Look, I’ll be honest with you. Most celebrity interviews are rubbish. Same queries, same responses, same bloody boring routine. “Tell us about your new film.” “So what was it like working with so-and-so? Yawn.
I’ve heard enough of these to know when somebody’s just going through the motions. And I’ll tell you, celebrities can smell a lazy interviewer from a mile away. They’ve got their safe answers ready. You ask the no-brainer stuff, they give you the canned response, and everybody goes home. Job done, I guess, but time wasted.
Why Your Questions Probably Won’t Work
This is how this generally unfolds. A person has an opportunity to talk with a celebrity and freaks out. And then they write up a list of twenty questions that sound “professional”, and they wonder why the whole thing feels like going to the dentist.
The problem isn’t you. It’s that you’re thinking about questions for an interview with a celebrity like they’re some sort of exam paper. They’re not. They’re just people who have had some interesting jobs and strange experiences. Make them feel that, and you will get somewhere.
I once saw an interview in which one person asked another person about his “process” for the fifteenth time. The actor physically sighed before replying. That sigh said everything. They were bored. The interviewer was bored. The audience was bored.
What Actually Gets People Talking
Right, so what works then? Fun questions work. Questions that make someone think, “Oh, I’ve never been asked that before,” work. Questions that aren’t trying to make you sound clever work.
Sean Evans does this really well with Hot Ones. He asks about the guest’s first trip to a supermarket after getting famous. Or what they’d be doing if their career had never taken off. These aren’t groundbreaking philosophical questions. They’re just different enough to be interesting.
I reckon the best unique questions to ask a celebrity are ones that acknowledge their fame is a bit weird. “Do you ever worry you’ll accidentally become one of those celebrities everyone makes fun of?” That’ll get you an honest answer. Or at least an interesting lie.
The Stuff Nobody Ever Asks
When you’re interviewing a celebrity, questions and answers shouldn’t feel like a transaction. But they usually do because everyone avoids anything remotely uncomfortable. Nobody wants to be the interviewer who “went too far” or whatever.
But here’s the thing. Most famous people are absolutely gagging to talk about the awkward bits. The time they bombed an audition. The project that nearly bankrupted them. The co-star they couldn’t stand. They just need someone to ask in a way that doesn’t feel like an ambush.
Try this: “What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done to get a role?” Or “Have you ever been completely wrong about how something would turn out?” These deep questions to ask celebrities work because they’re based on real experiences, not abstract concepts.
Building Your List Without Overthinking It
You don’t need 100 unique questions to ask a celebrity. You need about ten good ones and the ability to actually listen to what they’re saying.
I know people who prepare massive lists and then never deviate from them. The conversation goes nowhere because they’re too busy looking at their notes.
Start with their work, obviously. But then go sideways. If they’re in a superhero film, don’t ask about the training montage.
Ask them if they’ve ever had a proper row with someone on set. Ask them what they spend their money on.
Ask them if they’ve ever googled their ex to see what they’re up to now.
Mix it up properly. One question about their craft, then one about something completely daft. “What would your walk-up song be if you were a boxer?” or “If you had to get a job at Tesco tomorrow, which department would suit you best?”
These questions sound silly, but they actually reveal personality. And isn’t that the whole point?
Questions That Cut Through the Rubbish
The best celebrity interviews happen when someone asks about the stuff between the highlight reel. The quiet periods. The failures. The times they thought about packing it all in.
“When was the last time you felt like a complete fraud?” That’s a proper question.
“What do you do when the work dries up and you’re just sitting at home?”
Another good one. “Do you ever see someone else get a role you wanted and think, ‘That should’ve been me’?” Even better.
These questions for an interview with a celebrity and answers that matter because they’re grounded in reality. Everyone’s felt like a fraud at some point. Everyone’s been jealous of someone else’s success. Celebrities just have to feel these things whilst also being photographed.
Forget the Formula
Every interviewing guide tells you to have a structure. Opening questions, middle section, closing questions. That’s fine for a job interview at an insurance company. It’s death for an interesting conversation.
What you actually need is a few solid questions and the confidence to follow wherever the conversation goes. If they mention something interesting, pursue it. Don’t sit there thinking, “But I haven’t asked my question about their childhood yet.”
Graham Norton’s good at this. He’ll have a story prepared, but if something more interesting comes up, he’ll ditch the plan. That flexibility is what makes his interviews feel like actual conversations rather than promotional appearances.
Making Them Remember You
You know what celebrities hate? I was asked the same question in fifteen different interviews on the same day. You know what they love? Someone who’s actually bothered to learn something about them beyond their Wikipedia page.
Reference something obscure from early in their career. Mention a project that flopped but that you found interesting. Ask them about their mates who aren’t famous. Show you see them as more than just their most recent role.
The point of fun questions for an interview with a celebrity isn’t to be wacky for the sake of it. It’s to demonstrate you’re interested in them as a person, not just as a promotional tool for whatever they’re selling this week.
When It Actually Works
The magic happens when both of you forget you’re doing an interview. That’s it. That’s the whole secret. When they stop performing and start just chatting, that’s when you get the good stuff.
This usually happens about twenty minutes in, once they’ve realised you’re not going to stitch them up or ask anything horrendous. They relax. You relax. Suddenly, you’re having a proper conversation, and the tape recorder might as well not be there.
That’s when you can ask the deep questions to ask celebrities that actually mean something. Not “What’s your philosophy on life?” but “What keeps you up at night?” or “When did you last change your mind about something important?”
The best interviews read like a good night down the pub with someone interesting. Your job is to create that atmosphere where someone feels comfortable enough to drop the act and just talk. Everything else is details.
