Peter Sarsgaard

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert Featuring Peter Sarsgaard

Episode Title: Peter Sarsgaard
Release Date: December 9, 2024
Host: CBS
Description: The #1 late-night show delivered straight to your ears, featuring witty writing, hilarious monologues, and engaging conversations with celebrity guests.

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1. Reunion and Personal Exchange

The episode begins with Stephen Colbert warmly welcoming actor Peter Sarsgaard back to The Late Show Pod Show. The hosts engage in a lighthearted and humorous exchange, reminiscing about their last meeting just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Peter Sarsgaard (00:40): "They do that for everyone, don't they?"
• Stephen Colbert (01:00): "No. No, they don't. The audience mostly hates my guests."
• Peter Sarsgaard (01:04): "Really? Fantastic."

Their banter continues as they recall sharing hand sanitizer and navigating the early days of the pandemic together.

• Peter Sarsgaard (01:11): "I was thinking back that the other time was right before COVID Two days before."
• Stephen Colbert (01:20): "Not enough."

2. Collaborating with Maggie Gyllenhaal

Stephen shifts the conversation to Peter's personal life, highlighting his marriage to acclaimed actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He discusses Maggie's role in directing Peter in projects like The Lost Daughter (2021) and the upcoming film The Bride.

• Stephen Colbert (01:34): "You, of course, are married to the wonderful Maggie Gyllenhaal. And Maggie directed you in the lost daughter in 2021, which is just brilliant."
• Peter Sarsgaard (02:43): "No, no, no. The first time through, it was a love scene, which, of course, is its own complicated thing. Doing a love scene with your wife directing you. I highly recommend it. I Highly recommend it to anyone who's struggling out there."

They delve into the dynamics of working closely with a spouse, sharing insights on maintaining a healthy personal and professional relationship.

3. Exploring "September 5th"

The discussion pivots to Peter's latest project, the film September 5th, set against the backdrop of the 1972 Munich Olympics. Peter provides a comprehensive overview of the film's historical context and its portrayal of the terrorist hostage situation.

• Stephen Colbert (03:17): "You got a new movie called September 5th, which is about the. It takes place during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich."
• Peter Sarsgaard (03:28): "First of all, this was the first Olympics that was covered live. They had a satellite, and they were covering it with live cameras. And some Palestinian terrorists took Israeli athletes hostage. And these sports journalists turned their live camera that was covering the sports onto this balcony and covered it. And the thing that Rune kept telling ABC News that also wanted to try to cover it was, we're 100ft away from the building. We're the ones that should do it..."

Peter elaborates on the challenges faced by journalists during live coverage, drawing parallels to modern news practices.

4. Ethical and Journalistic Decisions

Stephen introduces a clip from the movie featuring Peter's character, Roon Arledge, discussing the ethical dilemmas faced by journalists in crisis situations. This segues into a deeper conversation about the moral responsibilities inherent in journalism.

• Stephen Colbert (04:51): "We have a clip here. It's you as Roon Arledge talking to the rest of the team in the control room. What do we need to know about it?"
• Peter Sarsgaard (05:05): "Okay, look, I know this isn't a responsibility that everyone wants, but does it make more sense to have a talking head from news take over from halfway across the world? Our job is to tell the stories of these individuals whose lives are at stake a hundred yards away..."

Peter discusses the importance of perspective and real-time storytelling in journalism, emphasizing the need for ethical considerations even in the age of instantaneous information.

• Peter Sarsgaard (06:22): "Well, they had to think about things like are the, are they watching it in the room where they're being held hostage or the terrorists seeing. Yeah, I mean, very simple questions like that.... These are questions that are still valid today..."

5. Upcoming Panel Participation and Philanthropic Efforts

Before concluding the interview, Stephen highlights Peter's involvement in an upcoming panel for a film he isn't acting in. Peter elaborates on his participation in the Years Project, a philanthropic initiative aimed at assisting formerly incarcerated individuals in obtaining re-sentencing.

• Stephen Colbert (06:58): "Before we go, I hear you're actually going to be part of a panel next week for a movie that you're not in."
• Peter Sarsgaard (07:04): "I'm doing all the movies. So I'm going to be interviewing some of the actors from Sing Sing. A majority of the actors in that movie were formerly incarcerated. And this is the Center for Appellate Legislation and it's a project they're doing called the Years Project here in New York where they work on re-sentencing for people who were convicted of crimes in their teens and essentially put away for the rest of their lives..."

Peter emphasizes the significance of the project in providing legal assistance to underserved communities, hoping to make a substantial impact through fundraising efforts.

6. Conclusion

Stephen wraps up the interview by promoting Peter's new film and encouraging listeners to engage with further content related to The Late Show. The episode concludes with a nod to upcoming content and additional promotions.

• Stephen Colbert (08:10): "Thanks so much for being here."
• Peter Sarsgaard (08:25): "I'm here to help."

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Notable Quotes:

• Peter Sarsgaard (02:27): "I highly recommend it to anyone who's struggling out there."
• Peter Sarsgaard (05:01): "Our job is really straightforward. We put the Camera in the right place. And we follow the story as it unfolds in real time."

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Additional Information:

Listeners are reminded to use discount code "TLS20" for 20% off all The Late Show with Stephen Colbert products on ParamountShop.com. The show airs weeknights at 11:35/10:35c on CBS and is available for streaming on Paramount+.

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This episode of The Late Show Pod Show offers an insightful and engaging conversation with Peter Sarsgaard, delving into his latest cinematic endeavors, collaborative experiences with Maggie Gyllenhaal, and his commitment to philanthropic efforts. Through a blend of humor and depth, Stephen Colbert ensures that listeners gain a comprehensive understanding of Peter's multifaceted career and personal initiatives.

Transcript

[Paramount Ads Manager]

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[Stephen Colbert]

Welcome back to THE Late show already in progress.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

Folks.

[Stephen Colbert]

You know my next guest from his performances in Dopesick, the Batman and Presumed Innocent. He now stars in the new movie September 5th. Please welcome back to THE Late Show, Peter Sarsgaard. Lovely. Nice to see you again.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

They do that for everyone, don't they?

[Stephen Colbert]

No. No, they don't. The audience mostly hates my guests.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

Really? Fantastic.

[Stephen Colbert]

Because it's less me. Lovely to see you again. Happy holidays. Lovely.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

See you.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

I was thinking back that the other time was right before COVID Two days before.

[Stephen Colbert]

Two days before October 10th of March, 2020.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

That's right.

[Stephen Colbert]

You're my little good luck chum.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

I remember you went back. You gave me a lot of hand sanitizer. Like too much hand sanitizer. I remember.

[Stephen Colbert]

Not enough.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

Not enough. Good to see you.

[Stephen Colbert]

We bumped elbows and everything.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

Good to see you.

[Stephen Colbert]

Nice to see you, too. You, of course, are married to the wonderful Maggie Gyllenhaal. And Maggie directed you in the lost daughter in 2021, which is just brilliant.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

She just directed me again in the Bride.

[Stephen Colbert]

I know, I know. What is it like to work with your bride? Because Evie and I just did a cookbook together and it's right here, actually. We just did a cookbook, it's called. But we were worried to work with each other because what if it wasn't pleasant?

[Peter Sarsgaard]

Well, the truth is Maggie and I have done a lot of plays together, but, you know, that's being directed by Austin Pendleton, usually, like all three of them. And it's different now when she's telling me what to do, you know, I have to. Well, she's got good ideas, luckily.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yes.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

But it's, you know.

[Stephen Colbert]

But you don't want to bring it home at the end of the day, is the thing.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

No, no, no. The first time through, it was a love scene, which, of course is its own complicated thing. Doing a love scene with your wife directing you. I highly recommend it. I Highly recommend it to anyone who's struggling out there.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yes.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

Try directing each other.

[Stephen Colbert]

You might get some clues about what your partner actually wants. I'll tell you. Let's try this again, and this time, this is just an idea. Maybe commit.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

Now this time, you know, Penelope Cruz and I are the detectives, and Jesse Buckley plays the bride of Frankenstein, and Christian Bale is Frankenstein and Annette Bening is the doctor. And, you know, I've got a lot of other people taking up her attention, so I just slipped in there and did my thing.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's fantastic. You got a new movie called September 5th, which is about the. It takes place during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

First of all, this was the first Olympics that was covered live. They had a satellite, and they were covering it with live cameras. And some Palestinian terrorists took Israeli athletes hostage. And these sports journalists turned their live camera that was covering the sports onto this balcony and covered it. And the thing that Rune kept telling ABC News that also wanted to try to cover it was, we're 100ft away from the building. We're the ones that should do it. And so he managed to have that happen. And these guys who are very sincere and very committed to doing a good job in a way that's frankly different than the news is now, you have people like Jim McKay, who is absolutely extraordinary, really rise up to the occasion and try to do their very best. Of course, the cat that was let out of the bag is this live camera had 900 million people around the world watching a balcony, waiting for something to happen. This kind of rolling coverage that we have now in news, which is like trying to cover an event with your face, like, right up to the wall, you know, there's no perspective at all. And frankly, I would say it's something that probably hasn't been that great for news. You know, very little perspective in trying to cover something like, as it happens and they made mistakes and things.

[Stephen Colbert]

We have a clip here. It's you as Roon Arledge talking to the rest of the team in the control room. What do we need to know about it?

[Peter Sarsgaard]

I'm saying that we should cover it and not news because they want to.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yank it back to New York.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

They do.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, Jim.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

Okay, look, I know this isn't a responsibility that everyone wants, but does it make more sense to have a talking head from news take over from halfway across the world? Our job is to tell the stories of these individuals whose lives are at stake a hundred yards away. And our job is really straightforward. We put the Camera in the right place. And we follow the story as it unfolds in real time. News can tell us what it all meant after it's over. And I'm sure they're going to try, but this is our story and we're keeping it.

[Stephen Colbert]

Quite, quite serendipitously. Yeah, quite serendipitously. One of the people who works on this show, Lauren Kam, her father was one of the people in that control room right next to Roon Arledge. Her father was Larry Cam. And here's a picture of her father right here. That's, that's, that's Hugh Roon. This is Don Almeyer, and then this is Larry Cam right there. Those are the people in this room together. And I'm just curious, what did you, what did you learn about the decisions they had to make? Like, what were the, what were the journalistic decisions like, the ethical decisions they had?

[Peter Sarsgaard]

Well, they had to think about things like are the, are they watching it in the room where they're being held hostage or the terrorists seeing. Yeah, I mean, very simple questions like that. Like. Or what if somebody walks out on the balcony and shoots someone in the head? What are we going to do? And you know, of course these days some of these questions seem kind of quaint. Right. When you could go onto the Internet and see something pretty graphic or even in regular news you could see graphic things all the time. But I think they're questions that are still valid today, which is one of the reasons I wanted to do the movie.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, before we go, I hear you're actually going to be part of a panel next week for a movie that you're not in.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

I'm doing all the movies.

[Stephen Colbert]

All the movies. Okay. And I understand this is for a good cause.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

Tell people it is for a good cause. This is. So I'm going to be interviewing some of the actors from Sing Sing. A majority of the actors in that movie were formally incarcerated. And this is the center for Appellate Legislation and it's a project they're doing called the Years Project here in New York where they work on re sentencing for people who were convicted of crimes in their teens and essentially put away for the rest of their lives. And these are frequently people from communities that are where they can't afford to have a lawyer do it. And so on the 10th at Angelica, I'll be interviewing the actors and we're going to have a big fundraiser and hopefully we'll raise a lot of money to help people out.

[Stephen Colbert]

Thanks so much for being here.

[Peter Sarsgaard]

Thank you.

[Stephen Colbert]

Good to see you again. September 5th. Opens in theaters next Friday. Peter Sarsgaard, everybody. Thank you for listening to the Late Show Pod show with Stephen Colbert. Just one more thing. If you want to see more of me, come to The Late Show YouTube channel for more clips and exclusives.

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[Stephen Colbert]

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[Peter Sarsgaard]

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[Peter Sarsgaard]

I'm here to help.

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[Peter Sarsgaard]

I'm gonna do everything I can.

[Paramount Ads Manager]

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[Peter Sarsgaard]

Roll out.

[Stephen Colbert]

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[Peter Sarsgaard]

Awesome.

[Stephen Colbert]

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[Peter Sarsgaard]

Okay, stop. I'm in.

[Stephen Colbert]

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[Peter Sarsgaard]

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