In Act II of Jonny's chat with Toby, we hear his nightmare of not being able to squeeze into Coriolanus's breast-plate, his unsexy take on Hamlet but some of that audience's sexy take on him, the role of chemistry onstage and which legendary actress didn't want the audience to laugh at her character, the efficacious role of pissing about in rehearsal, how thrilling it is to enter a flow state on stage, his problem with issue plays and his search for the real thing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For Jonathan's pal Toby Stephens, acting is very much the family business. His mother is Dame Maggie Smith, and his father was bravura actor and legendary hellraiser Sir Robert Stephens. Here he speaks with great frankness, insight and humour about his parents and the influence they had on his own path towards a brilliantly successful career on stage and screen. He shares memories of failing to recognise the actress playing Peter Pan the first time he saw a play (it was his mum), discovering a passion for drama through Wilfred Owen’s great anti-war poem, and seeing his dad reduce an entire audience to tears with his rendition of King Lear. We also hear further tales of the dark arts of Laurence Olivier, something of a recurring theme on this podcast ... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever wondered what Willem is thinking about when he throws his yoga mat out every morning? Well, wonder no more, as we bring you the second part of Jonny's conversation with him on his farm outside Rome. We also find out how his time with The Wooster Group has informed his work as a screen actor, what he still craves from the theatre, and why actors should maybe sometimes just let the work do the talking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We all know about Willem's sensational work on screen, but what you might not have realised is that he dedicated nearly 30 years of his life to the The Wooster Group - a legendary experimental theatre company in New York. Willem was kind enough to invite Jonny to his farm outside Rome, where he had only just morphed from movie star to animal midwife. They discuss how a white middle class boy from Milwaukee discovered the creative avant-garde, what it was like to experience loft performances in the golden age of punk, and how he once blanked his lines during an audition for Edward Albee, before being asked to show the great playwright more than just his audition piece. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Act II of Jonathan's chat with Sir Richard, the director talks of receiving right proper rollickings from theatre royalty, how he used light to change the shape of the stage for his legendary Guys and Dolls, his dreams of casting one of the great Olympic champions as Ariel, writing his first original play and the reception it received, whether the theatre has ever failed him and the insecurities that continue to plague him despite his extraordinary professional success.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sir Richard Eyre is a cornerstone of contemporary British theatre, who has given us Jonathan Pryce and Daniel Day Lewis as Hamlets, Ian Holm as King Lear, Mary Poppins in the West End and 5 Olivier awards along the way. In the first part of his chat with Jonathan, he charts his rise from a country boy with no knowledge of the form whatsoever to becoming director of the National Theatre. Along the way, we discover which legend he saw playing Hamlet on his first ever trip to see a proper play, why he got drunk on stage performing with Stephen Frears at university, how his complex relationship with his father may have informed much of his greatest work and plenty more besides ... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part two of our conversation with Zadie, Jonathan does his very best to encourage her to persevere with her second play and she explains how a thought that seems relatively tame to her in prose form has the potential to be thrillingly animated on stage. We learn which Shakespearean revivals infuriate her, how she and her husband Nick Laird can tell from the opening line of a play whether they'll be leaving at the interval or not and get a sneak preview of her new literary creation, Mrs Touché. All this and a guinea pig-related theatrical scoop. Stage Door Jonny breaks the big stories… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zadie Smith is unquestionably one of the finest novelists of her generation, but you may not know that she's also now a playwright - albeit by accident. In part one of her conversation with Jonny, we find out the treachery she was subjected to after turning her back on a talent show's judges to sing a Whitney Houston track to a wall, her retirement plan involving a fusion of jazz standards, comfortable clothing and literary gossip, and how she reimagined one of literature's raunchiest feminist icons from the middle ages into a 21st century Willesden pub.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second part of our chat with Zachary, we learn why he owes a debt to the Pittsburgh Mini Stars, his Munchkin breakthrough, drinking his way through to the ghost of Tennessee Williams and the extreme and showstopping lengths he will go to to defend Calista Flockhart and Edward Albee from the stage. We also find out which Hamlet Jonny had a crush on and what it was like to act with the Stage Manager. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yes, of course you know Zachary Quinto from Heroes, American Horror Story or as Spock in the Star Trek reboots. You may also know him as one of America's most exciting stage performers (Angels in America, Boys in the Band, Glass Menagerie,Best of Enemies in the West End right now). But what you might not know about Zach is how he hums his way down freeways to warm his voice up, hisses in his dressing room, uses silver Sharpie on his eyebrows, is an expert in the architectural history of LA, and craves showers and coffee before he hits the stage. We can't thank him enough for taking the time to talk so openly to Jonathan in his home. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part two of Jonathan's fascinating conversation with Jez Butterworth they discuss Jez’s innate fondness for anecdotal embellishment and relationship with truths and lies, joining a conga line of druids, the seminal role Harold Pinter has played in his life and how theatre is really all about jeopardy and dignity. Jonny also poses him a series of teasing questions posed by some of their esteemed mutual friends. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the greatest playwrights of his generation, Jez Butterworth, joins his old friend Jonathan to discuss his creative process and extraordinary body of work. In part one of their conversation, we hear why Jez was magnetically drawn to Pewsey on the day of the Queen's funeral, how there's sometimes an ideas butler by the bedside when he wakes up in the morning, which utterly inappropriate production he went to see as an 8 year old Cub, and his unlikely similarity to Shaggy (the musician, not Scooby Doo's mate). He also tells a hugely revealing anecdote about forgetting his shield when playing a centurion during his first stage performance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You will certainly know all about William H Macy and Felicity Huffman for their unforgettable roles onscreen (him Fargo, Boogie Nights, Shameless etc / her Desperate Housewives, American Horror Story, Transamerica etc) but what's perhaps less well-documented is their rich history in theatre. And what an entertaining history it is. Here, Jonny discovers how Felicity caught Bill'e eye skinny-dipping when he was her acting teacher, the mind-bending reason Bill crashed every scene of a bootleg production of Jesus Christ Superstar in the 70s, the significance of their longtime professional relationship with David Mamet, and what constitutes creative contentment for them both on stage. We are also introduced to the wonderful notion of the theatrical Muse and whether or not she picks up when you call her. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second part of Jonathan's candid, moving and illuminating chat with David in his dressing room at the Noel Coward theatre, we hear about his relationship with Martin Luther King both on and off the stage, psychotic breakdown, hanging with the naughty kids at King Lear, the time he spent with Vanessa Redgrave and the strange curse of 1606, blackface, friendship and the theatre family - not to mention his famously magnificent body! That's a lot of ground ... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having barely seen each other since they appeared in a play together in 1992, Jonathan and David roll back the years ... in Noel Coward's dressing room ... shortly before he commenced his warm up for the evening performance of James Graham's Best Of Enemies ... on his birthday. David Harewood, we salute and thank you! In the first of this two parter, Jonny and David have a no holds barred conversation about honesty, imagination, psychosis, hobgoblinization (you heard us) and running naked through the village.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever skipped school to appear in a George Bernard Shaw play in New York? No? Well, that's exactly how Ethan Hawke's theatre career began as a 13-year-old - which spawned an adoration of the stage that has endured ever since. In the second act of his interview with Jonathan, he also talks about joshing Bobby Cannavale, Freudian motivations, the high watermark of his professional career, and his desire to not only revive his erstwhile production company with his wife in his later years - do it, Ethan - but create something special in the theatre space with his kids too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Polymath alert! Actor, director, documentary maker, producer and novelist Ethan Hawke joins Jonathan to revel in his passion for theatre - and lifetime in it. When not failing to make Alessandro Nivola and Emily Mortimer's coffee machine work, Ethan recalls riling Tom Stoppard, an uplifting chance encounter with Mark Rylance on a snow-swept New York street, the sequel he wrote to Annie on first seeing it, Philip Seymour Hoffman popping backstage to make him proud, and many other things. Not to be missed, if only for his Stoppard and Rylance impressions! He is FANTASTIC company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonathan's latest guest is the great Phylicia Rashad. In 2004, Phylicia became the first black woman to win the Tony award for Best Actress, and picked up another for Best Featured Actress this year. In addition to her fine work on stage and screen, she is the dean of Howard University's Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts. Jonathan met her at the Atlantic Theatre in New York, where they discussed her first transformative experience in the spotlight as an 11-year-old, appearing alongside James Earl Jones, her fearlessness when it comes to seemingly terrifying roles, and the fact that, in her own words, she 'is not the doer' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second part of our chat with Damian Lewis is studded with reminiscences about his late wife, Helen McCrory. Damian speaks openly and beautifully about the play on which they fell in love, their contrasting experiences at drama school, and the time he watched her walk mesmerisingly onstage in Uncle Vanya, pour a cup of tea, leave without saying a word and have the audience in the palm of her hand. Damian also recalls a humiliating acting experience as a youngster, how he shouted his way into playing The Dane on a windswept outdoor stage as a 24-year-old, and the very unique and particular challenges of mastering the dialogue of the great David Mamet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aside from containing a massive spoiler about Edward Albee's play The Goat: Or Who Is Sylvia - you have been warned - Jonathan's chat with Damian Lewis is an entirely safe and wonderful space to explore the highs and lows of life on stage. As well as asking, despairingly, 'why do we bother?!', Damian discusses the perils of duelling with Ralph Fiennes, the tantalising news that a return to theatre may not be far away - and his coup de foudre with the aforementioned goat, Sylvia. He and Jonathan also pay tribute to the late Pam Harris, legendary landlady of The Dirty Duck, the actors' pub in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part two of Jonathan's conversation with Sam Mendes about his life in theatre, we hear the story of his stewardship of the Donmar Warehouse, the loneliness of the director, what his secret weapon is (according to the late Natasha Richardson), Mike Nicholls and the little man on his shoulder - and the end of that anecdote about Jonathan competing for Sam's favour with Tom Hollander for the part of Cyrano de Bergerac. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.