Sunday Sitdown With Willie Geist

Kate Hudson was just 21 years old when she won a Golden Globe for her role in Almost Famous. In the two decades since, she has starred in a run of romantic comedies, launched a successful athleisure brand and raised three children ranging in age from toddler to teenager. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Hudson for a virtual conversation about her life and career, and what quarantine has been like with those three kids.

Rob Lowe was just 18 years old when Francis Ford Coppola cast him in the 1983 movie The Outsiders, and he quickly became a fixture of 1980’s Hollywood. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Lowe to talk about the pitfalls that came with that early success and how it propelled a run of nearly 40 years on screen, including in his latest show 9-1-1: Lone Star.  

Rachel Brosnahan’s performance in the hit series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has earned her an Emmy, two Golden Globe Awards and international recognition as the spirited stand-up comic, Midge. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Brosnahan in New York City to talk about filming that show in the place she calls home and her buzzed-about performance in the new film I’m Your Woman.

Gal Gadot was ready to walk away from show business before she teamed up with director Patty Jenkins on the blockbuster movie Wonder Woman, which became a cultural phenomenon and made Gadot a role model for women and girls around the world. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Gadot for a virtual conversation about the film’s highly-anticipated sequel, Wonder Woman 1984.

Taraji P. Henson is synonymous with Cookie Lyon, the unforgettable matriarch she played on the hit series Empire which earned her a Golden Globe award. But she has also won praise her performances in films like Hustle & Flow, Hidden Figures and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Henson over Zoom to talk about a different kind of project – her new Facebook Watch series Peace of Mind with Taraji, where she hosts open, honest conversations about mental health.

Bryan Cranston earned four Emmy Awards for his role as Walter White on Breaking Bad, which is widely regarded as one of the best shows in the history of television. Since the series ended in 2013, he has won a pair of Tony Awards and earned an Oscar nomination for his leading role in Trumbo. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Cranston over Zoom to discuss his latest series Your Honor, the legacy of Breaking Bad, and how he always finds himself playing the part of a man compromised.

You may know Keegan-Michael Key as one half of the comedy duo “Key and Peele” or as President Obama’s anger translator, Luther. But Key has recently found his way back to the dramatic acting that interested him back in high school, and he is now starring opposite Meryl Streep in the new Netflix movie musical The Prom. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the actor over Zoom to talk about his road from drama class to the big screen, and his 16-year detour into comedy.

The name Al Pacino calls to mind some of the most memorable performances in the history of film, from The Godfather and Scarface to Scent of a Woman and Heat. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the Hollywood icon to talk about his legendary career, including his Oscar-nominated performance in The Irishman and his Amazon series Hunters. Plus Willie takes Al for a cruise around Beverly Hills in a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado. (Original broadcast date: February 23, 2020)

Michael J. Fox was just 29 years old and at the peak of his acting career when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but he continued to work in movies and television before stepping away to create his now-famous research foundation. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Fox to talk about his new book “No Time Like the Future” in which he reveals a recent breaking point in his 30-year fight against the disease.

Dolly Parton grew up in a small cabin in Tennessee with no running water or electricity, but she climbed her way to the top of the music world and American culture over the course of an iconic career. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Dolly to talk about her latest Christmas album, her new Netflix film and her upcoming book about the stories behind her greatest hits.

20 years ago, Chris Stapleton left his small hometown in Kentucky and moved to Nashville to chase his dream of being a songwriter. Five years ago, the dream got bigger when he released his own album, won a pair of Grammy Awards, and established himself as one of the most distinctive voices in all of music. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together virtually with the country star to talk about that journey and his latest album, Starting Over.

Matthew McConaughey is known for his free-spirited, easy-going philosophy on life, as embodied in his famous catchphrase “Alright, Alright, Alright.” The actor first uttered those words in the movie Dazed and Confused and they have followed him through a long career in Hollywood, from romantic comedies to TV series to an Academy Award for Dallas Buyers Club. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with McConaughey over Zoom to talk about that journey, and what it was like to reflect on it in his new book “Greenlights.”

Drew Barrymore has spent almost her entire life in the public eye, starting with her breakthrough role in E.T. at just 7 years old and continuing over four decades of acting, producing and directing. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the Hollywood star to talk about her long career in the spotlight and making the transition into daytime television with her new talk show “The Drew Barrymore Show.”

45 years ago, a new era of American comedy began with the premiere of Saturday Night Live and a young producer named Lorne Michaels calling the shots. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the SNL creator and executive producer in famed Studio 8H to talk about the show’s legacy, and how they put on a live production in the middle of both a pandemic and a presidential election.

Ina Garten has spent the last seven months of the pandemic at her home in East Hampton, trying out recipes for her new cookbook Modern Comfort Food with her husband Jeffrey as the lucky taste-tester. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the Barefoot Contessa for a virtual catch-up to talk about that new book and what it’s like to film her cooking show by herself at home. Plus Jeffrey and Willie’s wife Christina make a special appearance, as the couples get together for a cocktail party over Zoom.

John Cusack has been on our screens for the better part of four decades, first in movies like Better Off Dead and Say Anything and later starring in classics like Grosse Pointe Blank and Being John Malkovich. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the actor over Zoom to talk about that long career of memorable roles and his latest shift into television with the new Amazon Prime series Utopia.

DJ Khaled has made a name for himself in the music industry with his infectious beats and famous collaborators, but he’s also known for his relentless hustle, positivity, and self-confidence. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the radio DJ turned hip hop mogul to talk about his rise to the heights of music, his latest album, and what life has been like in quarantine with his wife and two young sons.

Kelly Clarkson won the first season of American Idol nearly 18 years ago, and since then she has sold more than 45 million albums and won 3 Grammy Awards with her powerful voice. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the singer to talk about her transition into hosting a daytime talk show, her new music, and what life has been like during quarantine.

The groundbreaking career of Mary J. Blige is all the more impressive when you consider she escaped a troubled childhood in the projects of Yonkers, New York and was discovered while doing karaoke at a local mall. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the Grammy winner about her journey since then including her debut album “What’s the 411?,” the new music she’s been writing during quarantine and her latest venture into the world of wine.

Chadwick Boseman passed away this week at the age of 43, losing a four year battle with colon cancer that he never discussed publicly. In this week's "Sunday Sitdown," Willie Geist revisits his interview with Boseman from 2018, when the actor soared to fame in the groundbreaking film Black Panther. They also discuss what it was like for Boseman to play some of history's most famous figures, including Jackie Robinson and James Brown. (Original broadcast date: March 4, 2018)