Transcript
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Gentle, trilling music with a steady drumbeat plays under the dialogue.
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Speaker: Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR. [Music fades out.]
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“Huddle Formation” from the album Thunder, Lightning, Strike by The Go! Team. A fast, upbeat, peppy song. Music plays as Jesse speaks, then fades out.
jesse thorn
It’s Bullseye. I’m Jesse Thorn. First up this week, we are replaying my 2019 conversation with John Turturro. He’s up for an Emmy for his role as Irving in Severance, the mind-bending sci-fi office drama. John Turturro is, of course, an acting legend. Lots of directors have actors they like to work with. Turturro is a favorite of both Spike Lee and the Coen Brothers. He’s a guy with the distinctive looks and voice of a character actor, but unlike some character actors, he can do almost anything. He can play tough, devious, vulnerable, nebbish-y, brooding, weird. He is never not himself, but no two roles are ever the same. When I interviewed him, he’d just starred in the movie Gloria Bell, directed by the Chilean filmmaker, Sebastián Lelio. Kind of an English language remake of his breakthrough 2013 film, Gloria. It's a movie about a relationship between two people who have both already been through a lot. Turturro plays Arnold, a retired Navy officer—divorced, with two grown kids. He stars opposite Julianne Moore, who plays Gloria. She’s also divorced, also has two grown kids. She’s been going out dancing a lot lately. The two of them meet. They start dating. But then things get complicated. They have very different family lives, different views about the world. The story gets messy. The performances from both Turturro and Moore keep you transfixed. Here’s a bit from the film. This is towards the beginning, when Gloria and Arnold go on their first date.
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Music: Warm piano overlays the quiet clinking of dishes and other restaurant sounds. Arnold (Gloria Bell): I can’t get you out my head. I’m really—I’m constantly thinking about you. You’re just so… different. What happened to me, with you, I thought it was never gonna happen again. My head’s still spinning. It’s… what you did, it was driving me crazy. I mean, I wanted to. But I was too… nervous to call you. But I went for it, thank god. So, thank you. Thank you for coming. Gloria: You’re very welcome.
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jesse
John Turturro, welcome to Bullseye! It’s great to have you on the show.
john turturro
Thank you! Thanks for having me.
jesse
So, I had this thought while I was watching Gloria Bell, which was—you know, you are an actor who is capable of taking over any scene that you are in. and you’re also a very experienced writer and director. And this movie is very much Julianne Moore’s movie. [John agrees.] And I wonder if you consider that when you are preparing for a role like that, that in part your character—while you’re probably the second lead of the film—is about, as they say at least in comedy, throwing to Julianne Moore.
john
Well, yes. I mean, I saw the original film. And I thought—I love the original film that Sebastián Lelio directed and wrote. And I thought the woman was great, but I also thought the man was quite interesting. When he said he was gonna, you know, do it again and that Julianne wanted to do it, I read the script and I was a little bit on the fence. And then I spoke to Sebastián, and he told me what he liked about the character. That, you know, it’s essential that the audience believes that they have something between them. And that the guy—what he loved about the character was that he kept trying. And then Julianne asked me, you know, to do it. So, sometimes you do a movie not as much for the role as who you’re going to be working with. And I wanted to work with Julianne, and I wanted to work with Sebastián. And actually, it turned out to be quite a fun and creative environment. And I really, really—I really loved working with both of them. And sometimes, it’s nice to be in support of something that I think is human. And it’s nuanced, and it’s full of contradictions and stuff. And you know—and then there are other times I wanna do it, you know—it’s for the part. You know? And sometimes you get to do everything.
jesse
Do you think differently when you are on set acting than when you are on set directing or even on set directing and acting?
john
Well, yeah. That’s a little schizophrenic, because you have you to be the child and the parent. [They chuckle.] So to speak. But that can be schizophrenic. But yes, yeah, I’m not—in working with Sebastián, I think both Julianne and I were—we’re both—you know, we can speak up for ourselves and maybe both can be strong willed. But with him, because he’s so smart and gentle, but also firm, we really tried his suggestions. And then we would, you know, vary it a lot. And he wasn’t really result-oriented. He wanted to see what would happen, you know, between us. But he also had the advantage of knowing what could work from having done it before. So. Interesting work with the same people in something that’s brand new, too.
jesse
I’m gonna play another scene from the movie, which is called Gloria Bell. And Arnold, which is my guest John Turturro’s character, is—he reads some really sweet poetry about love to Gloria, Julianne Moore’s character. And it kind of brings her to tears, and they lean in and start to kiss. And it’s very beautiful. And then, as you alluded to, Arnold’s outside life intrudes. His phone rings. And he leaves the room to take the call, then comes back in.
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Gloria: Why are you here? Arnold: Because I’m with you. Gloria: Then why can’t you tell them that you’re with me? Arnold: Well, I don’t wanna involve them in our thing. No way! No way. Why drag them into a situation that they’re incapable of understanding. Why? So, they can say, “Oh my god, you have a girlfriend, you stupid, old man?” Gloria: [Softly.] You’re not old. Arnold: [Stammering.] “How could you even think of dating at your age?” They’d—I know them. They’d make fun of me, and—why give them the chance? Gloria: I thought that it would—you know. Um. [Sighs.] I’m a part of your life, aren’t I? Arnold: You’re the most important part of my life. Gloria: Well, then I wanna feel that! And if you’re lying to your daughters, then I’m not! They’re grownups. Right?! Arnold: They’re not that grown up. I mean, physically they are, but I don’t know if it’s a generational thing, but they see me as their father. Not as a person. I’ve always been the one worrying about them. And they’ve never worried about me. Not at all. It’s a really lonely feeling.
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jesse
Do you believe Arnold when you’re saying those words?
john
Yeah! Absolutely. You have to believe him. I mean, you know, people who—they always believe what they say, I think. Yeah. I think they do. You know? That’s not to say I couldn’t have done it better. [Chuckles.] But yes, I don’t think people think—even people—I don’t think he’s a liar. I just think he can’t—he doesn’t have the fortitude or the confidence or the courage to sever a relationship and say, “Listen, this is what it is. You can’t call me here. You can’t do this. You know, and I’m gonna start doing things for myself.” He’s able to do a certain amount, but not—he can’t go the whole hog. And lots of people are stuck in dysfunctional relationships where the person doesn’t want the best for them, but they—I mean, love is such a ill-defined word. I mean, some people like to possess and control other people. And some people don’t know how to get out of that. So, yes, I do think he means what he says, or he’s trying to convince himself of what he says. But I don’t think people—even people who are really, you know, habitual liars, I think they probably can’t delineate, you know, when they are and when they aren’t. But I don’t think that that’s the case. I think he’s really trying, but he’s— And that was kind of the challenge of it, because I’m not really—I don’t really have that much in common with him that way. [Chuckles.] At all. I mean, I think in that scene, he talks about it, and he feels like an outsider, and he comes from a different world. And then, seeing their family all together makes him feel even more of an outsider, because his family doesn’t function. I think if you come from that kind of family, it’s hard to appreciate what other people have or don’t have.
jesse
[Chuckling.] I remember one of my most vivid memories of teenagedom, or a set of memories, is going to my wife’s family’s house. And she and I had been together since we were teenagers, and her family—to this day—love each other very much and get along very well. And I remember being terrified and trapped. Feeling trapped by the fact that they liked each other. [Laughs.]
john
That’s right! No, see, you’re hitting it right on the head. That’s what that scene is about. He’s you or me—especially men, I think, can be more that way. If you’re coming from a different background and feeling like, “Well, I don’t belong here, or they have this great relationship that we don’t have.” And I think he’s very young that way. Or not developed that way. You know? Because later on, you may find out maybe they don’t like each other as much. Or maybe that’s a great thing, and I could be part of that too. You know? But yes.
jesse
Do you have the run away instinct that he has? I got—I have it. [Chuckles.]
john
No. No, I—but I have felt like the outsider when I was younger, that I didn’t belong ‘cause I was with different cultures, and maybe people were more educated than me, and I was still trying to educate myself and make something of myself. You know? And you see people that have all these chances and opportunities and travel all over the world, and you haven’t traveled anywhere. You know? And now, you know, I feel I’ve been able to do all those things I wanted to do. You know? And I don’t have that anymore. But I remember feeling some of those feelings that you mentioned.
jesse
Even more to get into with John Turturro after the break. Stay with us! It’s Bullseye, from MaximumFun.org and NPR.
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jesse
It’s Bullseye. I’m Jesse Thorn. If you’re just joining us, we are listening back to my conversation with John Turturro. He’s an award-winning actor who starred in nine Spike Lee films, including Do the Right Thing, four Coen Brothers movies, among many, many more. When I talked with Turturro in 2019, he was starring alongside Julianne Moore in the romantic drama Gloria Bell. These days, he’s up for an Emmy for his role as Irving on the acclaimed TV drama Severance. Let’s get back into our conversation. Did you feel like an insider or an outsider when you were growing up? Like, as a kid.
john
I felt like a—you know, I grew up in a Black neighborhood. I moved to a Italian/Irish/Jewish neighborhood, and that was much harder for me than the first neighborhood I was in. So, I always felt a little bit like an outsider. Yes. I didn’t wanna go to Catholic school, ‘cause I didn’t feel comfortable. I think I was right [chuckles] about that. Then I got bussed out to an all-Black school, junior high school. In high school, there was a nice mix of people, and I felt a little bit more comfortable. But yes, I did. I felt like there was a bigger world. And I think my parents helped put that in my mind, because they weren’t closedminded.
jesse
Were there places in your life—as someone who grew up in a home that was sometimes violent and in a school environment that was sometimes violent—were there places where you had refuge?
john
Yes! I mean, listening to music. Playing sports. Dancing. You know, watching movies. I mean, I never knew anyone who had worked in the movies, but I can just tell you—you know, those were big, seminal experiences. Going to movies or watching, you know, Warner Brothers films on channel five or channel nine or Million Dollar Movie that used to be—I always call it the first VCR, ‘cause they’d show the same movie five nights in a row. And both my parents were movie lovers. And that was a way of emotional transportation. And I mean, I can—I tell you, putting music on in the basement, and you know, just all these fantasies I had and stuff. And I still do that when I write a script or work on the script or work on a role, put on music and—you know. And I love movement. And yeah. So, that was really refuge. You know. We never really traveled. So, I had to travel in a different way! [Chuckles.] You know? And now that I have traveled, it’s—and I travel quite a lot, it’s so interesting. ‘Cause sometimes I just go, “Wow!” I mean, I just was in Italy doing press and stuff, but I was like in Milan and looking at the Domo in Milan, and I was like, “This is unbelievable.” And sometimes it hits me. You know? All the places I’ve gone and books I’ve read and things I’ve experienced. And I used to dream about it. You know?
jesse
You’re one of the best parts of one of my favorite movies, Do the Right Thing, from— [John thanks him.] —1989. And I think it is one of the best portrayals of a neighborhood that there is. And the feeling of what a neighborhood is and what it can mean, especially in the city. [John agrees.] And it’s something that I relate to personally, like very deeply even though I’m from 3000 miles away from New York. And I imagine that you must have had a similar kind of understanding of the place you were from, and that might have been part of how you—you know, part of how you ended up in the movie.
john
Well, I ended up in the movie ‘cause Spike had seen me do this movie, Five Corners, and he really—that John Patrick Shanley wrote. And I did a lot of crazy things. And it was a great part. And he really liked it.
jesse
Yeah, I just watched it a scene in which you brought a girl two penguins from the zoo, and then killed them with a stick.
john
Right. Threw my mother out the window and all these things. So.
jesse
Whew! That was serious.
john
It’s a pretty—it’s like sort of a King Kong role. And so, when he sent me Do the Right Thing, I’d seen She’s Gotta Have It. But you know, I remember the cover; it was this black leather cover with gold writing, and it was made in this place called Studio Duplicating. ‘Cause he doesn’t type, and they would type his scripts up. I mean, he would hand them in handwritten. And I thought there was something about it that related to what was going on, how I grew up, and we have very—you know, we’re born like three weeks apart, same year. I grew up in a Black neighborhood. I only had Black friends, and then I moved to a White neighborhood, and I was not so welcomed at first. And he grew up in an Italian neighborhood. And so, you know, when he asked me about the movie, I said, “Listen, you know.” We were talking about it, and I said, “I’d really wanna play the racist guy.” Because I think that’s what the movie’s about, yet he’s a big fan of all these Black basketball players and comedians and these singers. And I thought that would be the more interesting part for me. And with his cinematographer, Earnest Dickerson, and Wynn Thomas, the designer, and Ruth Carter, who was the costume designer—you know, everyone—we all worked together, and the cast, for weeks. And it really was a—I knew it was about something that was real. And I wanted to make it as complex as possible. At the same time, I had to get over my shyness, at first. But once we got to know each other, I was able to share things with him, and our relationship was really like cemented—or our friendship was cemented, because I wasn’t really afraid to do that in a way that I thought was fair. It’s really been a very meaningful relationship in my life. I mean, he’s someone I deeply care about. And you know, I remember when the movie was about to come out. You know, some critics saying there were gonna be riots and there was gonna be violence in the theaters and stuff. And they never retracted that. And I was a little worried, ‘cause I thought, “Well, I could be the victim of that, because I play this guy.” And I’ve never had a negative comment from the Black community. I’ve only had—been, you know, positive reaction from it. And I was a little worried, because there was one girl on set who had never seen a movie before, and she really believed I was the guy, and she really didn’t like me. She told me in no uncertain words that she—after seeing the footage projected over and over again—that she hated me. [Chuckling.] And I told Spike. I said, “Would you please talk to her and tell her that I’m—you know, playing a character.” And he laughed and laughed. But that really cemented our relationship. And then, I got to do the other side of that equation when I did Jungle Fever with him, which had a lot of my own personal life involved. I put in, you know—contributed, you know, into the script with him. And I’ve made a lot of wonderful friendships out of that. So, that’s a real privilege to do something like that. And I think a lot of people didn’t realize the knapsack that he was carrying on his back. You know, ‘cause he likes to stir up the conversation and stuff. But he’s a really—he’s a really good person, and I really love him.
jesse
I wanna play a scene with you and Spike Lee from Do the Right Thing. And your character was named Pino, and he’s the son of a guy who owns a Pizzeria in the neighborhood. And Pino is pretty explicitly, vocally racist. And this is a mostly Black neighborhood. And Spike Lee plays Mookie, who’s the pizza delivery guy. And he’s also kind of a catalyst for a lot of the story in the neighborhood. He’s—you know, because of his job and also because of the fact that he’s a Spike Lee character played by Spike Lee, who—you know—talks and moves and engages with everybody like Spike Lee. [Chuckles.] He’s—you know, he’s like the connective tissue of the neighborhood.
john
Yeah. He’s the delivery boy [laughs], so to speak.
jesse
And so, in this scene, Pino—my guest, John Turturro—and Mookie, who’s played by Spike Lee are talking in the restaurant together.
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Music: Soft guitar. Pino: You know, I’ve been listening. And reading. Mookie: You’ve been reading now? Pino: I read. I’ve been reading about your leaders. Reverend Al, Mr. Do, Sharpton, Jesse. Keep hope aliiive. Mookie: [Censored], stop. Pino: Keep hope aliiive. Mookie: Hey, that’s [censored]. That’s don’t talk about Jesse. Pino: And then there even was the other guy—what’s his name? Farramin, Farrakin— Mookie: Minister Farrakhan. Pino: Right, sorry, Minister Farrakhan. Anyway, Minister Farrakhan always talks about the so-called day when the Black man will rise. “We will one day—” What does he say? “We will one day rule the earth as we did in our glorious past?” Mookie: Yeah, that’s right. Pino: What past you talking about? I mean, what did I miss? Mookie: We started civilization. Pino: Keep dreaming, man. Then you woke up! Mookie: Pino, [censored] you. [Censored] your [censored] pizza, and [censored] Frank Sinatra. Pino: Yeah.
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jesse
[They laugh.] That “yeah”. That’s an amazing “yeah” that you give him.
john
Well, you know, I think that knowledge is the only power of resistance you have to ignorance, to absolutism, to totalitarianism, you know fascism, whatever you wanna say. Knowledge is everything. And being able to know people individually and say, “Okay, well, this person’s all from the same group, but I like this person. This person bores me. And this person, I’m afraid of.” You know? So, you need experience, and you need knowledge. You know, whether that’s reading—but I think you do also need interaction. You know, with that. And I think we’re seeing in the world sort of this anti-intellectual movement. You know? And—you know, where people give you the answers and blame others, and everything becomes black and white and not grey. And I think that, you know, we’re surrounded by ignorance. And you know, once you peel away certain human layers, and you scratch at the scab of humanity, you see all this you would say primitive—you know—and horrible behavior, which we’ve seen throughout history. And that’s why, when you read a writer—say like Primo Levi—he talks about, you know, the truce between these wars and things that happen. And people have to be constantly civilized or tenderized in some ways. And I think, you know, storytelling can be helpful, but there’s a lot of things that can be helpful. And certainly, education is a big thing. And not being so—I mean, when it was forced integration, that doesn’t always work. But you really need interaction with other people to get to know them. And it’s essential. And I think we’re seeing something in the world that is around us right now, and it certainly doesn’t feel comfortable to me but I—you know, reminds me of like when you have a demagogue—you know, the first people that are attacked are intellectuals. You know? That’s when books are burned. And so, this little microcosm of a scene—you know, deals with, you know, ignorance on a very street level. You know what I mean? But that’s something that really interests me, and I’ve tried to do different projects that deal with these things. Because I think they are the major things. Yeah.
jesse
We’ll finish up with John Turturro after a quick break. Still to come, the Jesus! We’ll talk about his iconic role in The Big Lebowski. It’s Bullseye, from MaximumFun.org and NPR.
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Music: Three bouncy beats. Graham Clark: Hi! My name's Graham Clark, and I'm one half of the podcast Stop Podcasting Yourself, a show that we've recorded for many, many years. And, uh, at the moment, instead of being in person, we're recording remotely. And, uh, you wouldn't even notice. You don't even notice the lag. [Long pause.] Dave Shumka: That's right, Graham! And, uh, the great thing about this— Graham: Uh— Dave: Go ahead. Graham: No, you go ahead. Dave: Okay, and— Graham: Okay, go ahead. [Someone stifles laughter.] Dave: And you can listen to us, uh, every week on MaximumFun.org. Graham: Or wherever you get your podcasts. Dave: Your podcasts. Music: Three bouncy beats.
jesse
It’s Bullseye. I’m Jesse Thorn. My guest is the Emmy award winning actor, John Turturro: star of Do the Right Thing, The Big Lebowski, and now, Severance. When my youngest brother, Brendan, was about four years old I think, my father and stepmother had bought The Big Lebowski on VHS for, you know, when at Blockbuster you could buy it after it was a new release. They would—you know, you could buy it for $8.99. [John confirms several times.] And they watched it a lot. It was on a short list of movies they watched. It was like that, and I remember The Commitments and Bram Stoker’s Dracula were the other ones they watched a lot of. And—all great movies. And my father and stepmother taught my brother to say, “Nobody forks with the Jesus.” Or at least, they claimed that they had taught him “forks”. [John laughs and affirms.] Because, you know, he went to preschool and everything. He couldn’t just go around swearing at the preschool. I think my father and stepmother might have been okay with that, actually, but [laughing] not at the preschool. They had some shame. When you got the part in that film, you had already worked with—
john
I didn’t get the part. I—basically I’d done two other movies with them, Miller’s Crossing and Barton Fink. And I knew Fran McDormand from Yale Drama School. And they had seen me do a play that I played a character at The Public—that was—that inspired that character. And they said, “Ooh,” you know. They were really—Joel was very taken by it. And so, they kept telling me about it. When I read it, I said, “Well, I got nothing to do. I only have a couple little scenes.” You know? I didn’t have to play the lead, and anyway, I basically—I was very thin, ‘cause I had done the film The Truce, where I played Primo Levi. And I was—yeah, it was a few months after that. But I thought, you know, let me try to do something. It’s a very small thing. So, I came up with a few interesting physical things. ‘Cause once I saw the costume—and they’re my friends. And I’d worked in big roles with them already. And so, I wanted to surprise them a little bit. And you know, I didn’t know that the movie would become what it became, because when it came out it came, and it went. You know? And I remember seeing the first cut of my introduction. And I was really embarrassed that they put all these things that I kind of did on purpose—even though they shot it to kind of make them laugh. And—you know, like eight-year-olds would do. [Jesse laughs.] But now, I really appreciate the movie. And I was saying to people—I said, you know, so many people just completely missed it. You know. Certainly, the critics missed it. You know? But you know, it’s kind of like a philosophy, that film. It’s a philosophical comedy.
jesse
I worked with a dude underneath the city hall—the Civic Center Plaza, in San Francisco. I was a—I worked for the Department of Elections. And he told me—I was just out of college, and he was probably 29. And we were the only guys who were allowed to talk. We would carry around these pallets of votes to be counted. [John laughs.] And he said to me, you know, “Me and my girlfriend—” He heard that I liked The Big Lebowski and he said, you know, “Me and my girlfriend, we quit going to church.” I’m like, “Oh, okay. That’s fine. You know. Whatever.” And he says, “Yeah, every Sunday morning we wake up, get high, and watch The Big Lebowski.”
john
Well, you know, this is a strange—it’s a phenomenon. You know? You talk about like all these films that a lot of money or win all these awards, and The Big Lebowski didn’t do any of that. It did very well in, I think, England. And I know we did very well in Italy. But it just goes to show you, you know, when something has resonance, you know. It was years later when I saw it with young people. And I was like—ten years later, and I was like, “Wow! Everyone knows the lines! This is much funnier than I even thought it was.” [Jesse laughs.] You know, I always thought Jeff was superb and just—you know, they’ve used elements of his own personality and he’s just such a beautiful actor. And it’s just—and John is great in it. But you know, Jeff captures something that I think people—you know, people don’t wanna grow up. You know? There’s a part of people that they really admire someone who’s unambitious. You know? [Chuckles.] Dresses in their bathrobe and—I don’t know, but he just—it just hit the zeitgeist. And it’s very hard for comedies to sustain itself. It usually runs out of steam. And even some of their comedies, they’ve tried, and it hasn’t been as successful as that. But something about it that is just consistently surprising. You know? And human, I think! And maybe ‘cause it’s based on some of their friends. You know? And that’s the truth. But it’s a philosophical outlook. Yeah. [Chuckles.]
jesse
Let’s hear my guest, John Turturro, as the Jesus from The Big Lebowski.
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Music: “Hotel California” by The Eagles plays in the background. The Jesus: I see you rolled your way into the semis! Dios mio, man! Liam and me, we’re gonna [censored] you up. Jeff: Yeah, well, you know, that’s just like your opinion, man. The Jesus: Let me tell you something, pendejo. You pull any of your crazy [censored] with us—you flash your piece out on the lanes, I’ll take it away from you and stick it up your [censored] and pull the [censored] trigger ‘til it goes “click”. Jeff: Jesus. [Jesse laughs over the audio.] The Jesus: You said it, man. Nobody [censored] with the Jesus.
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john
[Jesse struggles to stop laughing.] That’s it, man! You know?
jesse
[Laughing.] Such a great reaction take from Jeff Bridges.
john
“Jesus, man.” [Jesse giggles.] “Well, that’s just like—you know, your opinion, man.” This is my younger son. He says this to me all the time. He quotes The Lebowski. You know? [Chuckles.] This really helps parenting. You know? Oh my god.
jesse
Did you choreograph that yourself? I mean, like maybe choreograph is too strong a word. But—
john
Yeeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m the choreographer. Come on, are you kidding? I’m like Jerome Robbins. [Jesse chortles.] You know? I mean, this—amazing. I choreograph all my numbers!
jesse
You’re known as the Tommy Tune of your generation!
john
Yeah! I mean, people—because the reason why I don’t wanna have choreographers and stuff, I think that movement—first of all, I’ve done a lot of dancing. But you wanna have unconscious movement, because it reveals. Movement reveals. And I don’t wanna have someone telling me how to move. You know? I mean, if there’s a certain dance from the ’40s, I’ll learn it. But then I try to add the character stuff to it. But that’s all my stuff. So. Yeah.
jesse
A few years ago—
john
I’m sort of like Ann-Margret. You know. Ann-Margret is a big inspiration. I’m not saying this lightly. She is. And yeah. So, yeah. Think of me as the female Ann-Margret. Yeah.
jesse
Well, John, I could talk to you about your many roles for another three hours, if we had the time. But we’re out of time. So. [John affirms.] I’m very, very grateful that you took this time to come be on Bullseye.
john
Well, thank you! It was a really fun and stimulating and wide-ranging conversation. So, that’s a pleasure to have. So, thank you for having me, and I wish you well. And thanks for having me on your show.
jesse
John Turturro from 2019. If you haven’t seen him in Severance, the role that has earned him an Emmy nomination, you should see him in Severance. He is fantastic in it. Everyone in it is great. Go watch that!
music
Brassy music with a steady beat.
jesse
That’s the end of another episode of Bullseye. Bullseye is created from the homes me and the staff of Maximum Fun, in and around greater Los Angeles, California. This week at my house, I somehow ended up with more garbage bags than would fit in my garbage can. But don’t worry! My neighbor, Rubén, said that I could put some in his. Our show is produced by speaking into microphones. Our senior producer is Kevin Ferguson. Our producers are Jesus Ambrosio and Richard Robey. Our production fellow at Maximum Fun is Tabatha Myers. We get booking help from Mara Davis. Our interstitial music is by Dan Wally, also known as DJW. Our theme music is by The Go! Team. It’s called “Huddle Formation”. Thanks to The Go! Team for sharing it with us, along with their label, Memphis Industries. Bullseye is also on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. You can find us there and give us a follow. We’ll share with you all of our interviews. And I think that’s about it. Just remember: all great radio hosts have a signature signoff.
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Speaker: Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR. [Music fades out.]
About the show
Bullseye is a celebration of the best of arts and culture in public radio form. Host Jesse Thorn sifts the wheat from the chaff to bring you in-depth interviews with the most revered and revolutionary minds in our culture.
Bullseye has been featured in Time, The New York Times, GQ and McSweeney’s, which called it “the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world.” Since April 2013, the show has been distributed by NPR.
If you would like to pitch a guest for Bullseye, please CLICK HERE. You can also follow Bullseye on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. For more about Bullseye and to see a list of stations that carry it, please click here.
Get in touch with the show
@bullseye.bsky.social
@bullseyewithjessethornPeople
How to listen
Stream or download episodes directly from our website, or listen via your favorite podcatcher!
