Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist

Kristen Bell returns to the big screen as the voice of Anna in Frozen 2, the highly-anticipated sequel to the original Frozen movie which became a billion-dollar sensation six years ago. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Bell to talk about reprising that role, the final season of her hit show The Good Place and her marriage to fellow actor Dax Shepard. (Original broadcast date: November 24, 2019)

Octavia Spencer's rise to fame may seem like overnight success, but she actually worked for over 15 years in Hollywood before her breakout, Oscar-winning performance in The Help. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the actress about her journey from Production Assistant to three-time Academy Award nominee, and her latest leading role in the Netflix series Self Made about the life of Madam C.J. Walker, America’s first female self-made millionaire. 

Sterling K. Brown is best known for his role as Randall Pearson, the adopted son and adoring father on the hit NBC show “This Is Us.” In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the actor about the huge success of that show, the 13-year grind before landing that breakout role and his emotional connection to his new movie, “Waves.” (Original broadcast date: November 17, 2019)

It’s been 25 years since Shania Twain burst onto the scene with her hit album “The Woman in Me,” followed by the even more popular “Come on Over,” which set records for a female artist and established Twain as one of the iconic musicians of her generation. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the country star about her incredible journey from poverty to the top of the music world, including her latest residency in Las Vegas. 

Luke Combs has had a meteoric rise to the top of the music world with two #1 albums, seven consecutive #1 singles, a Grammy nomination for "Best New Artist” and a recent induction into the Grand Ole Opry. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist chats with the country star about that impressive journey from learning how to play guitar at 21 to the top of the music charts.  

As a bonus for Sunday Sitdown listeners, we’re sharing a special preview of Byers Market, a new podcast hosted by NBC News Senior Media Reporter Dylan Byers that takes listeners behind the scenes of the rapidly changing world of technology and media.In the first episode, Byers sits down one-on-one with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg for her first interview since the release of “Facebook: The Inside Story”, the explosive new book by tech writer Steven Levy, who had unfettered access to Facebook’s headquarters for three years.Subscribe to Byers Market now: https://link.chtbl.com/VTWIjARN

The name Al Pacino calls to mind some of the most memorable performances in the history of film, from The Godfather and Scarface to Scent of a Woman and Heat. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with the Hollywood icon to talk about his legendary career, including his Oscar-nominated performance in The Irishman and his new Amazon series Hunters. Plus Willie takes Al for a cruise around Beverly Hills in a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado. 

Since leaving Saturday Night Live as a writer in 2012, John Mulaney has become one of the most popular stand-up comedians in America. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the Emmy winner about his time at SNL and his run of hit Netflix specials, including his latest, John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch. 

Ewan McGregor’s rise to stardom started in the small Scottish town of Crieff, where he was just a teenager when he dropped out of school to chase his dream of becoming an actor. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the Hollywood star about that journey, from starring in films like Trainspotting, Moulin Rouge, and Star Wars, to his latest role as the villain in the highly-anticipated new superhero movie Birds of Prey.  

It was only 8 years ago at the Sundance Film Festival that Ava DuVernay finally decided to become a full-time filmmaker. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the director and producer about that big career shift and establishing herself as a groundbreaking force in Hollywood with Oscar-nominated films like Selma and 13th.

Actor and comedian Josh Gad may be known best as the voice of Olaf the snowman in the two biggest animated movies in the history of Hollywood: Frozen and Frozen 2. But Gad originally rose to fame on Broadway, earning a Tony nomination for his role in the hit musical “The Book of Mormon.” In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Gad at his favorite bar in the theater district to talk about his journey from that show to his latest project, an HBO series called Avenue 5 set in outer space.  

Aidy Bryant grew up in Arizona watching women like Molly Shannon, Cheri Oteri and Ana Gasteyer on Saturday Night Live. Today, she is a member of that exclusive comedy club herself. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the actress and comedian about her eight season run on SNL, as well as her latest role as executive producer, writer and star of the acclaimed Hulu series Shrill.

Ed Harris burst onto the Hollywood scene in the 1983 movie The Right Stuff, and since then he’s earned four Academy Award nominations and won two Golden Globes in a prolific 40-year career full of memorable roles. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the actor about that lengthy career, which includes playing The Man in Black in HBO’s hit series Westworld and his latest role as Atticus Finch in the Broadway adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird.

Actor, rapper and comedian Awkwafina, whose given name is Nora Lum, has been on quite a ride recently with big roles in box office hits “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Ocean’s 8.” In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the rising star about that whirlwind ride as well as her more dramatic performance in the film “The Farewell," for which she is nominated for a Golden Globe. (Original broadcast date: July 14, 2019)

When you hear the name John Lithgow, you may call to mind a number of different movies, TV series or plays, including “The Changing Room,” “Terms of Endearment,” and “Third Rock from the Sun.” In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the Emmy and Tony award-winning actor about that prolific career on both stage and screen, and his latest transformation into former “Fox News” chief Roger Ailes for the highly-anticipated new movie “Bombshell.” 

Jennifer Hudson’s big, unmistakable voice has carried her from the pews of a church in Chicago to stardom on “American Idol,” then to an Oscar and a pair of Grammy Awards. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the singer and actress about that journey from reality show to Academy Award, her role in the highly-anticipated new “Cats” movie, and how she moved forward after unthinkable tragedy in her life. 

Just over two years ago, actor, writer, and producer Lena Waithe made Hollywood history when she stood on stage with an Emmy award in her hand, and she’s been on a roll ever since. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to Laithe about how that Emmy changed her life, and her new movie “Queen and Slim” that has people talking. 

Robert Pattinson rocketed to fame in the movie “Twilight” and the four sequels that followed, earning an army of devoted fans and a constant pack of paparazzi prying into his personal life. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the actor about being thrust into that spotlight, the awards season buzz around his new film “The Lighthouse,” and how he’s preparing to take on the iconic role of Batman. 

Kristen Bell returns to the big screen this weekend as the voice of Anna in “Frozen 2,” the highly-anticipated sequel to the original “Frozen” movie which became a billion-dollar sensation six years ago. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Bell to talk about reprising that role, the final season of her hit show “The Good Place” and her marriage to fellow actor Dax Shepard.

Sterling K. Brown is best known for his role as Randall Pearson, the adopted son and adoring father on the hit NBC show “This Is Us.” In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist talks to the actor about the huge success of that show, the 13-year grind before landing that breakout role and his emotional connection to his new movie, “Waves.”