The Great Creators with Guy Raz

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 in...

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 fr...

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 ro...

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" (A...

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. Cube's 3-on-3 basketball league, BIG3 , opened its season this past weekeend. Links from the show: Video for NWA's "Straight Out o...

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 the...

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."...

Dan Smith is the lead singer of the band Bastille. He sits down with Guy to discuss the meaning behind the band's breakout hit "Pompeii," why his best songwriting isn't about his own life, losing iPhones filled with lyrics that weren't backed up, and a critical review that damaged his confidence even as Bastille took the music world by storm. Links from the show: Pompeii music video (700M views) L...

Actor  Alan Alda  played a starring role in two iconic ensemble TV shows,  MASH  and  The West Wing,  part of an award-winning career in television, film and theater that's spanned decades. He's also a writer and director. He talks with Guy about building chemistry in an ensemble cast, how he uses improvisational techniques in his acting and in real life, and how he i...

Seth Meyers was a key player in creating some of the best seasons of Saturday Night Live. Now he's hosting Late Night in the very same building. In this episode of The Great Creators, you’ll hear how his two-person comedy show in Chicago randomly landed him in front of just the right person to get him an audition at SNL. He opens up about his anxiety having to compete with his extremely funny co-s...

Singer Ellie Goulding has had 35 different songs chart in the UK, the most of any female artist ever. In this episode, Ellie shares how she first broke out of her shell performing original songs to her college classmates. She talks about finding her own sound by using her unique voice in collaboration with some of the biggest producers in the world of EDM. And she explains why she calls her new al...

Ben Gibbard is the voice of the bands Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service. He joins Guy to talk about forming Death Cab and recording their classic album Tranatlanticism , how the band learned to defuse internal tensions, and how he approaches songwriting in middle age. Links from the show: Ben's Tiny Desk Concert Ben breaks down his song "Black Sun" Death Cab for Cutie video for "I Will Fo...

Diplo is one of the most successful and influential DJ/producers working today. How did he get here? This episode traces his rise from nomadic childhood, to spinning records while working at a movie theater and zoo, to his big break that was years in the making, to performing in front of tens of thousands of fans and generating billions (yes, billions) of streams. You'll also learn exactly how he...

Actor Rainn Wilson is best known for playing Dwight Schrute on "The Office," but in recent years he has become a mental health and spirituality advocate through his books and production company, SoulPancake. He joins Guy to talk about the deep anxiety he faced as a young actor, his ensuing search for inner peace, and why he believes performing can be a spiritual act. Links from the show: Rainn and...

Nathan Lane has been called "the greatest stage entertainer" of the 2000s. But as you'll learn in this episode, that compliment rubbed him the wrong way... and motivated him to take on a wide range of complex, nuanced, "scary" roles on stage and screen. Nathan talks to Guy about performing singing telegrams as a young man, making it to Hollywood as part of a comedy duo, working with Mel Brooks on...

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 talks with Guy about how she got her start singing at local bars before ascending to country music stardom in Nashvil...

Jason Sudeikis is the co-creator and star of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+. He tells 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...

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, Working Girl , and Avatar: The Way of Water,  with more Avatar sequels in the works. Despite being raised by a family steeped in show business, Sigourney was reluctant to pursue acting for many years. In t...

Justin Long is an actor ( Accepted, Dodgeball, Jeepers Creepers ) best known for his roles in quirky comedies. He talks to Guy about the not-so-nice reality of showbiz, turning down his first big paycheck, a tough love lesson about Hamlet, and one very scary night in Michigan. Links from the show: Justin's first film Galaxy Quest Recording Alvin's voice behind the scenes "Get A Mac" ad campaign "T...

Ike Barinholtz is a writer, director and actor best known for his numerous roles on MADtv and other hit comedies like The Mindy Project , The Afterparty and Blockers . In this episode, he talks to Guy about his early origins in the Chicago comedy scene, and how a pivot from acting to screenwriting saved his career. Links from the show: Gay Straight Guys MADtv sketch Ike as an Abercrombie model on...

When Judith Light became an actor, she swore she'd never do a soap opera or a sitcom. She didn't see it as serious acting. But her roles as Karen Wolek on the soap One Life to Live and Angela Bower on the sitcom Who's the Boss? forever changed her views on those genres, and made her a star. In this episode, she tells Guy how, after early success on TV, she struggled to find her way back on to the...

Ever since his breakout role in L.A. Law , actor Blair Underwood ( Rules of Engagement , Just Cause , In Treatment ) has been fighting against being pigeonholed, and searching for new psychological puzzles to solve through the characters he plays. He talks to Guy about the profound influence both his father and Sidney Poitier had on his career, about the moments he thought that career might be ove...

Kenan Thompson ( Saturday Night Live , Good Burger , Kenan & Kel , All That ) is perhaps the most consistently funny TV performer of his generation. He’s the longest-running SNL cast member, and is beloved for early roles in Good Burger, D2: The Mighty Ducks, and the TV shows All That and Kenan & Kel. Kenan joins Guy to talk about his Nickelodeon days, why some of his big breaks have felt...

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. In this episode from the fall of 2022, Audra told Guy why that fear is actually essential to her work, about her never-ending quest to know h...

Singer/songwriter Santigold blends punk, indie, new-wave and soul music to create a sound all her own. She talks with Guy about why she initially shied away from singing, how she fights back against barriers in the music industry, and how she nourishes her creative spirit. Links from the show: " High Priestess " music video vignette, from Spirituals " Disparate Youth " performed live at KCRW " Sho...