist in history. But before she was Shania Twain, she was Eileen Edwards from a small town in Ontario. In this episode, Shania talked with Guy earlier this year about how she got her start singing at local bars before ascending to country music stardom in Nashville. And how, after almost losing her singing ability to Lyme disease, Shania is now back with a new album – Queen of Me.
Links from the show:
Young Shania on the Tommy Hunter Show
Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under
What Made You Say That music video
Shania at the Super Bowl Halftime Show
Giddy Up Music Video
Shania Twain Limelight Sessions
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Tom Hanks has had more iconic roles than most actors have had roles. From Big, to Forrest Gump, to Saving Private Ryan, to 2022’s Elvis, Tom has played countless characters spanning across different genres and different decades. In this wide-ranging interview from earlier this year, Tom discusses the trajectory of his career, the importance of bringing his own ideas to the films he’s acted in, and how he has managed to stave off self-consciousness while remaining as authentic as possible.
Links from the show:
- Tom and Peter Scolari in Bosom Buddies
- Tom and Daryl Hannah in Splash
- The cross-country running scene from Forrest Gump
- The execution scene from The Green Mile
- Tom as Sully Sullenberger in Sullly: plane crash in the Hudson scene
- Tom as Colonel Tom Parker in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis
- The real Colonel Tom Parker in an interview on ABC
- Trailer for A Man Called Otto
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Stephen Colbert has played many roles--an officious high school teacher in Strangers with Candy, and a bumbling blowhard on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Now, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he's facing his biggest challenge: being himself. Stephen talked in 2022 to Guy about working through that challenge, about the early and enduring influence Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello had on his work, and about how Stephen Colbert the man related to Stephen Colbert the blustering pundit.
Links from the show:
- The Second City improv troupe
- The Dana Carvey Show
- Dana Carvey and Stephen play clips Of "The Dana Carvey Show"
- Strangers with Candy
- Strangers with Candy clip
- President Obama on The Colbert Report
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS
- NASA's COLBERT treadmill
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Nick Kroll is an actor and comedian (Kroll Show, Parks and Recreation) and the creator of Big Mouth and Human Resources on Netflix. He talked with Guy in 2022 about developing outrageous characters, playing over-the-top villains, his quirky writing process, why everyone can benefit from improv classes, and his thoughts on comedy vs. “cancel culture.”
Links from the show:
- Clip from Nick's appearance on The View in full Cavemen makeup
- “Yogurt Water” scene from Kroll Show
- Oh, Hello with John Mulaney
- Nick as “The Douche” on Parks and Recreation
- Big Mouth on Netflix
- Little Big Boy on Netflix
- Nick’s Instagram
- Nick's friends and collaborators: Mike Birbiglia, John Mulaney, Andrew Goldberg, Chelsea Peretti, Jessi Klein
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Zooey Deschanel is an actor (New Girl,Elf, 500 Days of Summer) musician (She & Him), crafter, and entrepreneur (HelloGiggles, Lettuce Grow). In 2022 she told Guy how being diagnosed with ADHD as a child affected her life and career, how the "loneliness" of the actor's life led her to songwriting and her collaboration with M Ward, and how – right before landing her biggest role – she almost quit acting. Zooey also delivers some practical tips on how to turn fear into excitement, and makes the case that regularly pursuing new creative paths makes you better at everything else.
Links from the show:
- Zooey's parents' filmographies: Caleb Deschanel & Mary Jo Deschanel
- Zooey's first instrument: the Casio SK-1
- Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica
- Scene from Zooey's first-ever role on TV: Veronica's Closet
- Zooey and Frances McDormand "Drugs & Promiscuous Sex" scene from Almost Famous
- The Go-Getter (2007 film), how Zooey met M Ward
- Let's Dance by M Ward
- Vincent O'Brien by M Ward
- Thieves by She & Him (Official Video), one of Zooey's favorites which she wrote in "12 minutes"
- She & Him's "pandemic project," Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson
- New Girl full episodes on Amazon
- Saturday Night Live sketch - Bein' Quirky With Zooey Deschanel
- HelloGiggles
- Lettuce Grow
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Gavin DeGraw is the singer-songwriter behind hits such as "I Don't Want To Be" and "Not Over You." He talks to Guy about why he doesn't limit himself to one genre, the low point in his life that inspired the song "Chariot," and why he thinks music should be "invisible."
Links from the show:
Video for "I Don't Want to Be"
Video for "Not Over You"
Video for "Chariot"
Video for "Hero in Our House" (Acoustic)
Gavin talks to People Magazine about losing his mother to cancer
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Ice Cube is a rapper and actor ("Boyz 'n the Hood," "Friday") who helped shape the genre we know as "gangsta rap." He talks with Guy about the early days of NWA, why the first film he wrote and starred in is a comedy, and why the Beastie Boys were an early inspiration.
Links from the show:
Video for NWA's "Straight Out of Compton"
Video for "It Was a Good Day"
Video for "You Know How We Do It"
Ice Cube in "Boyz 'n the Hood"
Preview for "Friday"
Video for "Jackin' for Beats"
Ice Cube jokes with Jimmy Kimmel
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Paul Feig is an actor and director (Bridesmaids, Spy) and the creator of Freaks and Geeks, which is considered one of the best TV shows ever made, despite being cancelled after one season. He joins Guy to talk about why he stopped pursuing a career as an actor, what he learned from directing a prestige film that flopped, and how he strives to create an environment on set where everyone can be their most creative.
Links from the show:
Paul shows the kids how to dance in a scene from Heavyweights
A scene from Freaks and Geeks
The trailer for I am David
Paul breaks down a scene in Bridesmaids
The "gadgets" clip from Spy
Trailer forThe School for Good and Evil
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Hrishikesh Hirway is a musician and the creator of the podcast and TV show "Song Exploder." He joins Guy to talk about bringing a musician's sensibility to storytelling, and his return to making music again.
Links from the show:
Trent Reznor on Song Exploder talking about "Hurt"
Dua Lipa on Song Exploder talking about "Love Again"
Hrishi's TED Talk about "what you discover when you really listen."
Video for "Between There and Here" (featuring Yo-Yo Ma)
Video for "Home" (featuring Jay Som)
Joshua Malina and Hrishi On Their "The West Wing Weekly" Podcast
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Jim Parsons is an actor who became famous starring as Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory. But what you might not know about the on-screen super-nerd is that he's a classically trained stage actor. After twelve years playing the same character, now he's trying on new roles (Hollywood, Spoiler Alert, A Man of No Importance) that allow him to flex some different creative muscles. He talks to Guy about his lifelong ambition to be a star, the uncertainty of coming out, his love of New York City, and the first, scary steps taking on new roles.
Links from the show:
- The Best of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory
- The Big Bang Theory cast talks with Stephen Colbert after the series finale
- Jim talks about playing Henry Wilson in Hollywood
- Spoiler Alert (2022) Trailer
- Jim's Instagram
- Kaley Cuoco's Instagram
- Mayim Bialik's Instagram
- Johnny Galecki's Instagram
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Zooey Deschanel is an actor (New Girl, Elf, 500 Days of Summer) musician (She & Him), crafter, and entrepreneur (HelloGiggles, Lettuce Grow). She tells Guy how being diagnosed with ADHD as a child affected her life and career, how the "loneliness" of the actor's life led her to songwriting and her collaboration with M Ward, and how – right before landing her biggest role – she almost quit acting. Zooey also delivers some practical tips on how to turn fear into excitement, and makes the case that regularly pursuing new creative paths makes you better at everything else.
Links from the show:
- Zooey's parents' filmographies: Caleb Deschanel & Mary Jo Deschanel
- Zooey's first instrument: the Casio SK-1
- Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica
- Scene from Zooey's first-ever role on TV: Veronica's Closet
- Zooey and Frances McDormand "Drugs & Promiscuous Sex" scene from Almost Famous
- The Go-Getter (2007 film), how Zooey met M Ward
- Let's Dance by M Ward
- Vincent O'Brien by M Ward
- Thieves by She & Him (Official Video), one of Zooey's favorites which she wrote in "12 minutes"
- She & Him's "pandemic project," Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson
- New Girl full episodes on Amazon
- Saturday Night Live sketch - Bein' Quirky With Zooey Deschanel
- HelloGiggles
- Lettuce Grow
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Billy Eichner is an actor, writer and comedian whose most recent film is the groundbreaking rom-com Bros. Billy talks to Guy about having to create his own path to success, how he developed the viral hit Billy on the Street, and what he hopes all audiences, straight and LGBTQ, will take away from Bros.
Links from the show:
- Billy on the Street: Best Moments
- Billy on the Street: The Meryl-Go-Round
- Billy on the Street: Emma Stone
- Billy on the Street: Chris Evans
- Billy on the Street: Shondaland with Amy Sedaris
- Billy on the Street: The Julianne Moore Acting Attack
- Bros Trailer
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Alfred Matthew Yankovic, when he was six years old, was told by his parents to choose between accordion and guitar lessons. “And my parents being the visionaries that they were said, ‘Oh, young Alfred would love to play the accordion.’” Alfred, today better known as the chart-topping musician, satirist, and beloved nerd Weird Al Yankovic, tells Guy how that decision changed his life, and decades of popular music to come. They also discuss how Kurt Cobain saved Weird Al from a lifetime of spoofing Michael Jackson songs, and how intense the process of writing silly songs can be.
Links from the show:
- Dr. Demento, Weird Al's early major influence and later employer
- "Belvedere Cruising", the first song of Weird Al's to air on Dr. Demento's show
- Weird Al playing "My Bologna" in San Luis Obispo in 1979
- Eight Weird Al music videos side-by-side with with the songs they spoof
- Music video for Weird Al's "Fat"
- Weird Al interviewing Patrick Stewart at Comic-Con
- Trailer for "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story"
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Graham Nash has made some of the most unforgettable music of the last century: songs like Marrakesh Express, Our House, and Just a Song Before I Go. And now, at the age of 80, he’s as creatively engaged as ever, still releasing new albums and roaming the streets of New York City in search of his next great photograph. He talks to Guy about where he continues to find inspiration, about the top-10 hit he wrote in 30 minutes, and about his famous--sometimes famously troubled--collaborations with David Crosby, Joni Mitchell, and others.
Links from the show:
- Chapter on The Hollies from a Graham Nash documentary
- Dispatch from a legendary 1974 Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young tour
- Rolling Stone feature on Graham Nash’s book of photography “A Life In Focus”
- Graham Nash’s speech at Joni Mitchell’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997
- 2012 interview with David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash
- Graham Nash’s Tiny Desk concert
- Graham Nash sings “Our House” at a celebration of Joni Mitchell’s 75th birthday in 2018
- Graham Nash and Chris Stills perform “So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)” by the Everly Brothers
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Sigourney Weaver has appeared in more than 60 films, from her breakout role in Alien in 1979 and the blockbuster Aliens in 1986, to Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl, and later Avatar, with many sequels in the works. Despite being raised by a family steeped in show business, Sigourney was reluctant to pursue acting for many years. In our conversation, Sigourney unpacks what was behind that reticence; tells Guy about her early years in avant-garde theater; talks about why, at first, she wasn’t all that interested in being in Alien; and explains why she takes issue with the idea that she tends to play “strong women.”
Links from the show:
- The (pretty amazing) trailer for 1979's Alien
- Ellen Ripley’s last stand in Alien
- BBC story on Sigourney reuniting with the gorillas from Gorillas in the Mist
- Sigourney in Working Girl
- Sigourney plays a possessed Diana in Ghostbusters, with Bill Murray
- Recent Boston Herald article on Sigourney’s very busy year
- More on Sigourney’s new, 14-year-old character in the Avatar franchise
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Oak Felder is the producer and songwriter behind hits like Demi Lovato’s “Sorry Not Sorry” and Alessia Cara’s “Scars to Your Beautiful.” He talks to Guy about his upbringing in Turkey, why comfortable couches and blue lights help creativity, songs that bring him to tears, and how he helps artists unleash their creative potential.
Links from the show:
- Video for Demi Lovato's "Sorry Not Sorry"
- Video showing how Oak produced "Sorry Not Sorry"
- Video for Alessia Cara's "Scars To Your Beautiful"
- Video for Sterling Simms' "Jump Off"
- Oak's TEDx Talk about creating emotionally resonant songs
- Oak's Recode Talk about producing viral hits
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Nick Kroll is an actor and comedian (Kroll Show, Parks and Recreation) and the creator of Big Mouth and Human Resources on Netflix. He joins Guy to talk about developing outrageous characters, playing over-the-top villains, his quirky writing process, why everyone can benefit from improv classes, and his thoughts on comedy vs. “cancel culture.”
Links from the show:
- Clip from Nick's appearance on The View in full Cavemen makeup
- “Yogurt Water” scene from Kroll Show
- Oh, Hello with John Mulaney
- Nick as “The Douche” on Parks and Recreation
- Big Mouth on Netflix
- Little Big Boy on Netflix
- Nick’s Instagram
- Nick's friends and collaborators: Mike Birbiglia, John Mulaney, Andrew Goldberg, Chelsea Peretti, Jessi Klein
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The Chainsmokers production and DJ duo Alex Pall and Drew Taggart are behind the smash hits “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Closer.” They talk to Guy about why they stopped making remixes, how they moved past a breakthrough hit that felt like an artistic failure, and how they have managed to stay loyal to each other through the highs and lows.
Links from the show:
- The Chainsmokers on Hype Machine
- Video for "#SELFIE"
- Video for "Roses"
- Video for "Don't Let Me Down"
- Drew sings "Closer" live at the VMAs
- "Making of" video for their new album "So Far So Good"
- Video for "I Love U"
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Audra McDonald (Master Class, Ragtime, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill) has won six Tony Awards--more performance wins than any other theater actor. (She's also won two Grammys and one Emmy along the way.) Still, each new role she takes scares her. Audra tells Guy why that fear is actually essential to her work, about her never-ending quest to know her characters better, and how it felt to have her friend and mentor Stephen Sondheim publicly pan one of her shows.
Links from the show:
- Excerpts of Audra and Zoe Caldwell in Master Class
- Audra singing "Summertime" from her role as Bess in The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess
- Audra performing Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child" from Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
- Audra performing the song "Say No to This" from Hamilton in the voice of Billie Holiday
- Playbill pick of 13 Audra performances on the occasion of her birthday
- 2020 New Yorker interview with Audra
- More on Audra's forthcoming role in Ohio State Murders
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Stephen Colbert has played many roles--an officious high school teacher in Strangers with Candy, and a bumbling blowhard on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Now, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he's facing his biggest challenge: being himself. Stephen talks to Guy about working through that challenge, about the early and enduring influence Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello had on his work, and about how Stephen Colbert the man related to Stephen Colbert the blustering pundit.
Links from the show:
- The Second City improv troupe
- The Dana Carvey Show
- Dana Carvey and Stephen play clips Of "The Dana Carvey Show"
- Strangers with Candy
- Strangers with Candy clip
- President Obama on The Colbert Report
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS
- NASA's COLBERT treadmill
Full show notes:
- thegreatcreators.com/colbert
Social media:
- Instagram: @TheGreatCreatorsPodcast
- Twitter: @TGCwithGuyRaz
- Facebook: The Great Creators
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Trailer for The Great Creators with Guy Raz, which premieres September 20th.
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