When a talk show goes to air, the end result looks effortlessly polished. It’s the off-screen behaviour of guests, however, that draws a great level of intrigue. We want to know what they’re really like.
Graham Norton, host of The Graham Norton Show, has revealed to Stellar Magazine some of the most insane requests his team have received from celebrities appearing on his show.
“We had someone once who required nine dressing rooms,” he said.
“But we managed it, and then in the afternoon someone from their team came running into the production office saying, ‘It’s a 911 situation. We need another dressing room.'”
Once again, the staff catered for the demanding celebrity, who he did not name.
The reason for the last-minute request?
“They want to charge their phone,” was the reason they were given by the guest’s manager.
Oh. That makes sense.
“That took our breath away,” shared Norton. “How somebody’s life gets to that point, where they cannot be in the same room as their phone, is beyond me. We live like animals, sharing rooms with charging phones.”
When asked about his worst guest, however, Norton was diplomatic. “In a way I forgive the bad guests because no-one’s occupation is professional chat-show guest,” he said.
Norton has previously shared with The New Zealand Herald that one of his most memorable guests, in terms of their manner off-screen, was Tom Cruise.
“Someone like Tom Cruise is incredible,” he said. “He comes in and gets introduced to everyone, as happens with every guest, and he remembers everyone’s name. And on the way out he remembers everyone’s name and what they do.”
“Clearly, that is some sort of mental trick, but it’s a very impressive one, and clearly the rest of us aren’t bothered learning it, so that means people backstage love him,” he told the publication.
He said having someone like Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks or Will Smith is particularly exciting, because they “bring that star voltage with them”.
In this particular interview, Norton didn’t hesitate to also name one guest who was difficult to handle. “Someone like Mickey Rourke – he was just exhausting because he wanted to smoke all the time.
“I’d turn away for a second turn back and he’d have lit another cigarette. It was so boring – you feel like a teacher taking children on a school trip, not a chat show host.”
Overall, the host said while there are a few guests “who’ve been a bit snippy,” for the most part, famous people simply employ people around them to be rude. A strategy Norton thinks speaks volumes in and of itself.
“Sometimes I’ll meet the star and they’ll even apologise for their people’s behaviour, and I’m thinking, ‘Yeah, but you chose to surround yourself with these people and that says a lot about you.'”