Gen X Icons Keanu Reeves & Alex Winter in 'Waiting for Godot'

Summary

Podcast Summary:

Podcast: All Of It (WNYC)
Episode: Gen X Icons Keanu Reeves & Alex Winter in 'Waiting for Godot'
Date: December 9, 2025
Host: Alison Stewart
Guests: Keanu Reeves & Alex Winter

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Overview

This episode is a thoughtful and engaging conversation between host Alison Stewart and actors Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, centering on their Broadway collaboration in Samuel Beckett’s "Waiting for Godot," directed by Jamie Lloyd. The discussion delves into their research process, insights into Beckett’s play, their long-standing friendship, and the physical and emotional demands of bringing an iconic absurdist text to life for a new era—and new audiences.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Preparing for Beckett: Research and Exploration

• Deep Dive into Beckett's Archives

  • Both Reeves and Winter visited Beckett's archives, meeting with biographer Jim Nolson and examining letters, annotations, and different productions.
  • Alex Winter explains:
    "We were looking for essences of the play in Beckett's life...just digging into the grand tradition of the play being put on." (01:51)
  • Keanu refers to their approach as "forensics and creative archaeology" (03:09), emphasizing their methodical, almost detective-like preparation.

• Connecting Biography and Drama

  • The actors traced the play’s roots to Beckett’s experience during WWII:
    "The characters are rooted in Beckett's own biography, his escape from the Nazis...living rough across the French countryside..." — Alex Winter (01:55)

• Lessons from Research

  • Keanu recalls advice:
    "Don't forget it's a comedy, okay? And don't forget the violence." (03:38)
  • The importance of balancing momentum, wit, tragedy, sadness, and energy in performance (03:50).

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2. The Unusual Gift of Time & Preparation

• Extended Rehearsal Timeline
  • Keanu initiated the idea almost four years before opening; both actors used the extra time for archival research, clowning and butoh dance classes, and recurrent script analysis (04:24 – 05:10).
  • Winter highlights the joy of collaborative preparation and immersive process, rather than simply rehearsing the text (05:10).

3. First Encounters and Personal Connection with Beckett

• Keanu’s Early Beckett
  • "I would probably say around 17" was his first reading;
    he relates to the play’s famous line,
    "Let's go." "We can't." "Why not?" "We're waiting for Godot."
    "As a 17 year old, I was waiting too." (06:13 – 06:34)
• Enduring Themes
  • Both actors connect to the play’s emotions of waiting, hoping, and searching.

4. Broadway: Then and Now

• Alex on Returning to Broadway
  • Despite changes in era, the backstage atmosphere remains the same:
    "It feels very similar to the way I grew up backstage...the smell of a Broadway house—the community is the same. I love it. It feels like home." (07:34-07:40)
• Keanu’s Broadway Debut
  • This is Keanu's first time on Broadway. When asked why this play:
    "Because it's fantastic, and I get to do it with Alex Winter." (07:59)
  • On the experience:
    "I feel like it's almost like the culture stays the same, and us artists...pop in and out. We're the new show, but this culture is existing there." (10:53)

5. The Artistic Challenge & Mutual Risk-Taking

• Choosing “Godot”

  • Both actors were drawn to the challenge and risk:
    "Keanu and I are wired similarly. We like risk...the challenge of this, of knowing that I would need to go get my head around how to meet this challenge, was enticing to me." — Alex Winter (09:55–10:10)

• Physical and Practical Considerations

  • Prepping for eight shows a week required Winter to increase fitness and adjust family commitments (09:48).

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6. The Friendship’s Role in Performance

• Artistic Trust and Collaboration
  • The pair credit their 30+ year friendship with fostering trust and a shorthand:
    "We had a trust and confidence in our art practice through our friendship...It brought a joy in the research, it brought a shorthand, and it really just reaffirmed our simpatico aspect to the artistic endeavor." — Keanu Reeves (13:21)
  • Winter values the ability to continually adjust and re-think with a collaborator he trusts:
    "We're just constantly, always thinking, but we're thinking in somewhat of a unified way..." (13:21–14:19)

7. The Set: Navigating Physical Demands

• Unique Set Design

  • The set, described as reminiscent of an ear canal or a cone, is slanted and physically demanding:
    "Every minute I'm not on stage, I'm in some form of physical therapy." — Alex Winter (15:17)
  • Keanu stresses the subtle presence of a flat surface amid tricky angles:
    "The center of the stage is flat. I mean, it's angle, but it's..." (15:41)

• Embracing the Physicality

  • Winter enjoys the almost "feral" quality the set imposes:
    "I like the physicality. I want...these characters are almost feral...there’s kind of a primal aspect to these guys." (15:56)

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8. Jamie Lloyd’s Radical Directing

• Pace and Modernity

  • Lloyd encourages speed and momentum, even in the famous silences and pauses:
    "Jamie really was promoting the idea of pace and speed with...some silence, punctuation, following text." — Keanu Reeves (16:45)

• Textual Fidelity and Freedom

  • "He's not just throwing stuff out for the sake of it. He has a deep affinity for text...He wanted to embrace directing this version of the play as if it was new." — Alex Winter (17:45)

• Reception from the Beckett Estate

  • Lloyd’s approach is radical but has approval from the typically strict Beckett estate (18:36).

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9. Character Dynamics: Vladimir & Estragon

• Interpretation

  • Alex:
    "Vladimir is...multitudinous. He’s searching. He is very close to giving up faith, but he is still holding on to a shred of faith...his love of Estragon, his fear of losing Estragon." (19:09–19:43)
  • Keanu:
    "[Estragon] is always kind of, you know, what do we do? Let's go...I think he's less of a philosopher...He just wants to be happy...but he's not on a quest for faith quite the way Vladimir is." (19:58–20:36)

• Dynamism of Differences

  • "These two forces...working with, together, apart. I think there's a tension between these two kinds of world, points of view of being." — Keanu (21:02)

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10. Audience Takeaways and Reflections

• Provoking Questions Rather Than Providing Answers
  • Winter hopes audiences feel both inquisitive and perplexed:
    "The lobby...is a combination of questioning every single thing about life to I have no idea what the hell is going on. Which is good." (22:01)
  • "There is no single [takeaway]...it is so brilliantly interrogating so many core ideas of humanity." — Alex Winter (22:01–23:02)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Research:

  • "We were, like, doing forensics and creative archaeology." — Keanu Reeves (03:09)

• On Friendship:

  • "We had a trust and confidence in our art practice through our friendship...it really just kind of reaffirmed our simpatico aspect to the artistic endeavor." — Keanu Reeves (13:21)

• On Beckett’s Endurance:

  • "The text is so profound...There is a modernity and a momentum and a tenderness...that is accessible for some people that didn’t find the play accessible before." — Alex Winter (22:01)

• On Jamie Lloyd’s Direction:

  • "He wanted to embrace directing this version of the play as if it was new...I think that it cements it to the times while being...the Beckett estate has been approving of his changes, which are radical." — Alex Winter (17:45–18:36)

• On the Play’s Questioning Spirit:

  • "What do you do? What do we do? What do we do?" — Keanu Reeves (09:02)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:51–03:29: Researching Beckett and visiting the archives
• 04:24–05:10: Using extended rehearsal time and immersive preparation
• 06:13–06:34: Keanu’s personal first encounter and connection with Beckett
• 07:34–07:40: Alex on Broadway's enduring backstage community
• 07:59–08:53: Why Keanu chose “Godot”
• 09:48–10:10: The joint appetite for risk and challenge
• 13:21–14:19: Insights into the actors’ friendship and collaboration process
• 15:17–16:28: Physical demands and character “ferality” on a unique set
• 16:45–18:36: Jamie Lloyd’s transformative directorial vision
• 19:09–21:16: Character interpretations and their dynamic
• 22:01–23:02: Hopes for audience reflections and takeaways

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Conclusion

This candid conversation reveals both the reverent intensity and the enduring playfulness two Gen X icons bring to Samuel Beckett's timeless classic. Their deep preparation, philosophical engagement, and enduring rapport reimagine "Waiting for Godot" for a new generation—embracing uncertainty, friendship, and the profound art of waiting.

Transcript

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[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc.

I'm Alison Stewart.

Before the break, we were talking about Generation X and why some people might consider it the greatest generation when it comes to cultural powerhouses. So to follow up on that, we wanted to share an encore presentation of my recent conversation with two of the latchkey generation's iconic actors, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter. In 1989, the pair starred in the teen sci fi film Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Now they are on Broadway performing in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. The action of the play is two friends who are waiting. Now, what happens when you take a classic play like this one and add director Jamie Lloyd to the mix, a man known for rethinking original texts, as was the case with Sunset Boulevard and the Doll's House, you get a Broadway production that is both funny and heartbreaking, chic, yet real, with a deep sweetness that can be traced to the actors being true blue friends for decades. Waiting for Gadot is at the Hudson Theater until January 4th, when Alex and Keanu joined me to talk about it. I started by asking Alex what they hoped to find when they visited Beckett's archives to prepare for the show.

[Alex Winter]

I think we were looking for.

The characters are, are rooted in Beckett's own biography, his, his escape from the Nazis during World War II when he was in the French Resistance and he and his wife were living rough across the French countryside in ditches and eating root vegetables. And so I think we were looking for sort of essences of the play in Beckett's life and just digging into the, the grand tradition of this play being put on Jim Nolsen's, Becca's Biographer, Medicine reading. We got to spend time with him. So it was, it was exploratory, you know, using the time that we had to the best of our abilities.

[Alison Stewart]

Keanu, what were you looking for?

[Keanu Reeves]

The same as Alex. And I also was cool to just see different incarnations of the, of the production over the years and to see transcripts and annotation.

And it was really cool to speak with Jim as The biographer, just to see if we could. I mean, Alex, we were always like, so, any tidbits? Any recommendations? Any advice, you know?

[Alex Winter]

Yeah, yeah. And with other actors who had done the play and who knew Beckett, we were doing the same. We're just kind of on a recon mission.

[Keanu Reeves]

We were, like, doing forensics and creative archaeology.

[Alex Winter]

Yes. And then to Keanu's point, there's an abstraction to that, too. When you. When you look at Beckett's handwriting at the archive or see paintings based on where he was, you get, as an actor, you get kind of abstract nourishment from that that you use in the character.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, what did you learn that helped you understand the play better, Keanu? What did you learn that you thought like.

[Keanu Reeves]

I mean, I think we heard this a couple of times, didn't we, Alex? Don't forget it's a comedy, okay? And don't forget the violence.

[Alex Winter]

Those counterpoints. I think that the fact that the play is beautiful and it's written with a great deal of momentum and energy and wit and tragedy and sadness, and I think that generally what we were getting was to make sure all of those things got played, because that's what the text is.

[Alison Stewart]

Alex, it's interesting you said that you also went to UCLA to look at the archives, and you had spent several years researching this. Aside from rehearsals and all this, why did you spend so much time rehearsing and getting ready?

[Alex Winter]

Because we had the time, which is so rare in our industry, unfortunately, now. And Keanu had brought this idea to me almost four years ago, and then he and I embarked on it. And, you know, I make documentaries. I'm a research fanatic.

[Alison Stewart]

And.

[Alex Winter]

And we had time, so we used it, and it was to our benefit. We, you know, we took clowning classes. We took buto dance classes. We did a lot of prep, and we met when we could and. And did script analysis with the play, you know, every few weeks in the lead up. So. And all that time we were talking to Jamie because we had Jamie on board already, so it wasn't like we were. We weren't working on this every day by any stretch of the imagination. This was a drop in and out kind of thing, but it was serious.

[Alison Stewart]

It was sort of lurking in the.

Back of your head.

It sounded like.

[Alex Winter]

Yeah, and fun. Yeah, and a lot of fun. Keanu and I were having a lot of fun. I think part of the joy of the two of us doing this together included this prep, the fun of diving into the world of Beckett and not just, let's Just show up on day one, rehearsal, do a play and then leave. So there was a lot of, you know, there's joy in that experience as well.

[Alison Stewart]

Keanu, when did you first read Beckett.

[Keanu Reeves]

In the Fugue of Memory? I would probably say around 17.

[Alison Stewart]

Did you understand it as much as.

[Keanu Reeves]

Someone who's that young can understand it?

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah.

[Keanu Reeves]

I mean, there's definitely themes in it that echoed, you know, some Dostaevskin literature, experience, exposure.

You know, reading. You know, Jerry, you know, it's probably the same time that I was reading like Ubera and.

Yeah, what else is there? Rhinoceros.

So, yeah, I mean, you know, one thing, that one exchange that always stuck with me was, let's go. We can't. Why not? We're waiting for gado.

Just from a kid. I just love that for some reason, the energy of that text and what it meant, because I think as a 17 year old, I was waiting too.

[Alex Winter]

Waiting for something.

[Keanu Reeves]

I was trying to go, let's go. We can. Why not?

[Alison Stewart]

My guests are Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter. We are talking for Waiting for Godot at the Hudson Theater through January 4th. Alex, you have been on Broadway since you were a child.

What has changed and what hasn't changed?

[Alex Winter]

You know, the, the. The play itself. Doing it with Keanu is like the. And you know, with. In a very modern interpretation about right now, the times have changed. You know, I've changed, and this is a monumental work that we're doing. But other things have really not changed. You know, backstage right now, it feels very similar to the way I grew up backstage in a dressing room, you know, for years and years and years, with the smell of a Broadway house and the teamsters and the stagehands and all of that community. And that community is the same. I love it.

You kind of plug back into that world. It feels like home.

[Alison Stewart]

Keanu, this is your Broadway debut? Yes.

[Keanu Reeves]

Yes.

[Alison Stewart]

Had you been asked before?

[Keanu Reeves]

No, I'm not quite asked. There was bit opportunity. I'll just say no.

[Alison Stewart]

Okay, we'll go with that then.

Why this play?

[Keanu Reeves]

Because it's fantastic and I get to do it with Alex Winter.

[Alison Stewart]

What makes it fantastic?

I'm curious.

[Keanu Reeves]

It's a beautifully written play. The themes that are in the play. It's a wonderful roles for. For artists to play, to discover.

The themes of existence, relationship to personal God, interpersonal dynamics, friendships, master servant. Textually, the alliterations, the repetitions.

The play in it.

It's thrilling to perform. It's constantly revealing. There's always more to think, feel, find out, do.

Yeah. And it's. It's a profound work of the nature of being alive and dying.

And waiting for some answers for something. What do you do? What do we do? What do we do?

[Alison Stewart]

Alex, practically.

What did you consider when you said yes before doing seven, eight shows a week? Because a theater actor's life is hard?

[Alex Winter]

Well, yeah, we're doing eight shows. You know, the standard run.

I just considered kind of mundane, practical considerations what I had on my slate. I had a film coming up I was going to do. I've got kids. I have a family. How will that work? Fitness. I immediately started circuit training, like, the next day.

Fitness. Physical fitness. Stamina, eating well, eating healthy.

But, you know, it's. It's. You know, Keanu and I have talked about this. You know, we could have done different play. We could have done. There are great plays with two people like Rosencrant and Golden State. We could have done something else. Right. But I think that Keanu and I are wired similarly.

We like Risk. I will say that as something. We're not similar in all ways. That is a way in which we are similar. And I think the challenge of this, of knowing that I would need to go get my head around how to meet this challenge, was enticing to me because I've always loved this play very much, and I love Beckett in this era of theater very much. But I knew that it was similar to. In Shakespeare, you're signing onto something very intense so that. That I had to get my head around that on a practical way.

[Alison Stewart]

You know, Kiana, what do you know about being on Broadway that there's no way you could have known before you had done it?

[Keanu Reeves]

What do I know about Broadway now that I've done it that I couldn't have known about it before I did it?

[Alison Stewart]

Yes.

[Keanu Reeves]

Probably. The culture that Alex speaks about, you know, I feel like it's almost like the culture stays the same, and us artists who come to these theaters, pop in and out. It's like we're the new show, but this culture is existing there. They've all worked with each other. They all speak to each other, all of the various theaters, production companies.

And it's very strong. It's very present. And I think I couldn't. I couldn't have known that without actually being in it.

[Alex Winter]

I would say that this. This. Not that it's these. We are these characters, because we're really not. But in subtle ways, this play represents more, in my opinion, on an abstract level, the way we actually interrelate.

Than, say, Bill and Ted, which, which does in other ways, is about play. And they're very childlike and there's a lot of us in Bill and Ted, but, you know, Keanu and I get together, we're kind of like, we can be kind of, we have, we have humor, we laugh a lot, but we can both be independently quite serious minded, veering on. I would, I wouldn't use the word dark, but, but certainly contemplative people. Right. So I think that, that there are times when we're just sitting there riffing at the beginning of Act 1 and Act 2, and it could really just be the two of us having a conversation about life and happiness and what do these things mean and how does it work and how do we live. But again, it's a little abstract. I wouldn't say that we're these guys. These guys are very specific.

[Alison Stewart]

What do you think about that, Keanu? About your friendship and what it allows you to do on stage?

[Keanu Reeves]

Yeah, I, I, I, I agree. And I think knowing each other, we had a trust and confidence in our art practice through our friendship. You know, we've worked together, we've maintained or have a friendship over 30 some odd years. And I think, you know, we've collaborated and worked together, you know, over that time. And so I thought it, it kind of, it brought a joy in the research, it brought a shorthand, and it really just kind of reaffirmed our.

Simpatico aspect to the artistic endeavor.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah.

[Alex Winter]

And what's been fun for me, and I wouldn't say surprising, but I am grateful for it, is that, you know, it's a challenging play and you're never done doing it. Every day you do it is different and challenging for all of us, for Brandon Durden, Michael Patrick Thornton, and who are amazing for all of us. And because Keanu and I have known each other so long and know each other so well and have worked together performatively as well as have a friendship, it's helpful because we'll come off stage sometimes and have an idea and like, we're just constantly, always thinking, but we're thinking in somewhat of a unified way. Not all the time. Sometimes it's something I need to do or he needs to do or whatever, but I know that I trust him and vice versa. And our brains are always kind of thinking on how to make those things work. And that is very much an form by the length of, of the, and the history of, of the relationship.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk about the set Sutra Gilmore. Some people have said it looks like a cone Like a.

[Keanu Reeves]

Okay, wait, I'm gonna do. I'm gonna do a kind of waiting for ghost production sound design while you describe the. However you're gonna describe.

[Alison Stewart]

Okay, that.

[Keanu Reeves]

I'll just kind of.

Go ahead.

[Alison Stewart]

Sounds like a. Sounds like a woofer.

Like a. It could be a. I. It felt like the inside of a ear canal to me. When you look at it, you actually go to our instagram @olive NYC, you'll see it. It's beautiful. First of all, how do you navigate a set like that? Because it looks like it's on a tilt.

[Keanu Reeves]

Yeah, it's a rig stage.

[Alex Winter]

Yeah.

[Keanu Reeves]

So rigs changes perspective too, right? There's some perspective shenanigans going on.

[Alison Stewart]

How do you. Seriously, how do you navigate that? Alex?

[Alex Winter]

A lot of. I mean, every minute I'm not on stage, I'm in some form of physical therapy.

[Alison Stewart]

You would have to be.

[Alex Winter]

Yeah, I mean, he's. Vladimir is an extremely physical role. They both are. All four of them are. And.

You know, we're never on a flat surface at any point ever. And I don't want to be. I mean.

[Keanu Reeves]

Oh, wait, wait, wait. There's a flat surface. The center of the stage is flat. I mean, it's angle, but it's.

[Alex Winter]

It's angled. That's what I mean. So my heels are actually kicked up. I went through this.

[Keanu Reeves]

Yes, that's true.

[Alex Winter]

Yeah.

[Keanu Reeves]

Okay.

[Alex Winter]

When we're sitting is actually when we get rest, when we're sitting at the top of Act 1 and Act 2 speak.

[Keanu Reeves]

We are self.

Yeah.

[Alex Winter]

So it's very. It's quite physical. So. And I like the physicality. I want. I don't want to shy away from it. I like that these characters are almost feral because you don't know how they're living, being rough. And you realize once they get up in that tunnel with. With Pozzo and Lucky in act one, there's kind of a primal aspect to these guys because they've been living this way for so long. So it's nice to use all of the set and to use it almost like a. Like a. Some kind of primate. But your body has to be tuned to do that.

[Alison Stewart]

Your director, Jamie Lloyd, he's known for Sunset Boulevard, A Doll's House, which was amazing on Broadway, but he takes sort of his modernity and he applies it to the classics. Keanu, what do you think is this. Well, is different about the play in.

[Keanu Reeves]

Jamie Lloyd's hands, text wise. Alex, correct me if I'm wrong, but we've.

Oftentimes, even in the description, there's a lot of. In parentheses, silence.

[Alison Stewart]

So true.

[Keanu Reeves]

Pauses.

[Ira Flato]

And.

[Keanu Reeves]

Jamie really was promoting the idea of pace and speed with. With some silence, punctuation, following text. But really, I would say if you looked at it from that point of view, that would be the major change, is just the pace of the production.

[Alex Winter]

Yeah, I think Jamie is. One of the reasons we were so enamored with him was, you know, a lot of his work is so rich and deep with Shakespeare, with Pinter, you know, whether it's modern, ultra modern play. You know, he did Lucy Prebles play recently in the UK and here, I guess, and it's. He has a deep affinity for tech. So he's not just Mr. Modern Guy.

[Keanu Reeves]

Right.

[Alex Winter]

He's not just throwing stuff out for the sake of it. And we knew that he would really dig into the meanings and themes in Beckett, but embrace. He has a statement, so I'm not throwing him under any bus. He said this publicly, that, that he wanted to embrace directing this version of the play as if it was new. Right. As if there didn't. All the stuff hadn't come before and someone just handed him a script and said, do you want to do this? When he said, yes, how would I stage it? And I think that's the right way to come at the play. And I think that it cements it to the times while being. I mean, the Beckett estate has been approving of his changes, which are radical, and they're quite. There's quite strict. So they have felt that Jamie's got a good grip on. On the text. So it's been really liberating to work with him. I. I mean, he's fun. He is really. He's truly phenomenal.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, my gosh. In the Doll's House, when the whole.

Back of the theater opened and Jessica Chastain walked out, it was amazing.

[Alex Winter]

Yeah, I got to see that. And Michael Patrick Thornton was in that, who was our lucky. Who was amazing.

[Alison Stewart]

The last time I talked to two actors about Waiting for Godot was in 2023, when Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks did it. And they're friends as well, and they described the characters as Tigger and Eeyore was the way that they described their characters. Alex, how would you describe your character?

[Alex Winter]

I mean, Vladimir is. Is. Is, you know, not to be precious, but he's multitudinous.

He's. He's searching. He's. He is very close to giving up faith, but he is still holding on to a shred of faith and the possibility of there being some form of salvation. Spiritual or otherwise. And that drives everything with him. His physicality, his energy, his, you know, his love of Estragon, his fear of losing Estragon. To me, that's. That's kind of Vladimir's world.

[Alison Stewart]

How about for you?

[Alex Winter]

He's obviously more. You know, he's on his feet more than Estragon. But. But I think a lot of that energy is driven by the. The searching.

[Alison Stewart]

How about for you, Keanu?

[Keanu Reeves]

Yeah. When I've been doing it, I felt like.

I mean, I get the Tigger aspect of it for me, that if I had to go from there was just that there is an energy that the character Estragon has. He's always kind of, you know, what do we do? Let's go.

You know, I think he's less of a philosopher.

I think maybe there's a kind of natural. Like, he just wants to be happy. He wants to wander in the Pyrenees. He's concerned about being punished or.

Saved, but he's. He's not. He doesn't have the. The quest. The search for faith quite. That I think Vladimir has in the same way. Would you agree with that, Alex? I would say that, yeah. And these two forces, I think are. Are working with, together, apart. I think there's a tension between these two kind of world, points of view of being.

[Alex Winter]

Yeah, it's like, yeah, go ahead.

[Keanu Reeves]

Like, stop. Like, let's just go. And you're like, no, wait. Let's figure out where we're going and why we're doing it and what does it mean? And I'm like, let's just go, man.

That is true.

[Alex Winter]

Yeah. There's a lot of temperamental differences in. In between the two of them.

[Alison Stewart]

For some people, this may be their first exposure to Beckett. After they see the show, Alex, they go out for coffee, they go out for a beer. What do you hope they talk about?

[Alex Winter]

You know, we've been hearing such wonderful things about the audience experience from everyone from Beckett. We got a note from Jim Nolson, Beckett's biographer of a. Of an actress who had done Beckett for years and was just really taken with the play and. And then people who have never seen Beckett before, ever.

And I think that. That. I mean, honestly, I credit that to Beckett himself, just because the text is. Is so profound.

[Alison Stewart]

But you're good in it, too.

[Earthjustice Announcer]

I'll just say that for you.

[Alex Winter]

Thank you. Thank you. But I do think that there is a modernity and a momentum and a. And a tenderness to this production that is accessible for some people that didn't find the play accessible before, which makes me very happy. And when people are coming back over and over again, we're getting people who've like, seen it four or five times. And the lobby, from what I hear from my moles, is a combination of questioning every single thing about life to I have no idea what the hell is going on. Which is good. That's, that's a good thing, right? So I think that it is, it is inspiring questions and people, and people often ask us in interviews or whatever, like, what is the takeaway about, you know, what do you say? The one thing I'm like, there is no single. I mean, that's, that's what makes it a great work of art, is it is so brilliantly interrogating so many core ideas of humanity. There's specific ideas, it's not the whole ocean, but it's not leaving you with a hard answer.

[Alison Stewart]

That was my conversation with actors Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves. Waiting for Gadot is playing at the Hudson Theater through January 4th.

And that is all of it. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening and I appreciate you.

I will meet you back here next time.

[Ira Flato]

I'm Ira Flato, host of Science Friday. For over 30 years, our team has been reporting high quality news about science, technology and medicine. News you won't get anywhere else. And now that political news is 24 7, our audience is turning to us to know about the really important stuff in their lives. Cancer, climate change, genetic engineering, childhood diseases. Our sponsors know the value of science and health news. For more sponsorship information, visit sponsorship.wnyc.org.