Few Netflix series have blown up in quite the way Wednesday did: the Addams Family reboot exec-produced by Tim Burton became the platform’s second most-viewed English-language series ever. Following a three-year wait since the creepy and kooky spin on the high-school mystery series debuted and turned Jenna Ortega into a household name, season two is almost here (naturally arriving in two parts, as is the case with the streamer’s most popular shows).

Isaac Ordonez – the 16-year-old actor who donned the striped shirts and knee-length shorts of Wednesday’s younger brother, Pugsley – returns for an expanded role in the second season, where this time he’s joining his sister at school, practising with his own expanding powers and generally being an outcast, even by Tim Burton standards.

NME met the latest Nevermore Academy alumnus to talk season two, massive guest stars, Star Wars stan-dom and more.

Hey Isaac! What can we expect from Pugsley in Wednesday season two?

Isaac Ordonez: “It was definitely a surprise to see how much more I was in it, like a big promotion. He’s got powers, he’s going to Nevermore, he makes a lot of friends and also [makes] connections with some not so good people. I will say that.”

Tim Burton has called Pugsley “an outcast among outcasts” this season. Is that a fair assessment?

“Very fair assessment. When he gets to Nevermore, he is quite lonely. He’s having a hard time making friends. I think even Tim… in a scene I did, he was like, ‘Oh, poor Pugsley,’ after we finished. ‘He reminds me of my younger self in school.’”

What can you say about the new cast this season, particularly Lady Gaga?

“I didn’t get to work with her, but she’s a great musical artist. They had her for such a brief time. I don’t even know what she did because I think I was just doing school on that day. They were being very secretive about what she was doing. It was very discreet in the script and then everyone was like [whispers], ‘Is Gaga on set? I heard Gaga was on set,’ and the assistant director was just like, “No… Well, maybe.”

Are there any other new characters you’re excited for people to see?

“When I mentioned I make friends with some of the wrong people, the main villain and I have a connection, I would say. Owen Painter is [the actor’s] name. I’m so excited for him. He worked hard on his character so I really hope things take off for him. He’s in a lot of prosthetics in the beginning of the season, so you guys won’t be able to see his face till towards the end. But, I hope things go great for him afterwards.”

The first season had a Harry Potter vibe – the magical school, the mythical characters, the mystery. Did you see those comparisons?

“Yeah, more so last season though, especially with the games they had: it reminded me of The Goblet Of Fire. And Harry Potter, after The Goblet Of Fire, it got quite dark.”

Could you see Wednesday being like Harry Potter, where we get a new story for these characters every year they return to school?

“Yeah, I think it is gonna be similar. We have our character trios, like Harry Potter has trios. There’s a new cast member around my age, her name’s Evie [Templeton]. We don’t have that many scenes together, she has way more with Wednesday. But, there is a little scene of Eugene [Moosa Mostafa] and her and me, and I hope that people see that and want more of it, so they make us a trio.”

Looking back, was there a particular movie that really got you excited about films and acting?

“I do think younger me really got into films when I saw Star Wars. I imagine it was Revenge Of The Sith, it might have been a different one. I know it was a prequel. That was like, ‘Woah!’ I had, like, five Star Wars birthdays.”

You’ve worked with a couple of Star Wars actors on Wednesday…

“Joonas [Suotamo, who plays Lurch in season two], he plays Chewbacca. And then Gwendoline Christie who plays Principal Weems [in season one], she’s Captain Phasma in the sequels. I forget sometimes, because you never see her face [as Phasma]… There are very [few] people I’d be starstruck around. Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor would probably be some of those people.”

You play electric guitar too…

“I always pick it up like twice, three times a week. I love rock, I love metal, so I hear those and I wanna play it. I’d say I’m decent, intermediate, probably. I’ve never been in a band. Right now it’s purely a hobby. But if I ever needed it for a film or a show of some sort I’d definitely go crazy on the guitar so I can nail it.”

What would your desert island album be?

“The first one that comes to mind is ‘Nevermind’, Nirvana, because every single song on that is good. ‘Ride The Lightning’ by Metallica, maybe. Maybe either Slipknot’s ‘Iowa’, their second album, or their very first. I don’t have a playlist for Pugsley but since he’s so chaotic, I think we could have similar tastes. He’d love the screaming.”

Do you listen to music in the make-up chair?

“My hair [stylist], her name was Sevlene [Roddy]. She was great, but she had a Nirvana shirt. I was like, ‘Oh, what’s your favourite song?’ She’s like, ‘I just like how it looks.’ I’m like, ‘Alright, I’m getting you into Nirvana. We’re gonna finish this season and you’re gonna have a song that you like.’”

Have creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and executive producer-director Tim Burton mapped out the future of Wednesday?

“They haven’t told me, but I assume they’ve kind of got some things in the back of their heads lined up for certain characters, probably me included as well.”

‘Wednesday’ Season 2 Part 1 streams on Netflix from August 6. Part 2 streams from September 3

The post Isaac Ordonez on Pugsley’s “big promotion” for ‘Wednesday’ season two appeared first on NME.

NME caught up with Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos along with Doctor Who icon Peter Capaldi and rising indie rapper Master Peace after they stormed Glastonbury‘s Other Stage. Check out the full interview below, and watch some of the video above.

Taking to the sun-soaked stage in the late afternoon, the Scottish indie icons pulled a huge crowd despite going head-to-head with a secret set from Lewis Capaldi over on the Pyramid. Still, they used this to their advantage to make for one hell of a Glasto moment.

“One of the things I love about Glastonbury is the rumours,” said Kapranos towards the end of the set, when Capaldi’s neighbouring show had finished shortly before. “You know, all the gossip that goes around.

“Someone was telling me this morning that Pulp are going to play on some stage tomorrow. Maybe, I don’t know. Somebody was telling me that Haim are playing, that Lorde was playing this morning as well,” he continued.

“You may have heard a rumour that a fellow Glaswegian who goes by the name of Capaldi [is playing]. Well, Glastonbury, it gives me great joy to say that these rumours are true. He is here with us tonight. The original Capaldi – Peter Capaldi!”

He then delivered a rousing guest vocal on the classic ‘Take Me Out’.

I had a @Franz_Ferdinand x Peter Capaldi collab in Glastonbury Bingo, so that's nice pic.twitter.com/yu9I1B3Zza

— Andrew Trendell (@AndrewTrendell) June 27, 2025

As if that wasn’t enough, the band then swiftly followed by bringing out their tour buddy Master Peace – who performed their collab version of ‘Hooked’ from Franz’s acclaimed new album ‘The Human Fear’, which was released as a single last week alongside another live team-up with The Smiths’ icon Johnny Marr. Throw in some high kicks, a barrage of indie bangers and maximum crowd participation, and you’ve got the making of one of the true highlights of Glastonbury 2025.

The trio then joined NME backstage for a quick natter about what went down. Check it out below.

NME: Hello Alex Kapranos, Peter Capaldi and Master Peace.

Peter Capaldi: “I’m amazed you got through all those names, it’s quite a challenge!”

Alex Kapranos: “It’s quite a mouthful”

How did all this come about then?

Capaldi: “Alex just got in touch with me. We had some mutual friends who are musicians. I had been praising Franz Ferdinand, and I think that got back to them. They decided, ‘That’s who we want to have around – someone who praises and loves us’, which is good because I’m a fan of theirs. Alex just got in touch and asked if I’d like to play with them at Glastonbury! Who’s going to turn that down? I didn’t know what he meant.

“I thought, ‘There must be a gimmick here. Is it some sort of Doctor Who-related song? There’s a song called ‘The Doctor’ on the new album, maybe he wanted me to do that? I didn’t want to do that. I said, ‘What do you want me to sing?’ ‘Take Me Out’. What? This fabulous song that everybody knows? Yes, please!”

You can really sing, Peter. Alex, did you give Peter any tips on how to own the Glastonbury crowd? 

Kapranos: “I didn’t need to give him any tips. He’s a complete natural. It was masterful.”

Capaldi: “It was just so great to be on stage with the band, because they are so brilliant. They’re such a brilliant live band and they are so secure in what they do. It’s really just surfing. You have that energy from them, their songs are like heat-seeking missiles – they just go out there and get the crowd.

“And Peace is absolutely fabulous, also. To go out there, to surf that crowd and to surf their energy is just a privilege.”

Master Peace: “I’m just shocked that I’m sat here with Alex Kapranos and Peter Capaldi! What the fuck? My street cred – everyone’s gotta talk to me nice after this. This is crazy.”

You’ve been a Franz fanboy for a while right, Peace? 

Peace: “Big fan, from the get-go. Even when I first started making indie music, I was like, ‘I wanna get in the studio and make something with Franz Ferdinand’. I just begged my manager.”

And you’ve been on tour together and jumped on that live version of ‘Hooked’? 

Peace: “Yeah, I have a song with Franz Ferdinand. Like, what?”

Kapranos: “We had a great time together on tour. It was amazing. Peace was coming up and singing with us every night, and I love what he’s doing. He’s got such a good energy and is an amazing frontman. It was Jamie Hornsmith from The Rakes who introduced us to each other; he’s an old friend of ours. Aye, and Peter – totally magic! What a treat it is for me to be on stage with these two incredible, charismatic characters. It really was a total joy.”

I was going to start a rumour that you’d be bringing out Johnny Marr…

Kapranos: “Well, we should have done, shouldn’t we? It should have been the four-piece boyband. Sorry, Johnny, aye. He plays on the new version of ‘Build It Up’, and his guitar playing is amazing. He was a total inspiration for me. He made me want to play the guitar. He’s a genius and a brilliant guy.”

Alex, on stage, you mentioned your first Glastonbury when you were 18. Do you remember anything about it? 

Kapranos: “Yes, I remember it so well. I was 18, I was in Aberdeen, and about a week before Glastonbury, my pal Nick gave us a shout and said, ‘Do you want to go to Glastonbury? There’s some tickets left in the record shop’. That’s crazy when you think about it now.

“I had a little Lada at the time. For those of you born after 1990, it was a car made in the Soviet Union, it was very unreliable. Mine had a broken alternator, which means the battery would run out every two hours, and we’d have to stop in a service station. It took us four days to get down here, but we had an amazing time. It totally blew my mind.

“I was thinking earlier about today, if the me then at 18 in 1990 could see the me now, on stage with this character and this character, playing to all those people, they’d probably think to themselves, ‘Fuck me! That microdot I got from that crusty was stronger than I thought!’”

That was one hell of a crowd out there just now. Who said people were bored of bands?

Kapranos: “They were good, weren’t they?”

Capaldi: “It’s amazing to hear the band. It’s just so exciting to see a band that plays so well, with such energy and attack and don’t stop playing for the audience. The whole vibe is about making the audience have a good time and taking their music and pushing it out there. It doesn’t happen by itself. It’s not without effort, and these guys do it so brilliantly. They really work the audience.

“I see that as a performer. My experience as a performer is mostly as an actor, which is slightly different, but you still have to be ‘on’. You still have to be doing the work. Often audiences don’t recognise the immense amount of commitment and passion that goes into just keeping them entertained.”

Peter, you have your own music career. Peace, you’ve been killing it. What’s next for this supergroup? 

Peace: “You heard it here first, on NME! I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I want to keep in contact with both of these guys. It’s just crazy to see – I’m watching my heroes. Doctor fucking Who, bro! Alex is a superhero too. For me, in the new era of indie music, I personally feel like I’m flying the flag. Then to get to co-sign from these guys is just crazy to me. It makes it far more worth it and real.”

So the Doctor Peace album is coming next year? 

Capaldi: “Doctor Peace, that’s a great name!”

Kapranos: “We’ll run with that for the moment.”

Come back soon for more of our video interview with the trio. 

Franz Ferdinand recently announced details of a 2026 UK and European tour.

Glastonbury 2025 continues tonight with performances from the likes of Neil Young, Charli XCX, Deftones, Kneecap and Doechii, before Olivia Rodrigo, The Prodigy, Wolf Alice, The Maccabees and more close the festival tomorrow. Check out the full timetable and schedule here.

Yesterday saw headline performances from The 1975 closing the Pyramid Stage with Loyle Carner stunning on The Other, at the end of a day that saw a secret set from Lorde and another from Lewis Capaldi, alongside CMAT’s glorious main stage debut, Biffy Clyro paying tribute to Brian Wilson and much more.

Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more from Glastonbury 2025.

The post Meet the new supergroup: Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos with Peter Capaldi and Master Peace at Glastonbury 2025 appeared first on NME.

The first song I remember hearing

‘You Are My Sunshine’

“My grandma used to sing it to me, but then I also loved Disney films so I might have heard Randy Newman’s ‘You’ve Got A Friend In Me’ from Toy Story first. I watched Toy Story with my own kids recently. They’re too young to understand it, but it’s colourful and they looked at it dazed.”

The first album I ever bought

Eminem – ‘The Eminem Show’

“When I was seven, I bought it from HMV in Liverpool city centre. My brother is five years older than me and always had rap on around the house, like Eminem, Dr. Dre, Nas, Biggie, 2Pac and Snoop Dogg. The stuff he liked, I got into. I still listen to Eminem now. He’s on my gym playlist. He’s an unbelievable lyricist – he could rap about anything and make it sound interesting.”

Ever meet any of your early rap heroes? UFC fan Snoop Dogg posted an AI social media clip this year sporting your mop-top and lip-syncing to an interview of yours; you responded by wearing his cornrows in the ring…

“Even though he did the video, I never got to meet Snoop Dogg. I’ve met Stormzy and Meekz, but not Eminem or Dr. Dre. I’d love to.”

The song that reminds me of home

Jamie Webster – ‘This Place’

“Jamie does songs about Liverpool. He’s a close mate. I’ve known him for seven years – we met going to Liverpool FC games. His song ‘This Place’ reminds me of the city and another song of his, ‘Weekend In Paradise’, reminds me of my mates. Also [Gerry And The Pacemakers’] ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is played before every home game. I get emotional whenever it’s on, because it’s got a bigger meaning in the city.”

The first gig I ever went to

Kano, O2 Academy, Liverpool, 2007

“I was 12 and went with my mates who were three years older than me and it was a brilliant gig. I also went to see Nas around the same time – ‘Illmatic’ is the best rap album of all time. I can play it straight through without skipping a song.”

The song I wish I’d written

Jason Mraz – ‘I’m Yours’

“Just for the royalties, I’d pick The Pogues’ ‘Fairytale Of New York’. For three months every year, it gets the arse played out of it. I’d be raking it in! For the lyrics, it would be Yusuf/Cat Stevens’ ‘Father and Son’ because it reminds me of my dad, or ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz, because it makes me think of my wife. It’s our wedding song. It was our first dance.”

The song I can’t get out of my head

Benson Boone – ‘Beautiful Things’

“It comes on the radio constantly when I’m in the car with my dad – to the point where it’s become a running joke between us – and it keeps getting stuck in my head. But I like it. Other than dubstep and heavy metal, I like every style of music. Since Liverpool won the Premier League, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is permanently there.”

The song I can no longer listen to

Neil Diamond – ‘Sweet Caroline’

“It’s the worst song ever. I don’t know why everyone wants to sing along to it but I walk away when they do! Everyone goes on like it’s ‘Let It Be’ by The Beatles, but it’s a bad song. Get over it! When the UFC came to London, they put it on and even [ring announcer] Bruce Buffer was singing along! What’s the world come to?! I wasn’t a big fan of the song anyway, but the more it’s overplayed, the more it annoys me.”

The song that makes me want to dance

Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano – ‘Lethal Industry’/Yeah Yeah Yeahs – ‘Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)’ mash-up

“It’s my walkout song. Whenever it comes on, I start dancing. When I was younger, I used to come out to gangsta rap but then I lost my first ever fight, so I switched it up. A DJ mate blended these two songs together for me and it’s my theme song. I’ll never walk out to a different song in my life! Whenever I walk out, I feel like I’m having a party. It gets me ready for the fight. I’m two different people – when the cage door shuts and the music turns off, I turn into someone else.”

The song that makes me want to cry

Israel Kamakawiwoʻole – ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’

“I’m an emotional guy. I cry watching adverts, never mind songs! When my dad gets drunk, he ends up sending me Swedish House Mafia’s ‘Don’t You Worry Child’, saying ‘I was listening to this son, thinking of you’, and he’s crying – which makes me cry.  Out of them all, the main one is a ukulele cover of ‘Over the Rainbow’ by the Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. It affects me, because my grandma got buried to the [Judy Garland] original.”

The song I do at karaoke

Four Seasons – ‘December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)’

“I’ve never done karaoke in my life, but there are songs I instinctively sing when they come on, so my go-to list would be ‘December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)’, The Notorious B.I.G.’s ‘Ten Crack Commandments’, Wheatus’ ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ and Mobb Deep’s ‘Shook Ones, Part II’. My memory’s terrible and I can’t remember what I had for tea two nights ago, but I can remember every word to these! Out of them, I’d go for ‘December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)’ first, because it’s easiest to sing. With ‘Ten Crack Commandments’, you’re getting out of breath and ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ is high-pitched.”

The song I want played at my funeral

Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman – ‘Time to Say Goodbye’

“It’s the perfect choice! I might also consider ‘Someone Like You’ because my missus loves Adele and it’s my favourite song of hers. Our babies were born to Adele. Either way, I want my funeral to be a party and don’t want everyone to be miserable – although when I go to funerals, I’m a wreck!”

The post Soundtrack Of My Life: Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett appeared first on NME.

Thirty-five years ago, the question of who murdered doomed prom queen Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks was on everybody’s lips. Even Queen Elizabeth II cut short a private audience with a Beatle at Buckingham Palace to avoid missing the cult TV phenomenon. “Paul McCartney told us he had been invited to perform music to celebrate the Queen’s birthday, and she had to rush upstairs to see who killed Laura Palmer,” remembers Mark Frost, who created the show with visionary director David Lynch.

• READ MORE: David Lynch – 1946-2025: a true visionary who reinvented cinema

When Hill Street Blues writer Frost teamed up with Lynch, they shifted the small screen’s Overton Window forever, injecting surrealism and art-house style into the mainstream. Fish in the (damn fine) coffee percolator? Backwards-talking dreamlike sequences? Log-carrying oracles? Twin Peaks – spanning two series and a 1992 prequel movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me  – was compulsively weird and acted as a blueprint for future prestige dramas such as Lost and Stranger Things. In 2017, Frost and Lynch reunited for Showtime’s uncompromising third lap, AKA Twin Peaks: The Return, memorably described as the “pure heroin vision of David Lynch”.

From California (although his Zoom background is, aptly, the iconic Twin Peaks waterfall), Frost spoke to NME about the enduring influence of the series, the chances of a revival and the legacy of Lynch, who died in January this year from emphysema.

Hello Mark! Twin Peaks was so radically different in 1990 to the point where even the cast and ABC network executives were unsure of how it would be received. Did David Lynch and yourself trust that audiences would understand it?

Mark Frost: “We trusted the process. We sat down and wrote the pilot in three weeks – it came out in a burst. We’d written together for a couple of years up to that point and we knew when, as David was fond of saying, ‘you got a big one on the line.’ Then it was just about: can we realise it and navigate the tricky political circumstances of network television and its limitations at the time? I knew a lot about those limitations, but I felt I had a blueprint for how to crack the safe.”

Rewatching the pilot, it’s full of raw grief. Does it hit differently for you following David Lynch’s death?

“Well, I haven’t watched it since he left us and, honestly, I don’t watch the show very often. I mean, David and I talked a lot about issues like this. When you’re working that closely together for the length of time that we knew each other, you get to know another person pretty well. I’m confident to say I don’t think he had any fear of death whatsoever. And I think he’s doing just fine – wherever he may be.”

What are your favourite memories of working with David Lynch?

“I remember the laughter. We just cracked each other up. Writing is a hard, solitary experience 99 per cent of the time, but this was different. This was two people in a room playing tennis – we’d found somebody who could return-serve, and we could get long volleys going… I don’t want to torture the metaphor! And we had a hell of a good time doing it. We enjoyed each other’s company. When you work like that, the conversation tends to be wide-ranging and involve what’s going on in your life and what you think about contemporary issues and eternal issues; all those things are in the hopper. That’s what I miss.”

What made him so special?

“He was fearlessly creative in the face of anything that came his way, and he was eternally challenging himself to meet that moment and do something more than he had before; it was an ethos and way of living. He was an artist first, last and foremost. It was a pleasure to be in his company, to be his friend and work together as closely as we did.”

When did you last talk to him?

“A couple of months before he left us, we talked about his diagnosis of emphysema, what he was facing and how resolute he was that this wasn’t going to diminish his creativity or prevent him from expressing himself. I thought that was very in character. We were friends ‘til the end and he went out the way he wanted to go; you gotta tip your hat to him for that.”

Lynch implied that he was interested in expanding the world of Twin Peaks via waitress Carrie Page. Were you talking about continuing the series?

“A little bit, yeah. We had a little bit of a recipe forming; nothing terribly formal, but it was in the wind. I felt there were uncertainties about his health, so I didn’t press him on it, but nothing really stopped the flow of his creativity. I’m kind of the same way, so yeah, we’ll see what happens.”

Can you say anything about what those tentative plans might have involved – is it something you can still see happening?

“I mean, I honestly don’t know yet. It’s still kind of too soon, but it’s something I’ll get around to thinking about long and hard.”

Even if this is the end of Twin Peaks, at least it bowed out with The Return which was unsparing in its vision. You even turned David Bowie’s character into a kettle!

“We were talking to David Bowie about coming back and he wanted to do it. He obviously was battling serious health issues [liver cancer] and, at a certain point, he called us and said, ‘I’m not going to be able to do it’. We really thought long and hard about that. And David [Lynch] tried to – and did – come up with a startling visual representation of what that might be in a way only he could. And I think David Bowie would have probably got a kick out of it had he been around to see it. I certainly did!”

David Lynch’s speech as FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole about accepting trans character Denise Bryson became a social media rallying cry in the climate of rising transphobia – how did that feel?

“The line ‘fix their hearts or die’ became popular, and I couldn’t have been happier, because Denise was one of the first trans characters on network television. I’ve had so many people come up to me over the years telling me how much that meant to them.”

The core of Twin Peaks is the sexual exploitation of young girls by an entire community. Given the headlines we’ve seen over the past few years about the likes of Jeffrey Epstein, does it seem more timely than ever?

“It does. Remember this all came together at the tail-end of the [President Ronald] Reagan era in this country, where there was a wilful blinding to the underlying ugliness to a lot of, I guess, capitalism or sexual politics, that hadn’t really yet been addressed. But it was bubbling up under the surface. That’s the sort of thing a writer tries to stay attuned to and what we wanted to capture: that there was something rotten in the state of Denmark, even more so 25 years later, as we have seen.”

In an age of revivals, Kyle MacLachlan (Agent Dale Cooper) has said he “doesn’t think” anyone should attempt a “crazy reboot” of Twin Peaks with younger Hollywood stars – what are your thoughts?

“No one’s come to me about it, and we own the property. Part of our strategy going in was this was a world we had created and owned, so nobody could exploit it in destructive or stupid ways. We wanted to stay true to what we’d done, and that will certainly be my guiding principle going forward with whatever happens with the show or where it goes from here. We’ve set a standard that we have to hold ourselves to.”

Do you have a favourite moment of Twin Peaks?

“The episode where we wrapped things up in season two where they catch the killer, Leland confesses and ultimately dies in the jail cell is an enormously powerful scene. Another one is more personal to me, which is the first scene we shot in The Return. It was filmed a year before we started production. My dad [Warren Frost] played Doc Hayward on the show, and that was based on his own father-in-law. Dad was just entering the final stages of his life and battling the onset of dementia. I said: ‘We need to write a scene for him. It’s going to have to be like a Zoom call.’ We came up with a way of doing it at my family’s place in upstate New York – where my parents had been married. My dad and mum were there, along with my brother [Scott Frost] who’d worked on the show. My son, who was 12 at the time, was holding the cue cards for my dad.”

“David got on Skype with him and they shot the scene together. It was virtually the last scene he ever acted in. It’s incredibly meaningful and I felt we’d written a scene that was up to the task. That’s a moment I’ll never let go of.

All episodes of ‘Twin Peaks’ launch on MUBI June 13. The  original US pilot episode screens as part of the BFI’s Film on Film Festival on June 15 accompanied by a Q&A with Kyle MacLachlan

The post Inside David Lynch’s plans for ‘Twin Peaks’ to return: “We had a recipe forming” appeared first on NME.

The first song I remember hearing

Kermit The Frog – ‘Rainbow Connection’

“Music is so important to me. It has been since I was a kid watching The Muppet Movie. Seeing Kermit The Frog sitting in the pond and singing ‘Rainbow Connection’ really shaped me. I was super scared of the world but I could also feel something beautiful out there, calling to the dreamer in me. ‘Rainbow Connection’ made me feel like there was a place I belonged. It’s a beautiful, mystical and magical song that continues to be so meaningful and powerful. When I got married, it was the song that played at the beginning of the ceremony.”

The first album I ever bought

‘Sounds Of Terror’

“It was a Halloween compilation album that had a picture of Dracula on the cover, with blood dripping down his face. I was in Kindergarten at the time, and begged my father to buy it for me. One side was Halloween bubblegum pop songs such as ‘The Monster Mash’, ‘The Purple People Eater’ and ‘Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On The Bed Post Overnight)’ which I loved.

“The other side was these utterly terrifying sound effects from horror films. It was exactly what the album title promised but it scared me to the point I was actually shivering with fear. My Mum, who was very religious and didn’t really like Halloween, was pissed and made my dad take it back to the store. I was crushed. Now, I own 60 vintage Halloween records and play them for my kids.”

The first gig I went to

Tool, Kansas City Memorial Hall, 1994

“When I was very little, my parents took me to see Amy Grant, who makes Christian rock. Being in an arena and seeing a musician play live was pretty fantastic but the first show that I chose to go to was Tool when I was in high school. They have always been one of my favourite bands and they were supported by The Flaming Lips and Failure; all three of those bands have been profoundly impactful on me. The experience of hearing such different approaches to rock was breathtaking.”

The song that reminds me of home

Gonzo – ‘I’m Going To Go Back There Someday’

“Another one from The Muppet Movie. It just takes me right back to being in my attic bedroom as a kid in Kansas.”

The song I wish I’d written

Fastball – ‘The Way’

“I love that song. There’s also ‘Sex And Candy’ by Marcy Playground or ‘Got You (Where I Want You) by The Flys. I’d love to be able to tell people I’d written any of those songs.”

You clearly love music – did you ever want to be in a band?

“I was in a few bands as a teenager. One of them was called Atrium, which featured a very talented bass player, guitarist, drummer and keyboardist. I was the singer and I wasn’t very talented, but I could hold a note and enjoyed performing onstage. We covered Radiohead’s ‘Creep’, Styx’’ ‘Come Sail Away’, ‘American Woman’ by The Guess Who and a lot of Rush – basically songs that would bring the house down at parties. Then when I got to college, some of my friends started pursuing the serious life of a professional musician and I came to the sobering realisation that I should be an appreciator instead of a creator.”

The song I can’t get out of my head

Nine Inch Nails ­– ‘Only’

“It’s perfect for whatever mood I’m in. If I get up feeling anxious or aggressive, if I’m working out or I’m on my way somewhere, it’s the song that plays in my head. As soon as I hear it, it’s stuck there. The fact I’ve just said the title means it’s going to be in my head for the next couple of days. Nine Inch Nails are one of those bands that changed my life.”

You’re friends with Trent Reznor, have you ever spoken about working together?

“He’s an incredible human being who’s made me feel really welcomed and supported. He’s somebody I look up to and admire and as an artist, he’s really pushed himself to explore the lengths of his talents. To be friends with him is a gift and I want to be very protective of that. It would be really intimidating to bring up the idea of any kind of collab.”

The song I can no longer listen to

Failure – ‘Stuck On You’

“I can’t really go into it, but that’s definitely one song I can’t listen to. There’s also a particular song by Neutral Milk Hotel that if I heard it playing in a public place, I’d have to go and stick my head in a sink somewhere.”

The song that makes me cry

Elton John – ‘Your Song’

“My kids have great taste in music, which I’m really proud about. My daughter is seven and has really fallen for the power of Taylor Swift’s songwriting. She’s a hardcore Swiftie but right now, she’s on a real Elton John tear.  As I was walking past her room the other day, I caught her singing along to ‘Your Song’ and I got a little choked up. So that made me cry, but in a really beautiful way.”

The song that makes me want to dance

Of Montreal – ‘Wraith Pinned To The Mist And Other Games’

“‘Let’s have bizarre celebrations’. That song just makes me want to dance every fucking time I hear it. It’s such a jam.”

The song I do at karaoke

Styx – ‘Come Sail Away’

“I really love karaoke and I’ve got a whole list on my phone. Let me get it up so I don’t leave off any favourites… So there’s Styx’ ‘Come Sail Away’, ‘Part Of Your World’ from The Little Mermaid, ‘Hold Me Now’ by The Thompson Twins and ‘The Promise’ by When In Rome.”

The song I want played at my funeral

Pink Floyd – ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’

“Well, I’d like it to go from ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ right into ‘Wish You Were Here’. So two Pink Floyd tracks seamlessly flowing together. When I listen to the lyrics of those songs, the movie of my life plays in my head. But they’re also really long, beautiful songs and I’d want everybody to just sit there and really be in that moment.”

David Dastmalchian is in ‘Murderbot’, available to watch now on Apple TV+, and ‘The Life Of Chuck’, in UK cinemas August 22

The post Soundtrack Of My Life: David Dastmalchian appeared first on NME.

When Ellis Howard was growing up in a “tiny house with two sisters and a massive fucking dog” in Liverpool, the self-confessed “gobby queer kid” wanted to be an actor or a politician. The eureka moment came when he realised that storytelling – as a writer and performer – would let him do both.

Howard, the son of a frontline NHS worker and a docker, was a voracious reader who took free acting classes at local performing arts school Rare Studio. He also threw himself into the UK Youth Parliament scheme where Dr Rys Farthing, a research fellow at Oxford University, gave him funding to interview kids living in poverty.

The goal was to gather insights that might shape future policy, but 14-year-old Howard also parlayed his findings into a “verbatim piece” for the stage. “I was talking to Rys about my future and she said, ‘You don’t need to go and study politics – this is politics.'” So he parked plans to apply for university and moved to London to study drama instead.

When we meet in a Soho hotel bar that’s popular with industry types – Alan Cumming is taking a meeting behind us – Howard builds an instant rapport. His lively conversation ranges from playful gossip about Scouse icon Cilla Black to spot-on critiques of Keir Starmer’s Labour government: “They shouldn’t be taking talking points from the right wing – they should be asking, ‘How can we make people’s lives actually feel better?'”

Now, 14 years after his politically charged stage debut, Dr Farthing’s advice looks remarkably prescient. Howard’s breakthrough role in What It Feels Like For A Girl, Paris Lees’ TV adaptation of her own coming-of-age memoir, is sure to spark vital conversations about gender identity, sex work, drug use and various forms of abuse.

When her book was published in 2021, Lees explained that it was “supposed to be shocking” because it draws from her own experience of underage and teenage sex work. “We know that predatory men take advantage of vulnerable kids and we know that LGBT kids are highly vulnerable,” she said at the time. Howard thinks the same is true of the TV series, but adds a caveat: “I don’t think shocking is synonymous with gratuitous. I don’t think someone’s life [story] can be gratuitous.”

In What Is Feels Like For A Girl, Howard plays Byron, a queer teen grappling with their gender identity, who finds a chosen family on Nottingham’s ketamine-laced club scene. Lees, a writer whose work has appeared in British Vogue and NME, based Byron on herself and says the “biggest challenge” was finding an actor who could play him.

“We’re following someone who’s going from, in the eyes of the outside world, a schoolboy, right up to a trans woman starting university, and all that’s in between,” she explained earlier this year. At 28, Howard is older than Byron, who’s only 15 when we meet him, but still fresh-faced enough to portray a teenager.

Like Byron, Howard is queer and working-class. Unlike Byron, he isn’t trans, so the key was cleaving as closely as possible to Lees’ lived experience. “We’re not trying to tell every trans person’s story, because you can’t do that – [being trans] isn’t a monolith,” he says. “I mean, Byron has no language for their gender identity yet. This show is really an odyssey to finding yourself.”

Howard also points out that “some people’s experience of queerness isn’t a clearly defined pilgrimage from A to B” – instead, it remains “messy” long after they come out. “My own experience with queerness is a clusterfuck, but I had a renaissance [while] filming this show,” he says. “I felt more authentic than I’ve ever felt in my life. And I felt like I could connect with those earlier moments of Byron’s journey.”

No one would have wanted it this way, but What It Feels Like For A Girl couldn’t be more timely. It premieres on BBC Three just six weeks after the UK’s Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, a blinkered decision that will almost certainly make the UK’s trans community even more marginalised.

Reaching for a positive, Howard suggests the series could act as a balm. “I hope it humanises trans stories, but also that it blows the doors off so that more trans stories get made,” he says. “I also hope that it provides some levity to other Byrons out there.” After all, it has an implied happy ending: Lees is now a successful writer steering the TV adaptation of her own book.

Howard was “desperate” to be involved and says he’d have jostled for a spot in the writers’ room if it hadn’t clashed with his 2023 stage role in To Kill A Mockingbird. Instead, he spent nine months auditioning to star in a series that he approvingly calls “a dangerous proposition”.

“This is why we need public service broadcasters like the BBC – because who else takes these risks?” Howard says, leaning in closer as he gets more animated. “I feel like jobs like this are generational, sadly. It’s an incredibly authored, queer, working-class story where we really get under the fingernails of a community we don’t often see on screen.” Howard pauses, barely, for a quick sip of his breakfast tea. “But it’s told with all the scale, colour and comedy of a big epic show. It takes a really massive swing.”

Howard is passionate about working-class issues. During the pandemic, he posted eloquent social media videos explaining how COVID-19 was disproportionately affecting people from low income backgrounds. “We weren’t all doing yoga and taking up baking,” he says today. “I was an unemployed temp worker who was fucking skint.” Whenever a viewer tipped him through a payment app – his boyfriend’s idea – it helped to chip away at his overdraft.

Howard’s videos struck such a chord that he experienced his “first Mariah Carey moment” – well, almost. When a stranger approached him during a dog walk, he readied himself for a compliment, but was asked instead: “Are you the guy who makes those videos? They’re fucking weird, them.”

In 2021, Howard’s fortunes improved when he landed a small role in Help, Jack Thorne’s blistering TV film set in a COVID-stricken care home. “I got to play rough and meet [co-stars] Stephen Graham and Jodie ‘fucking’ Comer,” he says with a grin. “But also, I got to be part of something political.” Since Help, he’s levelled up again with a larger part in 2022’s teen horror series Red Rose and his 2023 stage run in To Kill A Mockingbird.

Still, What It Feels Like For A Girl is his most prominent role yet and should widen his platform even further. With this in mind, it seems fitting to end with a political question. In December 2023, Howard posted an Instagram video lamenting “another winter in a Conservative world”. Does he think things feel different since Labour came into power last July.

“It does feel different. Do I love them? No,” he says. “If it was up to me, I’d have a deep left government and a wealth tax yesterday,” Starmer has also backtracked on trans issues: in April, the PM’s spokesperson confirmed that he agrees with the Supreme Court’s definition of a woman. “They’re focusing on the wrong one per cent,” Howard says. “We’re facing down a climate apocalypse, AI is going to completely restructure our society and the world is sliding into fascism. And what are they doing?” He takes another sip of his breakfast tea.  “Look what you’ve done, you’ve really got me started…”

‘What It Feels Like For A Girl’ releases all episodes on BBC iPlayer on June 3

Photographer: David Reiss
Stylist: Michael Miller
Groomer: Sandra Hahnel

The post Ellis Howard on the BBC’s “shocking” ‘What It Feels Like For A Girl’ adaptation: “I hope it humanises trans stories” appeared first on NME.

“All the tea in England couldn’t warm her.” That’s how charismatic serial killer Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) describes his very rich, very British wife Kate Lockwood-Goldberg (Charlotte Ritchie) in the fifth and final season of You.

• Read more: ‘Fresh Meat’ at 10: “We were basically dirty, smelly ‘Friends’”

Ritchie joined Netflix’s hit psychological thriller in 2023 when the show relocated to London for a typically slick, ridiculous fourth season which got away with introducing hapless British aristocrats with names like Lady Phoebe Borehall-Blaxworth. Like Netflix’s other somewhat divisive staple Emily In Paris, You has always been in on the joke.

But Ritchie, a familiar face on British TV thanks to comedy roles in Fresh Meat, Ghosts and Feel Good, as well as a stint on Taskmaster, was the only Brit asked back for season five. This involved leaving London, the city where she was born and raised, for five-and-a-half months of filming in New York. “I’ve always been a bit funny about going to America [for work],” Ritchie confides when we meet at a newly opened pub in her north London neighbourhood.

It’s mid-afternoon on a weekday, so the only punters drinking are gents of a certain age, but Ritchie’s been itching to pop in because it has the “proper pub” vibe that she likes. But back to her reservations about crossing the Atlantic. “I’ve always been a bit, like, ‘Everyone says it’s great, and obviously the money is 10 times better than here, but it’s not home, is it’. And it’s not got that British sense of humour.”

Ritchie was “pleasantly surprised” by the New York grind though. “I wasn’t ready to admit that for ages,” she says. “There’s something familiar to me – and so kind of truthful and honest – about the British attitude to work: a kind of realism that is so grounding and important. But in America, that New York spirit is quite encouraging in a different way. Everyone is very ambitious, so it’s quite an inspiring place.”

“I’m not the love interest and that was quite liberating”

Ritchie also relished the opportunity to show that Kate is no longer as frosty as Joe Goldberg would have us believe. As you may recall, season four ended with Kate inheriting the family business from her one-percenter father – Joe killed him, obviously – then building a glossy new life in New York with her problematic beau. At the time, Ritchie told NME she was “deeply disappointed in Kate” for being wooed by Joe because she initially seemed so impervious to his charms.

But as season five unfolds, we see Kate’s allegiance to Joe wavering as they take different tacks in protecting the business and Joe’s young son Henry (Frankie DeMaio), whom she’s raising as her own. Both are threatened by Kate’s scheming half-sister Reagan, a new character portrayed by Pitch Perfect‘s Anna Camp, who also plays Reagan’s messy identical twin Maddie. Does You exploit the potential for sibling mistaken identity? Of course!

“Kate’s opened up because of work and motherhood,” Ritchie says. “As joyful as it was to be kind of hateful and a real bitch [in season four], it’s also really fun to show the character’s light and shade.” Kate also appears more sympathetic now because Reagan is so awful. “Reagan is pure Kate. She’s the way Kate could have gone if she didn’t thaw and find happiness [with Joe and Henry].”

Ritchie is chatty and relaxed throughout our interview. She confides that she used to tell interviewers it took her a while to “accept” the idea she wanted to become an actress. But now, after rediscovering a childhood diary, that claim is out the window.

“Literally all over it, I’d written: ‘I want to be an actress!'” she recalls. “So obviously I really did own it, but I just wanted to convince myself that it was, like, a secret.” Actually, Ritchie thinks she was “pretty precocious” from a young age: she starred in her first school play at seven and remembers thinking “this attention is awesome”. She reckons she caught the acting bug from her mother, who never did it professionally but “sort of has it in her”.

Ritchie is also perfectly happy to look back at her pre-acting gig in classical crossover group All Angels, who sang everything from popular opera pieces to Coldplay and Robbie Williams bangers. Ritchie auditioned for the four-piece in 2006 when she was just 17; later that year, their debut album stormed the UK Top 10.

“We were formed by a record label – it was the height of the classical crossover genre,” she says. “I think, honestly, they were looking to make some beautiful music but also some serious cash, because they saw a gap in the market. That might be a cynical view, but the arrangers and composers we worked with were so, so brilliant and it was a dream job for me. I was 17, singing beautiful harmonies and making proper money.”

“We all have that part of us that wants to see charismatic people do terrible things”

Ritchie says she entered the music industry “with very little self-awareness” but has no regrets about her stint in All Angels, who split in 2011. “I was still at school when it started, so it almost felt like an extracurricular club,” she says. Still, she admits she’s only recently felt an “itch” to sing in public again – possibly in a stage musical. “I think I found the idea too embarrassing for about seven years [after the group], but now I’m slowly shrugging that off.”

Still, she treads a little more carefully when talk turns to the legacy of You.  “I think it will be a very interesting time capsule,” she says, pointing to the way Joe uses social media to stalk aspiring writer Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail) in season one. “Because the show feels so embedded in the current culture, it will be a fascinating historical artefact.”

This reticence is understandable given that You has been accused of “glamourising” stalking and male violence against women. Badgley told NME in 2023 that Joe is “a villain” who “becomes an antihero in a culture that is obsessed with villains”. Since it premiered on April 24, the show’s twisty and intense season finale hasn’t exactly enthralled critics, who’ve chided it for “romanticising” Goldberg and “insulting” viewers.

Ritchie says that before she joined You‘s cast, she found Badgley’s character “too creepy” to watch. But she makes a strong case for the show’s appeal and wider purpose. “We all have that part of us that wants to see charismatic people do terrible things,” she says. “There’s meant to be an outlet for that, and it’s better that it happens on a fake Netflix show than in real life, right? I’d rather that than [viewers] really worshiping a true crime criminal.”

We suggest You could also be remembered as “prophetic” – especially because of superficial similarities between Joe Goldberg and Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old American man who became something of a social media folk hero in December after being accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Like Goldberg, Mangione is immensely photogenic and dresses with a preppy flair.

Ritchie says she isn’t aware of the Mangione case, but after NME fills her in, she replies thoughtfully: “I mean, Joe didn’t come from nowhere – he’s an amalgamation of multiple men who have existed through history. The whole conceit of the show is that there are people who look like that, who get away with murder.”

However You is remembered in years to come, it already sounds like a game-changer for Ritchie because it kindled her ambition. “I had a sudden moment where I thought, ‘Maybe I do want to pursue certain things,'” she says. “Up until the last few years, I’ve just always been grateful to be working on anything that was good. But maybe with a bit of age and experience, I’ve started to go, ‘What would it look like if I chose a bit more?'”

Ritchie has already racked up plenty of good work. In her final year at Bristol University, she landed her breakthrough role in Fresh Meat, the much loved student sitcom that originally aired between 2011 and 2016. Ritchie was consistently hilarious as Oregon Shawcross, a wealthy fresher who desperately hides her privilege to fit in. “I’ll always have the softest spot for Oregon. I don’t think I was very dissimilar from her at that age.”

Since Fresh Meat, Ritchie has appeared in a range of shows that give her cross-generational recognisability: from the younger-skewing comedies Feel Good and Ghosts to cosy UK TV staples like Call The Midwife and Grantchester.

She isn’t afraid of taking the odd tangent. In 2023, she starred in an intriguingly surreal music video, ‘The Blades’ by Brighton post-punk crew Squid, despite having no prior connection to the band. Ritchie plays a woman whose fertile imagination brightens up a long wait to see a personal injury clerk. “The director just got in touch and asked – I don’t think it came from Squid,” she says. “I love having the opportunity to do different things in different formats.”

But, after getting second billing on a huge show like You, is she mainly looking for shiny lead roles now? “Although I was number two on the call sheet, I think, I’m not the love interest and that was quite liberating,” Ritchie says. She’s alluding to a key final season storyline: Joe’s frisson with mysterious newcomer Bronte (Madeline Brewer).

“And I just did another show where I just came in for a supporting role, which was so satisfying,” Ritchie continues. “I’m sure if I increasingly get smaller parts, I’ll find I’m a bit less gracious about it. But for now, I do feel like it’s a range of experiences I’m looking for, not specific ones.”

‘You’ season five is streaming now on Netflix

The post Charlotte Ritchie on surviving ‘You’ and what comes next: “I want to pursue things” appeared first on NME.

“I never really thought I’d get anywhere, to be honest,” says Cosmo Jarvis. It’s almost laughable. Ever since the British-raised actor starred with a then-unknown Florence Pugh in 2015’s period drama Lady Macbeth, his career has accelerated with unstoppable force. After playing the lead in the Emmy-winning Disney+ show Shōgun, he’s just featured opposite Robert De Niro in gangster pic The Alto Knights. Now he’s part of the ensemble for Warfare, a grueling but gripping Iraq War drama co-directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Civil War).

• READ MORE: What now for ‘Shōgun’ after that life-and-death finale?

Today holed up in London’s plush Corinthia Hotel, Jarvis has just wrapped Guy Ritchie’s new drama Wife & Dog alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and is about to join forces with Christopher Nolan for his epic take on Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. It’s a project so bound by secrecy, Jarvis repeats “can’t talk about it” three times when asked how excited he is. Oh, and there’s the little matter of Shōgun Season 2 to squeeze onto his increasingly busy dance card. But the 35-year-old is taking it all in his stride. “It’s all learning on the job and trying to strive in some way,” he says. “There’s always more to do.”

Born in New Jersey – his father is British, his mother Armenian-American – Cosmo Jarvis was raised in Devon, where industry connections were non-existent. Early on, he fashioned himself as an alt-indie singer-songwriter, a period of his life he now calls “ancient history”. Despite releasing albums including 2011’s Is The World Strange Or Am I Strange?, it was a means to an end. “I only used music really as a way to get out of Plymouth and knock on agent’s doors. We don’t have any acting and filming infrastructure down in Devon.”

All that knocking paid dividends. Playing broken-down, damaged men in acclaimed films like Calm With Horses and It Is In Us All, Jarvis soon began to carve out a reputation as an actor of considerable intensity and charisma. Not that he wants to hear it. “Don’t tell me good things,” he says, half-joking. “When people get told good things, they stagnate and they become assholes.” Like a young De Niro, he also became known for staying in character. “That’s what happens if you don’t go to drama school, mate,” he mutters.

In the case of Warfare, it offered a reunion between Jarvis and Garland, who cast the actor in “a tiny, tiny role” for his 2018 film Annihilation alongside Natalie Portman. “The part was cut from the movie. Fair play, it happens,” shrugs Jarvis. “Even though it was a very small role, he [Garland] was there in the audition for that and he was really, like he is, very honest and very direct and approachable. Then years went by, and he met me, and he explained about Warfare, and he said, ‘Do you remember me?’ And I said, ‘Of course I do’.”

When Jarvis heard about Warfare, he was hooked, especially given Garland’s co-writer/director was Ray Mendoza. A former U.S. Navy SEAL, Mendoza’s experiences during the second Gulf War would form the basis for Warfare. Set in 2006 in Ramadi, Iraq, the film is a real-time take on a horrifying incident when Mendoza and his fellow soldiers came under fire from Al Qaeda insurgents. Cosmo Jarvis plays Elliott Miller, a sniper whose legs are left shredded by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device).

Mendoza, who worked with Garland as a military advisor on his controversial 2024 film Civil War, wanted to make the film in part because Miller has no memory of the entire incident. “He remembers nothing at all,” says Jarvis. “But by being there [on the set], his presence was just essential in terms of the whole process.” The result is one of the most authentic combat movies of the modern era, from precise military manoeuvres to the unerring sound design that mixes ear-shattering screams, explosions and gunfire.

While Warfare is very much an ensemble (Will Poulter, Charles Melton, Joseph Quinn and Kit Connor also feature), it’s a lightyear in tone from Jarvis’ elegant breakout, Shōgun. Adapted from the novel by James Clavell, the show won a history-making 18 Emmys. So how did it feel to head up such a critical success? “I mean, I’m certainly grateful for the employment, as I am for any employment. Yeah, it’s good. I’m happy for everybody involved in the show and glad that what they made was well received, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of it.”

Cosmo Jarvis, whose answers are frequently punctuated with long pauses, is reluctant to reveal too much about the forthcoming second season. “All I know is that the people who are responsible for making it are working very hard to make something, and that’s about all I know, really.” But is he pumped to reprise his character, John Blackthorne, the English navigator who crosses swords in feudal Japan? “I haven’t really thought about it, to be honest. I can’t even imagine what they may come up with.” So they don’t give you any subtle hints? “I don’t ask.”

Even projects in the public domain, Jarvis agonises over discussing. Like The Alto Knights, which sees him play Vincent Gigante, a hit-man working for De Niro’s real-life mobster Vito Genovese. Put simply, Genovese bickering with Gigante as they drive cross-country, is one of the most pleasurable scenes in cinema this year. How did he find De Niro? “Well, it was an honour to work alongside him. I find it quite difficult to talk about stuff like that. It was just great to be a part of, and it was great to watch somebody that I am so familiar with since my youth.”

Whether Cosmo Jarvis will ever quite hit the heights of De Niro is a matter for another day. But like his former co-star, he treats the work with the upmost seriousness, gaining spectacular results. No wonder he’s so tightly wound. “I find it very difficult to do anything except for what I’m doing at any given moment,” he says. “I find it quite difficult to plan ahead. Because I find that a lot of the time the work can be all-consuming…in a good way though.” His career plan? “See what happens, I suppose. Just keep plugging away.” It’s worked pretty well so far.

‘Warfare’ is in cinemas from April 18

The post ‘Shōgun’s Cosmo Jarvis on the gritty ‘Warfare’ and Christopher Nolan’s’ ‘Odyssey’: “There’s always more to do” appeared first on NME.

Wrestler The Miz has spoken to NME about Snoop Dogg “sucker-punching” him, his iconic theme song, and still proving that he’s more than “just a reality guy”.

• READ MORE: Sleep Token’s new single ‘Emergence’ proves metal’s new kings remain fearless as ever

Last Friday (March 28), Smackdown was held at London’s O2 Arena as part of the Road To WrestleMania tour. At the show, The Miz confronted Jimmy Uso and lost an impromptu match against him.

Ahead of the show, Miz – real name Michael Mizanin – reminisced on his love for music, especially metal. “Right now, I’ve been listening to the new Sleep Token [single] ‘Emergence’, Bad Omens, Falling in Reverse,” he told NME. “Those are the kinds of bands that have been on my playlist non-stop, so that’s what I’ve been listening to quite a bit. Sleep Token’s – since I had 11 hours to fly over to Europe – probably been repeated a million times.”

Mizanin is also a self-proclaimed fan of ‘90s rap, revealing that he listens to “Tupac, Biggie, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – because I’m from Cleveland” while he works out.

Funnily enough, his theme song ‘I Came To Play’ blends both genres and has been with him since his WWE debut in 2006, becoming one of the company’s most recognisable tracks. The track was created by Downstrait, the band behind other fan-favourite themes for other wrestlers such as Cody Rhodes (‘Kingdom’), Dolph Ziggler (‘Here To Show The World’) and Matt Cardona (‘When the Lights Go Down’).

“I do remember the day I got my theme song,” The Miz said with a smile. “The first time I heard my theme song was in a car. I had a CD – yes, back in the day we had CDs. And so, I was with Zack Ryder or Matt Cardona, however you want, and Nic Nemeth [formerly known as Dolph Ziggler]. And I put the CD in, and I go, ‘Guys, I got a new song. We have to see if this is good or not.’”

The CD contained multiple potential themes, with some being “Kid Rock-y”. Mizanin continued: “I liked the rap-rock, nu-metal-type stuff, but it just wasn’t there. Then when ‘I Came to Play’ came on, we all looked at each other like, ‘This is awesome, this is perfect.’”

The song has since become a sporting anthem: “Now, it’s crazy, like you’ll hear it at sporting events. And I’m like, ‘That’s my song’. Literally, it was made for me. The fact that my song was Downstait’s biggest song until Cody came along… that kind of sucks, but it’s alright.”

NME asked The Miz why he thinks Downstait’s music resonates with wrestling fans. “Downstait’s a very good band,” he answered. “They’re able to write a song and embody the character, really allowing it to [be] showcased and allow the crowd to get behind them.”

“[In general] Music allows our entrance music to help our character,” he added. “It helps you know exactly who the person is and how to feel about that person when they come out. If it’s dark and ominous, like the Undertaker, you know it’s eerie and evil. Or if it’s fun, like Rey Mysterio, you know it’s upbeat and energetic.”

As arrogant-yet-beloved The Miz, Mizanin has had his fair share of monumental moments inside the ring, even taking a blow from various pop stars. One of his biggest moments was at WrestleMania 39, when – while co-hosting the event with him – WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg gave him The Rock’s finisher, The People’s Elbow.

“Usually hosting WrestleMania just involves you literally coming out, welcome everyone to the show, maybe do a couple of backstage stuff and then announce the attendance,” The Miz recounted. “For me, at SoFi in Los Angeles, I had like two matches: [my] first match was against [sports commentator] Pat McAfee the first day on Saturday. Then on Sunday, I ended up having a match against Shane McMahon, which ended up turning into Snoop Dogg just sucker-punching me and giving me a People’s elbow that people talked about still to this day.”

He also recalled the time when “Bad Bunny got in the ring with [him] and ended up beating [him up]” when explaining how cool it was that “huge, worldwide stars” not just have an interest, but really lock in and take pride in what we do”.

“Bad Bunny would go do the Grammys, come back and train,” The Miz added. “He was locking in and wanted to learn because this was a dream for him.”

For the 21-time champion, the whole experience was a reminder of what WWE is all about: “creating moments that last a lifetime.”

But outside of the wrestling ring, The Miz is known for being a reality star as well. From his early days on MTV’s The Real World to his time on Total Divas and Miz and Mrs, reality TV has played a huge role in his career, but Mizanin got candid with NME about the stigma he has faced due to it.

“Back then, it was very difficult. [In the early 2000s,] whenever you tried to do something other than being on a reality show, you were a no talent hack,” he admitted. “You were just a person that can go on a reality show and be in front of a camera. Now we know there are differences in reality stars, right? There [are] some people that are just wallpaper, are just there to stand around and other people that actually make magic on television.”

Mizanin continued: “Back then, we didn’t know. We didn’t know who the talent was or if there was any talent, and no one wanted to know. It was very difficult to get into anything, and you really had to work and struggle. It took a long time. It’s still taking a long time. I still sometimes have that in the back of my head, like, ‘Alright, they still see me as just a reality guy. I’ll show them.’”

WrestleMania 41 will take place on April 19 and April 20 in Las Vegas, with CM Punk, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins main-eventing night one. On night two, the main event will be John Cena (in his last year of wrestling) challenging the current WWE champ Cody Rhodes in hopes of becoming a record-breaking 17-time World champion in the company. You can find any available tickets here.

US fans can watch WrestleMania via Peacock, and most international fans can watch WWE’s most prestigious event on Netflix.

In other news, Lewis Capaldi appeared during last Friday’s Smackdown, aligning himself with fellow Scotsman Drew McIntyre by congratulating him backstage after his win against Randy Orton.

The post The Miz says Snoop Dogg “sucker-punched” him at WrestleMania 39 appeared first on NME.

Wrestler Charlotte Flair has spoken to NME about her love of music from her theme song to her fandom for Megan Thee Stallion – as well as who her dream opponents would be.

• READ MORE: Megan Thee Stallion – ‘Megan: Act II’ review: the Houston Hottie ends 2024 with a bang

Flair is gearing up for WrestleMania 41, where she will challenge the current WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton for her title. During the first London stop on “Road to WrestleMania”, she continued her winning streak on Smackdown and won her match against Michin.

While talking to NME, the WWE superstar said the word “excited is an understatement” when it comes to describing how she feels about her upcoming championship match. “WrestleMania is my domain,” she said before reminiscing about her severe knee injury. “2024 did its best to kick my ass, and I kicked its ass.”

Since her main roster debut in 2015, Flair has only missed two WrestleManias, but last year’s absence “felt a little more personal.” She admitted she “took it a little more to heart” because she had “never been injured on the main roster, so this was a big blow to me mentally and physically.”

“The Queen” only returned to WWE this February ​​after being away for more than a year due to a severe knee injury. She entered the 30-Woman Royal Rumble at 27 and won – punching her ticket to WrestleMania and becoming the first woman ever to win the Rumble twice.

“People thought that I was gonna come back older and maybe less than – and understandably so, because I came back from what could have been a career-ending injury,” she speculated, but she is stronger than ever. “I am the only woman to be on eight WrestleManias and [in] eight title matches, so I take it very serious. I’ve already done my homework. That’s the hard part. WrestleMania is going to be the fun part with Tiffany Stratton.”

During her recovery, music played a major role in Flair’s routine. “Megan Thee Stallion got me through the summer,” she enthused before sharing that she also loves “a lot of EDM,” too.

“Don’t get me wrong, I play Adele a lot driving down the road,” Flair continued. “Gosh, my music taste is kind of all over the place. Sometimes, you’ll hear me playing Sexyy Red in the gym, but it could go from Dave Matthews Band to Cardi B. I like Diplo, I like Rebūke. I love my reggaeton too like Bad Bunny and Peso Pluma – it really just depends on my mood.”

Last year, Megan Thee Stallion and RM of BTS’ collaboration ‘Neva Play’ became the opening theme song for Smackdown – and Flair is eager to get the Hot Girl coach on the blue brand. “I had just done a post with one of the new Megan Thee Stallion songs, and then they used it for SmackDown,” she recalled. “And I was like, ‘Oh, can I just DM her and be like, ‘Will you come out with me for my entrance?’”

The North Carolina star even called out Thee Stallion directly: “Megan, two queens side by side. Let’s make it happen, please.”

Flair also commented on Bad Bunny’s WWE in-ring career – in which he won the 24/7 Championship and main-evented Backlash in 2023: “He has been incredible anytime he’s made an appearance. You can really tell his love for the industry and [how] he respects it and puts in the work. So kudos to him.”

More pop stars have been stepping into the WWE: Travis Scott appeared as John Cena’s accomplice in attacking Cody Rhodes last month and is currently training for his inevitable in-ring debut. Sexyy Red recently revealed she could have wrestled in WWE if she had more time to train. She, instead, had segments on NXT and hosted Battleground – a premium live event exclusive to the yellow brand.

NME asked Charlotte Flair what she thought about more non-wrestlers taking on the challenge. “I only think a superstar should do that if they respect the industry and want to be good at it and take the time to learn because what we do is very special,” Flair explained. “We’re not only entertaining – I mean, it’s sports, it’s entertainment, it’s all-encompassing. You have to put in the work — it’s hard. Who likes getting beat up?”

When asked which stars she’d like to see step into the squared circle, Flair had a few in mind: “[Olympic gold-winning gymnast] Simone Biles killed it. [Olympic gold-winning skier] Lindsey Vonn just came back [and] won another medal at 40. And an artist? I’d say, let’s go Cardi B because I do think that she follows it and likes it. So those three.”

The latter did a promotional video for WWE last year, announcing that another premium live event SummerSlam will now be held across two nights.

With more musicians having prominent roles in recent WWE storylines, Cyndi Lauper’s legacy in wrestling has recently resurfaced among fan discussion. The pop icon had been instrumental in WWE’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling era, managing Wendi Richter when she won the WWF Women’s championship at the first-ever WrestleMania. Many believed she deserved a Hall of Fame induction and, when asked her thoughts, Flair remained neutral. “I’ve never been asked this question,” she stated before believing it was “not something she could say”.

“That isn’t something that I am educated on,” she added. “I just know the song [Lauper’s 1983 hit ‘Girl Just Wanna Have Fun’]. I like her. It was a monumental moment for Wendi Richter,” she said. “I think that would be up to the fans to vote, whether they believe she should be in it. That’s not my decision, but there’s no negative there — I just don’t know.”

Charlotte Flair – as the daughter of wrestling legend Ric Flair – has carried on her family’s legacy not only through her in-ring prowess but also through her entrance presentation. Both she and her father are renowned for their elaborate, feather-adorned robes and for using the iconic composition ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ by Richard Strauss as their entrance music. While Ric Flair walked out to the original orchestral piece, Charlotte’s version – called ‘Recognition’ – is a remix crafted by WWE’s former in-house music production duo CFO$.

Flair reflected on the significance of the entrance theme. “In the beginning, it really took me a minute to own it because I’m coming out to technically Ric Flair’s music that’s just remixed a little (because I love EDM and techno so they gave it a beat),” Charlotte explained.

Eventually, she embraced it, saying “it became second nature” to her. In 2023, her song was updated and renamed ‘All Hail The Queen’ with an added intro: “Bow down / All hail the queen”. Flair initially revealed she had mixed feelings about the track but, years on, she told NME that she found the new song “pretty cool”.

However, for Flair, the song represented more than just her entrance and wresting persona: “I am more proud [of] that beat or that symphony that’s from my dad’s and that’s similar to mine. I’m so proud of the legacy we have created together, and that’s what I think is the most important part of that music. It’s an extension of him while continuing my own path.”

WrestleMania 41 will take place on April 19 and April 20 in Las Vegas, with CM Punk, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins main eventing the first night and John Cena (in his last year of wrestling) will challenge the current WWE champ Cody Rhodes in hopes of becoming a record-breaking 17-time World champion in the company. You can find any available tickets here.

US fans can watch WrestleMania via Peacock, and most international fans can watch WWE’s most prestigious event on Netflix.

In other news, Lewis Capaldi appeared during last Friday’s Smackdown, aligning himself with fellow Scotsman Drew McIntyre by congratulating him backstage after his win against Randy Orton.

The post Charlotte Flair wants to see Megan Thee Stallion in WWE appeared first on NME.