Episode 1453 - Cillian Murphy

Cillian Murphy knew he wanted to become an actor when he saw A Clockwork Orange. Not the Kubrick film, but an avant-garde theatrical production in a nightclub. From there he left his dreams of being a musician behind and began his acting journey. Cillian tells Marc the lessons he learned from directors like Ken Loach and Christopher Nolan, with whom he’s collaborated on six films. They also talk about Peaky Blinders, 28 Days Later, and trying on the Batman suit. This interview was recorded on June 27, 2023.

Episode 1452 - Sarah Tiana

Sarah Tiana and Marc are very much co-workers. They see each other at “the office” regularly but they’ve never had an extended period of time to get to know each other. Sarah and Marc get to sit down and compare notes on their experiences at The Comedy Store, both when they started out and how things are now, and Sarah tells Marc about her background doing comedy in war zones. They also talk about Disneyland, doormen and David Spade.

Episode 1451 - Lukas Nelson

Lukas Nelson doesn’t fear any comparisons with his father, Willie, because his dad taught him by example to do what you love with all your heart. And Lukas loves making music. Lukas talks with Marc about songwriting, the evolution of country, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Kris Kristofferson, hip hop, his new album, and the fortunate set of circumstances that led him to work on the film A Star is Born and write songs for its best-selling soundtrack.

Episode 1450 - Joanna Gleason

Joanna Gleason lives in a vibrant community of artistic people. In a way, it's what she's always known, growing up surrounded by the community of her father, Monty Hall, in the early days of television. Joanna and Marc talk about parents not having the ending you hope, making art that gives them the ending they deserve, and more art that allows you to process the grief. They also talk about her breakthrough performance in Into The Woods, the very show business way she fell in love with her husband, Chris Sarandon, and making her directorial debut with The Grotto.

Episode 1449 - The United States of Conspiracy w/ Robert Guffey

Marc admits to a certain amount of conspiracy-driven paranoia when he was younger, which gives him a unique vantage point to observe the conspiracy theories shaking our culture. Conspiracy scholar Robert Guffey joins Marc to talk about the origins of modern conspiracy theories. What is the Illuminati? Why is Freemasonry central to so many conspiracies? How do cultural icons like Rudyard Kipling, John Huston and Steven Spielberg factor into the spread of conspiracy thinking? And how did Qanon grab hold of the fevered conspiratorial mind?

Episode 1448 - Clifton Collins Jr.

A bike accident and a cracked bone delayed Clifton Collins Jr.’s appearance in the garage, but now he’s all healed up and ready to go. Clifton talks with Marc about his extensive career, including films like Traffic, Capote and Nightmare Alley, and his family’s cultural legacy stemming from the Mexican carpa scene to Vaudeville to the Hollywood studio system. Clifton also explains why the film Jockey is so personal to him and how Samuel L. Jackson became a friend and mentor.

The Full Maron: Year One

The Full Maron is our WTF+ subscription tier that gives you weekly bonus episodes. It's now a year old, so that means there's 52 weeks of bonus episodes waiting for you in the archive. To give you a sense of what's in store for subscribers, we've put together a selection of Full Maron highlights, including answers from an Ask Marc Anything episode, a post-show chat with Jeremy Strong, Marc's immediate reaction right after Ice Cube left the garage, never-before-heard standup from Marc's set at Town Hall, Marc and Kit talking movies, and an excerpt from The Friday Show, our weekly end of the week hang-out.

Episode 1447 - Kyle Kinane

Kyle Kinane is a comedian Marc enjoys so much, he had him on multiple early episodes of WTF. But at some point, Kyle felt he hit a wall in show business, feeling weary from the demands of constant pitches and the necessities of self-promotion. Kyle returns to the garage to tell Marc where he went, why he lived in a van for a while, and how he wanted to approach making new comedy, including his new special Shocks and Struts.

Episode 1446 - Tom Dreesen's Mob Stories

Comedian Tom Dreesen was hanging out with Marc in The Comedy Store parking lot, telling stories of show business and organized crime. Marc had such a good time listening to Tom’s stories, he invited him back on the show to share some of them with WTF listeners. Tom talks about his early days working in mob-run clubs, touring with Sammy Davis, Jr., and an epic tale of Frank Sinatra saving Johnny Carson from certain death at the hands of Crazy Joe Gallo.

Episode 1445 - Ben Kingsley

Ben Kingsley believes his job is to reflect truth and in order to do that he keeps many voices in his heart and mind. Those voices include Steven Spielberg, Otto Frank, Elie Wiesel, Rajmohan Gandhi, and others who gave him gifts of wisdom and encouragement as he performed some of his most memorable roles. Sir Ben also talks with Marc about how his science eduction informs his acting, how Shakespeare’s writing is a map of truth, and how he transformed into Salvador Dalí in his most recent film.

Episode 1444 - Felicia Michaels

Felicia Michaels and Marc started at The Comedy Store around the same time. They got to see the ‘80s comedy boom begin at the club level. They got to see Sam Kinison at his funniest and also his most difficult. And they got to see each other at times in their lives when they were both figuring out who they were. Felicia tells Marc what she learned about herself in those days, why she quit comedy to become a professional photographer, and why she made the decision to come back, not only to standup in general, but to The Comedy Store.

Episode 1443 - Ramy Youssef

In 2019, Ramy Youssef surprised Hollywood by coming out of nowhere to win the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Comedy. Now, after three seasons of Ramy on Hulu, he talks with Marc about using his relationship with faith and culture to make comedy and explore the Muslim-American experience. They also talk about the inspiration he took from Jenny Slate, the mentorship he took from Mark Curry, and the path he took from stand-up to his own show.

Episode 1442 - Jeff Stilson

Jeff Stilson only had two goals as a comedian: Get on Johnny Carson and write for David Letterman. After he accomplished both things, he developed a reputation as a top shelf writer for talk shows, sitcoms, award shows and other comedians. Jeff talks with Marc about his work with people like Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, George Lopez, Ellen DeGeneres and more, as well as his experience writing for venerable institutions like the Academy Awards.

Episode 1441 - Anthony Ramos

Anthony Ramos was ready to give up on acting but seeing the musical In The Heights on Broadway gave him hope. Eventually he wound up playing the lead role in the film version of that very show. Anthony talks with Marc about his journey from housing projects to performing arts school to stage, film and the recording studio, with a baseball detour along the way. They also talk about making The Bad Guys, getting in on the ground floor of Hamilton, and Anthony’s foray into blockbusters with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

Episode 1440 - William Shatner

William Shatner has lived long and continues to prosper. At 92 years old, he has dozens of projects in the works, including the Fox reality show Stars on Mars, a new watch he designed, two documentaries, and his annual charity horse show. But he’s also able to look back with clarity and appreciation on an acting career that started at age six and all the amazing paths his life has taken since. Bill and Marc talk about Canada, Broadway, the Golden Age of Television, Star Trek, and the profound experience Bill had when he traveled to outer space.

Episode 1439 - Vir Das

Vir Das doesn’t worry about fitting in. He was born in India, grew up in Nigeria, went to school in America, lived and worked in Europe, and now lives back in his country of origin. Vir talks with Marc about wanting his comedy and acting to appeal to a global community, a goal that was met with some resistance in 2021 when he performed a monologue called “Two Indias” in Washington, DC. They talk about the fallout from that performance, the right wing push in India, and Vir’s experience in Bollywood films.

Episode 1438 - Amy Sherman-Palladino

Amy Sherman-Palladino says working on a TV show takes over your whole life. This is why Amy went from being a hired gun on sitcoms that made her miserable to her own creatively fulfilling shows like Gilmore Girls, Bunheads and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Amy and Marc talk about her father’s comedy background, her early job at The Comedy Store, the lessons she learned from Roseanne, and the adjustments made when she found out this would be the final season of Mrs. Maisel.

Episode 1437 - Smokey Robinson

Smokey Robinson just released his 26th studio album, but he’s been writing songs since the age of six. Smokey talks with Marc about his lifelong friendships with Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and Berry Gordy, the formation of The Miracles, the rise of Motown Records, the process of writing songs for other artists, creating The Tears of a Clown with Stevie Wonder, the brilliance of Marvin Gaye, and the five year period Smokey felt his life was out of control.