Show Notes
Emmy-nominated actress and singer Lea Michele has spent more than 30 years performing, from her Broadway debut in Les Misérables at the Imperial Theatre when she was just 8-years-old to starring in hits like Spring Awakening, Glee, Funny Girl and Scream Queens. Michele sits down with Willie Geist backstage at the Imperial Theatre to discuss her full-circle return to the theater where it all began, how Chess has brought joy and creative spark back to her life, and why feeling fulfilled as a mother and wife has made this chapter feel especially meaningful. Plus, she steps back into the dressing room she used during Les Misérables and reflects on the confidence that first led her from an open call in Englewood, New Jersey, to the Broadway stage.
More from Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist
Role Model, otherwise known as Tucker Pillsbury, taught himself to produce music in his college dorm room before going on to headline an international tour. He got together with Willie Geist to discuss the influences behind his new album Chuck Timely & the Hourglass, how his viral song “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” has brought unexpected guests onstage, and how music helped him through depression. He also opens up about branching out into acting and his love for his hometown of Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
As a bonus for Sunday Sitdown fans, we’re sharing the trailer for season 5 of Morrison Mysteries.
Ben Affleck sat down with Willie Geist at Fouquet's in Tribeca to discuss his new Netflix thriller, "Animals," including the questions about marriage that inspired the film, and how he chose the cast. Affleck also discussed his decades-long friendship with Matt Damon, and their production company, Artists Equity. He also opens up about the recent passing of his parents, co-parenting with ex-wife Jennifer Garner and his philanthropy efforts with the Eastern Congo Initiative.
Lizzo rose to stardom in 2019 with the hit “Truth Hurts.” It became her first number one song and earned her three Grammy Awards. She got together with Willie Geist at Books of Wonder, New York City’s oldest and largest independently owned children’s bookstore, to discuss her rise to fame, the unique sound she has curated, her love of the flute and her new children’s book Lil Lizzo Meets Sasha B. Flootin'.
Ke Huy Quan and his family fled Vietnam when he was a child, eventually finding refuge in Los Angeles, where he went on to become a child movie star in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies. Quan got together with Willie Geist at Phoenix Palace in New York City’s Chinatown to discuss his journey from refugee to Hollywood star, the years he spent away from acting, what inspired him to return to the screen and his Oscar-winning role in Everything Everywhere All at Once.