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

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.

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).

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).

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)

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).

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)

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)

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)

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

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.