Curated playlist

Audiobook narrators

Rob PaulsenRob Paulsen was the voice in the first Got Milk? radio spot in 1993. The joke had a man's mouth full of peanut butter.
Michael JacksonMichael Jackson bought a music catalog with most of the Beatles's material in 1985. He paid 47.5 million dollars.
Jude LawJude Law dropped out of school at 17 to become an actor. It led to an Oscar nomination for The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Woody AllenWoody Allen failed a film production course at New York University, then went on to direct Annie Hall.
Orson WellesOrson Welles burned ten reels of his own Don Quixote film. He felt the 1969 Moon landings made its ending obsolete.
Keira KnightleyKeira Knightley stood on a plank for two days and refused a stunt double.
Anne HathawayAnne Hathaway is an American actress whose films have grossed over $6.8 billion worldwide. In 2015 she ranked among the highest-paid actresses in the world. Yet that same year she said, "I always assume that every film is my last, and I…
Ian McKellenIan McKellen came out as gay on BBC radio in 1988, while Parliament weighed Section 28.
Meryl StreepDino De Laurentiis insulted Meryl Streep in Italian, not knowing she spoke it. She answered him in Italian too.
Nicole KidmanNicole Kidman was born on the 20th of June 1967 in Honolulu, Hawaii, and was given the Hawaiian name Hōkūlani, which means heavenly star. The inspiration for the name was a baby elephant born around the same time at the Honolulu Zoo. Since…
Kate WinsletKate Winslet pleaded for the part of Rose in James Cameron's Titanic while he still preferred Claire Danes and Gwyneth Paltrow. She told the director that she was Rose, and she could not see why he was seeing anyone else. The plea worked.…
Michael CaineMichael Caine took his stage name from a cinema sign he saw while phoning from a Leicester Square telephone box.
Josh O'ConnorJosh O'Connor is an English actor, born on the 20th of May 1990, who once delivered more than 150 lambs while preparing for a single film role. He was not chasing a stunt. He was learning how a Yorkshire sheep farmer works, moves and…
John GielgudJohn Gielgud was arrested months after being knighted. Backstage in Liverpool, he feared he could not face an audience.
Stephen ColbertAt a 2006 dinner, Stephen Colbert roasted President Bush to a cold room. His show's ratings jumped 37% the next week.
Roald DahlRoald Dahl was blinded for six weeks after crashing his fighter plane in the desert in 1940.
Rachel WeiszRachel Weisz first made headlines in 1984 by saying no. She was a teenage model who had started working at the age of 14, and she turned down an offer to star in King David opposite Richard Gere. The British actress, born on the 7th of…
Kirsten DunstKirsten Dunst was ten years old when she shared a screen kiss with Brad Pitt, an actor two decades her senior, and her verdict was blunt. "I thought it was gross, that Brad had cooties. I mean, I was 10," she recalled. Dunst, an American…
Mel BrooksMel Brooks was 14 years old when he climbed onto a diving board at the Butler Lodge, a second-rate hotel in the Borscht Belt. He worked there as a pool-side tummler, an entertainer hired to keep the guests amused. On this day he wore a…
Gwyneth PaltrowGwyneth Paltrow won the lead in Emma with a perfect Texas accent. The director said it sold him.
Emma ThompsonEmma Thompson is the only person to win Oscars for both acting and screenwriting.
Olivia ColmanOlivia Colman was born Sarah Caroline Colman, and she had to give up that first name before her career properly began. The actors' union Equity already had a Sarah Colman on its books, so the newcomer needed another. She took the name of a…
Neil GaimanNeil Gaiman is the first author to win both the Carnegie Medal and the Newbery Medal for the same book.
Rachel McAdamsFor the March 2006 Hollywood issue of Vanity Fair, the Canadian actress Rachel McAdams was invited to share a cover with Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley. She arrived at the photo set and discovered that the session was a nude one.…
Orlando BloomOrlando Bloom was named after Orlando Gibbons, an English composer of the 16th century. He was born in Canterbury, Kent, on the 13th of January 1977. Nothing about that start pointed toward a screen career. Some consider him the Errol…
Sacha Baron CohenSacha Baron Cohen spilled flour on Ryan Seacrest at the Oscars. He claimed it was Kim Jong-il's ashes.
Audrey HepburnAudrey Hepburn gave underground concerts to raise money for the Dutch resistance. She was a teenager in occupied Arnhem.
Benedict CumberbatchA play titled Benedict Cumberbatch Must Die was meant as a love letter to his fans.
Kenneth BranaghKenneth Branagh won an Oscar for a film about the Belfast he fled at age nine. He won Best Original Screenplay in 2022.
Jane FondaJane Fonda sat on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun during a 1972 visit to Hanoi, and a photograph of that moment outraged a large number of Americans. It earned her a nickname that has followed her for decades: Hanoi Jane. For many…
Mark RuffaloMark Ruffalo has been nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which ties a record. Each nomination came for a different kind of man. Ruffalo is an American actor and producer, and the road to that record was…
Judi DenchJudi Dench won an Oscar for a role that lasted about eight minutes. She played Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love.
Hayden PanettiereHayden Panettiere was eleven months old when she first appeared on screen, in a 1990 advertisement for a Playskool toy train. That commercial was the start of a working life that now spans several decades. How does an infant in commercials…
Jennifer ConnellyJennifer Connelly was eleven years old when she walked into an audition for the director Sergio Leone and tried to pass as a ballerina. She had never taken a ballet lesson. She simply imitated what she imagined a dancer would do. Leone was…
Paul NewmanAt the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona, Paul Newman was 70 years and eight days old, and his team won its class. That made him the oldest driver to date on a winning team in a major sanctioned race. Newman was best known as a film star, and he…
Daniel CraigIn 2021, the English actor Daniel Craig was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It sits at 7007 Hollywood Boulevard, an address that winks at the code number 007. Two days later his final film as that famous spy opened in the…
Dolly PartonDolly Parton refused to give Elvis Presley half the publishing rights to "I Will Always Love You."
Jonathan PryceA drama school tutor said Jonathan Pryce would only play villains on Z-Cars. He was knighted in 2021.
Carrie FisherCarrie Fisher once asked to be reported as drowned in moonlight, strangled by her own bra.
Ewan McGregorEwan McGregor rode motorcycles 22,345 miles from London to New York City in 2004.
Ron HowardRon Howard, age five, had to cry while holding a toy turtle. Andy Griffith coached him through it in 1960.
Anthony DanielsAnthony Daniels walked out of 2001: A Space Odyssey after ten minutes. He later became C-3PO in Star Wars.
Ralph FiennesRalph Fiennes has played a Nazi camp commandant, a dark wizard, a British spymaster and a flirtatious hotel concierge, and audiences have believed every one of them. Born in 1962, the English actor and director carries the full name Ralph…
Catherine Zeta-JonesCatherine Zeta-Jones once said that with one hour of television, her life completely changed and she could not go anywhere. She is a Welsh actress, born in Swansea on the 25th of September 1969. The Zeta in her name is pronounced ZEE-tuh.…
Rosamund PikeRosamund Pike, the English actress and producer, was turned down by every stage school she applied to. She went on to win a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress. Between those two points lies a career built on women who are hard to…
Liam NeesonLiam Neeson, born William John Neeson, first saw great acting in a church he had no business being in. Ian Paisley, founder of the Democratic Unionist Party, led the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, and the young Neeson sneaked into it.…
Taron EgertonTaron Egerton learned to play the piano for his role as Elton John in the 2019 film Rocketman. He also sang live in every take, rather than miming to a recording. That is a demanding brief for any actor. Egerton, a Welsh performer born in…
Dave GrohlDave Grohl, born David Eric Grohl on the 14th of January 1969, once sat at number one on the modern rock charts for 17 of 18 consecutive weeks. The run stretched from the 26th of October 2002 to the 1st of March 2003. He managed it as a…
Bryan CranstonIn 1968, a 12-year-old Bryan Cranston was riding horses with his cousin at Spahn Ranch when he met Charles Manson. About a year later, Manson ordered the Tate-LaBianca murders. Cranston grew up to become an American actor and filmmaker…
Jon HammJon Hamm was once judged too handsome for the role that made him famous. Alan Taylor and Matthew Weiner, the creator of Mad Men, first thought exactly that when they considered the American actor from St. Louis, Missouri. The part was Don…