Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Flying to Vegas to watch Céline sing, these are a few of my favorite things.
As a gift to myself, who would rather spend time playing with my adorable twin nephews on their first Christmas, as well as a gift to you, who does not have my adorable twin nephews to play with and might need something to read to pass the time, instead of spending the entire day writing my newsletter this holiday week I thought I’d round up my favorite stories that I’ve written this year.
In this year-in-review exercise, I discovered that I wrote 239 features in 2019. That is insane, thank you for your round of applause.
The first post of the year, fitting given the deranged bacchanal of madness that ensued, was a review of the very first episode of The Masked Singer. The most recent: A celebration of something good, breakout star George MacKay discussing what it was like to film the Sam Mendes war epic 1917 to make the whole thing look like it was shot in one take.
Anyway, here’s our 20 favorite interviews from the past year, presented in chronological order. Happy holidays.
“Saying Goodbye to the Greatest Hot Mess TV Has Ever Seen”: You’re the Worst scene-stealer Kether Donohue on how playing wanton disaster Lindsay changed her life, and why you never underestimate a pretty girl with a high-pitched voice.
“Andrew Rannells Talks About Everything, Even—Gasp!—Gay Sex”: The Black Monday star is one of my favorite actors in Hollywood, and his candor in this piece is exactly why.
“Dan Levy’s Unexpected Reign as the Most Popular Man on TV”: As the Schitt’s Creek obsession reached a fever pitch, we sat down with its creator and star to talk about the wild ride.
“Daniel Radcliffe on Becoming Hollywood’s Weirdest Actor”: On the coldest day of the year, the Boy Wizard and I talk God, Trump, odd career choices, Googling yourself, Tom Brady, and more.
“The Many Lives of Sonja Morgan, NYC’s Wildest Real Housewife”: I will really, truly never forget the fabulous, dizzying lunch I had with Real Housewives of New York legend and total kook, Sonja Morgan.
“Padma Lakshmi Is Speaking Out: ‘I Was So F*cking Pissed’”: The Top Chef judge sat down with me at the SXSW Festival to talk her fight for gender equality, sharing her #MeToo story, and finding her voice: “I know what it’s like to not be seen.”
“Bill Hader Went Through Some Dark Sh*t. So He Made ‘Barry.’”: Bill Hader killed every time he went live on SNL. And going live nearly killed him. We talked about how his anxiety inspired his HBO series, Barry, and why even multiple Emmy Awards can’t stop it.
“Julianna Margulies Is Demanding Her Worth”: Ahead of the premiere of The Hot Zone, the woman who is arguably the most successful TV actress of the last 25 years opened up about fighting to be paid her worth—and turning down The Good Fight when she was offered less.
“Michael K. Williams Almost Didn’t Live to Be This Angry”: The Wire star talked about life’s second (and third) chances and why his role on Netflix’s Central Park Five series When They See Us strikes a chord: “It easily could have been me.”
“How Celine Dion Changed Las Vegas—and Then Everything”: A pilgrimage to Las Vegas in the last days of Dion’s 16-year gamble on Vegas that forever changed her career, the city, the industry, and fandom.
“Geena Davis Changed Hollywood. Now Give Her More Parts.”: The Oscar-winning actress talked to me about her 25-year fight for female representation on screen, what’s changed, and what still hasn’t.
“Kirsten Dunst’s Most Shocking Transformation Yet”: Ahead of her star-turn in On Becoming a God in Central Florida, Dunst told me why she’s been so attracted to such weird projects.
“Julia Stiles’ 20-Year Hustle: Nobody Knew What to Do With Me”: I talked to Julia Stiles right before Hustlers premiered. She was amazing.
“Renée Zellweger’s Big Comeback: This Time ‘It’s Happier’”: The Oscar-winner is astonishing in Judy, and was a pleasure to talk to her about it.
“Amy Landecker Almost Turned Down Transparent. Imagine.”: Amy Landecker gave one of my favorite performances of the decade on Transparent and I loved talking with her about it.
“Sterling K. Brown’s Fight Upward: ‘It’s Not a Meritocracy’”: Talking to the This Is Us and Waves star is like attending a sermon.
“Inside the First-Ever BravoCon (God Help Me)”: This was so much fun.
“Mena Massoud: After Aladdin, I Couldn’t Get an Audition”: I caught up with the Disney prince ahead of the debut of his new series, Hulu’s Reprisal: “It’s not always dandelions and roses when you’re doing something like Aladdin.
“The ‘Marvelous’ Alex Borstein: ‘Step Out of Line, Ladies!’”: “I began to notice that most female characters of substance were described much in the same way that a horse would be...” Easily one of my favorite conversations.
“Taron Egerton Wanted Those ‘Rocketman’ Gay Sex Scenes”: At the end of a long promo tour, talking with the young Brit who nailed playing Elton John.