In a change of pace from his often-out there subjects, celebrities are the focus of Louis Theroux Interviews… – streaming on Neon. But as Steve Newall observes, Theroux’s interviewing skills remain undiminished – even when the subjects are less controversial.
Since before the turn of the millennium, Louis Theroux has been honing his craft as a journalist and interviewer. He displays all the hallmarks of an outsider when exploring subcultures, as became a bit of a trademark from the get-go with Weird Weekends (1998-2000), which saw him investigate the quirky likes of swingers, porn performers and UFO believers alongside the… less harmless (survivalists and white nationalists).
The bespectacled 188cm Theroux quickly evidenced an empathy, curiosity and patience that set him aside from other journalistic voyeurs. No matter the subject, you see him try to understand them, even as his polite, seemingly square presence disarms them. In doing so, Theroux’s a great stand-in for ourselves, the audience—if we too were blessed with his knack for perfectly timed, gently probing questions that elicit surprising honesty, or seldom expressed emotion, from his subjects.
Theroux has sporadically applied his interview techniques to public figures—politicians, Jimmy Saville etc—and the results have confirmed his knack for disarming an interview subject. But he hasn’t done a ton of celebrity interviews, which makes Louis Theroux Interviews… an interesting choice after recent focuses on America’s far right, the Westboro Baptist Church, gangs etc. Each episode of this new six-part series sees Theroux spend time with a celebrity well-known in the UK.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that interviews with rapper Stormzy, acting great Dame Judi Dench, or outdoors celebrity Bear Grylls are a bit on the lighter side of Theroux’s usual fare (episodes are also dedicated to pop star Rita Ora, comedian Katherine Ryan and English singer YUNGBLUD). But, rather than resting on his laurels, Theroux displays the same skill-set and motivations we’ve seen in his previous work—genuinely trying to understand with his subjects, to connect, and to encourage them to a place of revealing honesty.
This might make Louis Theroux the only thing that Dame Judi Dench and Tiger King’s Joe Exotic have in common. At least, I think/hope so…
The first episode of Louis Theroux Interviews… sees chart-topper Stormzy welcome Theroux into his home, in what we’re told is the rapper’s first interview in two years. Which itself goes some way to answering a question I’d been mulling over about everyone in this series—why would someone in the public eye sit for an interview with Louis?
For Stormzy, it would seem that the conversation with Theroux is an opportunity to display honesty, especially with so much of it dedicated to his emotional growth since a very public relationship meltdown, and the lead-up to the release of Stormzy’s album This Is What I Mean. With Theroux, perhaps, he considers himself in the best place to discuss vulnerable topics—and the two certainly do dive into plenty of chat about masculinity and Stormzy’s difficult upbringing.
There’s still room for Theroux to offer dating advice though: “Why don’t you just work Tinder and just have a night in…” he suggests. “Get Deliveroo and just watch Netflix or iPlayer or whatever?” Yeah, that’s not happening…
Elsewhere Theroux gets onstage (pre-show) at the venue for Stormzy’s 16,000 capacity arena show, doing his best to replicate trademark moves, and later poses some constructive questions about the rapper’s more soulful upcoming material. “Obviously you do brilliant ‘smash your face’-type lyrics as well, and that’s what many of your fans probably like best about what you do,” Theroux says “Do you ever worry they’re going to listen to this and go ‘where’s the ‘smash your face in’ track?”
Even while this sounds slightly comical in Louis’ cadence, it is a fair question—and it’s considered by Stormzy for a approximately a microsecond before he tells his interviewer “If I had a list of worries, it wouldn’t even be on there.”
As Theroux joins the now-88-year-old Dench in her rural Surrey home, and out at lunch with her family, there’s no risk of him leaning on her for more ‘smash your face’ raps. But the relationship and conversational revelations come through in a different way. As the two spar—and kinda flirt—there are moments of deep personal reflection which stop Dench in her tracks.
That’s understandable, when looking back on on her marriage to Michael Williams, who passed away in 2001 after they’d spent three decades as husband and wife. The pain’s still there, evidently, as we see Dench and Theroux share time in the house where the couple made their home, particularly as they revisit the Clover butter ads the couple made together (and apparently paid for said house). Other topics are revealing, if not so emotionally devastating to Dench—discussing the macular degeneration that has robbed her of the ability to read and write; her deep love of the theatre; her affection for animals.
“I’ve had a lot of pets,” Dench tells Theroux. “We had 17 cats during the war.” Knowing full well he’s being a shit, Theroux can’t help himself: “During which war?” Acting aggrieved, Dench loves it: “Well the second world war Louis… Out!”
Their sparring will continue during discussion of Vin Diesel sci-fi pic The Chronicles of Riddick, which comes after Dench confesses she hasn’t seen many of her own films because she’d “be irritated”. Her family sends her up about Chronicles of Riddick something rotten, Dench tells him, trying to shut Theroux down by saying she can’t recollect making it or seeing it. “We don’t need to talk very long about Chronicles of Riddick” Theroux says undeterred, slyly continuing “I don’t know much about it, but it seems to be set in the future…”
“You can’t resist, can you…” Dench correctly observes. (Nor can Theroux resist bringing up 2019 travesty Cats, sadly too late, once the interview proper has concluded).
From city suburb to countryside to remote island, Theroux’s next destination is the tiny 20-acre isle near the coast of North Wales that Bear Grylls calls home. The dichotomy between the pair’s lifestyles and physiques provides humour reminiscent of Theroux’s travels through subcultures, as Theroux soaks up what Grylls’ life there looks like, and… grills him on his diet.
“One word—lentils,” Theroux prompts, after hearing that Grylls doesn’t eat a lot of veges. “Terrible… terrible for you” the outdoorsy TV personality replies. As far as eliciting a confession from Grylls goes, what follows is perhaps as good (and definitely as entertaining to hear) as it gets. “I used to break wind all the time,” Grylls says. “I haven’t broken wind for years now”. Theroux observes this sounds like Grylls is saying breaking wind is a bad thing. “I don’t think that breaking wind is a great thing, no,” says the man who drank his own piss on TV. “I think it’s a sign your gut’s not very happy. If you’re farting all day, it’s not a happy sign for your gut.”
From flatulence, the conversation turns to faith and family, which is all very pleasant—if very much on brand for Bear. But when the chat moves to career and commerce, the Grylls patter leaves him exposed to his interviewer. After admitting earning money was a motivator early in his TV career, Grylls rolls out a bunch of tired cliches about doing what you love, and then maybe success, fame and wealth might follow. Or not. “It doesn’t matter,” he says. “Those things are the dressing.”
Alongside Theroux’s empathy, preparation, and knack for making people underestimate him is a keen sense of knowing when to strike, and the conviction to do it, which are employed here. “I don’t know if people are ready to hear that from multi-millionaire Bear Grylls,” he tells multi-millionaire Bear Grylls to his face. “It sounds a little bit hollow with a global mega-brand.”
It’s not a slam-dunk, storm-out moment, but it propels their encounter beyond the typical terrain of a celeb interview. And it’s another example to join those above in showing that Theroux brings a lot more to the table than puff-piece chat.
With Katherine Ryan, Theroux learns a lot about comedy and fame and further explores her well-documented personal life (Hooters waitress, single mother, toxic relationship). But where Ryan wields anecdotes or language with perhaps an intent to shock, it doesn’t work with Theroux. He can say ‘blow-job’ back to you without blinking an eye—and he can thoughtfully participate in tricky conversations about predatory males and differing views of feminism, too.
He can—almost—pull a pint as well, as we see in Rita Ora’s dad’s pub. And, in the pop star’s episode of Louis Theroux Interviews…, it’s someone from Aotearoa who says what we’ve all been thinking all these years. Theroux has followed Ora on set for a music video shoot, and for a few minutes Ora’s partner Taika Waititi finds himself in Louis’ crosshairs (not that he seems to mind).
“We’ve been bro’ing down out there,” Theroux explains as the pair join Ora in her dressing room, “mainly talking about your romance—how you got together.”
“I couldn’t help it,” Waititi says. “It’s him. This is his power.” It’s true—Louis Theroux Interviews… might not be so confrontational or out there as his previous work, but even in these comfier, more media-savvy settings there’s no kryptonite to shut him down.
