CooperTalk

Steve Cooper talks with actor Brooke Smith. Brooke is best known for her role as Dr. Erica Hahn on the ABC medical drama series Grey's Anatomy, and for her role as Catherine Martin in the horror film The Silence of the Lambs. She has guest starred or been recurring on many shows including Ray Donovan, Unbelievable, Weeds, The Good Fight , The Crossing, Six Feet Under, The Good Doctor, Bates Motel, Bosch, Hand of God, American Horror Story, Crossing Jordan and Criminal Minds and can be seen in the new David E. Kelley series Big Sky.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Steve Stevens. Steve is one of the most original guitarists to emerge from the ’80s rock scene, best known for his 30 year partnership with Billy Idol, his work on Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana”, his Grammy Award winning performance on “Top Gun Anthem” and his work with Vince Neil on “Exposed”. His catalog of hit songs that he co-wrote & performed alongside Idol include “Rebel Yell”, “Eyes Without A Face” and “Flesh for Fantasy”. In addition to currently working on a new record together, Idol & him continue to tour to sold out crowds all over the world. Stevens has also lent his unmistakable sound and style to many hit records, including Pink “Try This”, Diana Ross “Eaten Alive”, Joni Mitchell “Chalk mark in a Rainstorm”, Robert Palmer “Don’t Explain”, The Thompson Twins “Here’s to Future Days”, Ric Ocasek “This Side of Paradise”, Peter Criss “Let Me Rock You”, Juno Reactor “Shango”, “Hokata”, and “Pistolero”, Kyosuke Himuro “Beat Haze Odyssey”, Steve Lukather “Lukather” and on his solo outings with Steve Stevens Atomic Playboys “Atomic Playboys”, Jerusalem Slim “Jerusalem Slim”, Bozzio Levin Stevens “Black Light Syndrome” and “Situation Dangerous” and the critically acclaimed solo releases “Flamenco A Go Go” & “Memory Crash”. 

Steve Cooper talks with comedy writer Tom Leopold. Tom has been written episodes or been a producer on various TV sitcoms such as Seinfeld, Cheers, Will & Grace, Dream On, Ellen, Caroline in the City and Hope & Faith and co-wrote the movie Club Paradise with his good friend Harry Shearer. He has written two novels, Almost Like Being Here and Somebody Sing, and collaborated with Bob Sand to publish a biography of a mythical comedy writing team Milt Wagonman and Marty Sloyxne. Born Jewish he converted to Catholicism later in life and co-hosts a radio show on Sirius XM with Father Leo Patalinghug called Entertaining Truth.

Steve Cooper talks with director Joel Zwick. Joel's big break came when he started working with heavyweight sitcom producer/creator Garry Marshall, who gave him opportunities to direct a number of his shows, including Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, Makin' It, and The New Odd Couple. He also directed working numerous sitcoms including Full House (97 episodes), Webster (63 episodes), Bosom Buddies (18 episodes) Family Matters (32 episodes), Perfect Strangers (100 Episodes) and many, many more.  Television has been where most of his efforts have been focused but he has directed films such as the much-loved 2002 ethnic comedy, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and the 2004 live action remake of Fat Albert.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Phil Collen. Phil is one of the lead guitarists for the band Def Leppard who was recently inducted in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. Def Leppard has released 11 studio albums and still sell out arenas around the world. They are one of only five rock bands with two original studio albums selling over 10 million copies each in the US with their releases Pyromania and Hysteria. The latter is one of only a handful of albums that has charted seven singles or more on the US Hot 100: Women (#80), Animal (#19), Hysteria (#10), Pour Some Sugar on Me (#2), Love Bites (#1), Armageddon It (#2) and Rocket (#12).

Steve Cooper talks with singer/songwriter Melissa Manchester. In 1980, Melissa became the first recording artist in the history of the Academy Awards to have two nominated movie themes in a single year, Through The Eyes Of Love from Ice Castles and I’ll Never Say Goodbye from The Promise, and to perform them both on the Oscar telecast. She has starred in the national tours of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Music Of The Night and Song And Dance, and created the role of Maddy, the title character’s mother, on the NBC hit TV series Blossom. Nominated for a Grammy in 1980 for Don’t Cry Out Loud, she won the Grammy Award for best female vocalist in 1982 singing You Should Hear How She Talks About You. She has also composed music for the animated features The Great Mouse Detective and Lady And The Tramp II, the sequel to the Disney classic.  In addition to composing the scores for the theatrical musicals I Sent A Letter To My Love and Sweet Potato Queens, she also cowrote the radio mainstays Midnight Blue, Come In From The Rain and Whenever I Call You Friend.

Steve Cooper talks with Willie Garson. Willie is best known for his roles as Stanford Blatch on Sex and the City and as Mozzie in White Collar. His other television appearances include Mr. Belvedere, My Two Dads, Coach, Quantum Leap, Monk, Boy Meets World, Girl Meets World, Ally McBeal, Party of Five, Star Trek: Voyager, Special Unit 2, Just Shoot Me!, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Friends, The X-Files, Cheers, Yes, Dear, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Pushing Daisies, Stargate SG-1, Wizards of Waverly Place, CSI: Miami, Mental, Spin City and Taken and co-starred in the 2007 HBO series John from Cincinnati and was the recurring character Gerard Hirsch on Hawaii Five-0. He has also appeared in various movies from the Farrelly brothers including Kingpin, There's Something About Mary and Fever Pitch. His other film credits include Groundhog Day, Just Like Heaven, The Rock, Fortress 2: Re-Entry, Being John Malkovich, Freaky Friday, Labor Pains, and Out Cold.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Gregory Harrison. Gregory is best known for his role as Chandler in the 1987 cult favorite North Shore and as Dr. George Alonzo "Gonzo" Gates on the series Trapper John M.D. He was the title character on the 1977-78 series Logan's Run after which he played the role of Levi Zendt on the 1978 NBC mini-series Centennial. His later role as a stripper in the 1981 movie For Ladies Only made him a favorite with women and gay men in the 1980s and he later played a villain on the final season of Falcon's Crest. He has starred on WB's Safe Harbor on One Tree Hill and has made guest appearances on numerous other shows such as Touched by an Angel, Drop Dead Diva, Judging Amy, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Joey, Hot in Cleveland, Psych, Rizzoli & Isles and CSI: NY. He has been in over 50 made for TV movies including the Au Pair trilogy and numerous Hallmark Channel productions in including the series Chesapeake Shores and the Signed, Sealed, Delivery movies.

Steve Cooper talks with stand-up comic Tom Dreesen. Tom has been in show business for 50 years. Along the way, he has made over 500 appearances on national television as a stand-up, including more than 60 appearances on The Tonight Show. He was one of David Letterman's favorite guests and frequently hosted the show in Letterman's absence. He also appeared countless times in Las Vegas, Tahoe, Reno, and Atlantic City with artists like Smokey Robinson, Liza Minnelli, and Sammy Davis, Jr. And, for 13 years, he toured the nation as the opening act for Frank Sinatra.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Graham Russell. Graham is best known for being one half of the legendary soft rock duo Air Supply. Air supply had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight top-ten hits in the United States in the early 1980s. Together for 45 years they have released over 15 albums and have sold millions upon millions of records. They still tour and play to packed house all over the world.

Steve Cooper talks with stand-up comic/actor Henry Phillips. Henry has been seen and heard performing his twisted songs and stories on Comedy Central Presents, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, as well as satellite and terrestrial radio nationwide. His critically acclaimed comedy albums earned him mention in Billboard magazine’s Critic’s Choice, as well as acclaim from such notable artists as Moby, who has referred to Phillips’ music as “disconcertingly funny”. In recent years he has focused more on his acting and filmmaking. His semi-biographical cult comedy film Punching the Clown received the Audience award at Slamdance film festival ’09, and the sequel Punching Henry is now airing on the Showtime network. He has also made acting appearances on HBO’s Silicon Valley and Comedy Central’s Drunk History. His YouTube channel, featuring the tutorial cooking series Henry’s Kitchen, has garnered over 3 million views.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Nick Van Eede. Nick is best known for being singer, rhythm guitarist and songwriter for his band Cutting Crew. Cutting Crew are an English rock band formed in London in 1985. They are best remembered for their debut album Broadcast and hit singles, Died in Your Arms, I've Been in Love Before, One for the Mockingbird, and Everything But My Pride. They recently released Ransomed Healed Restored Forgiven which features brand new recordings of the bands classic hits augmented with a Philharmonic Orchestra.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Trevor Steel. Trevor is best known for being the lead singer of the band The Escape Club. They released their first album in the UK in 1987. Their next album was released in the summer of 1988 on Atlantic records out of the USA.  The title track and first single, Wild Wild West went to #1 on the Billboard hot 100 chart and was Grammy nominated. They released two more singles from the Wild, Wild West album, Shake for the Sheik which got to # 28 and Walking Through Walls. They released their third album in March 1991 which included the # 8 single, Ill Be There. In 1992 when the band temporarily disbanded, Trevor went on to start a career as a songwriter and producer with John Holliday. Based out of Air Studios in London, first under the production name ‘Bump and Grind’ and later as themselves, they wrote and produced many U.K. pop hits.

Steve Cooper talks with musician/songwriter Eric Bazilian. Eric is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer, best known for being a founding member of the rock band The Hooters and for writing "One of Us," made famous by Joan Osborne in 1995. Nervous Night, The Hooters' 1985 debut on Columbia Records, sold more than 2 million copies and included Billboard Top 40 hits "Day By Day" (#18), "And We Danced" (#21) and "Where Do The Children Go" (#38). After releasing six albums, The Hooters obtained a large global following throughout the 1980s and 1990s. As a result, they were asked to open three major musical events of the late 20th century: Live Aid in Philadelphia in 1985, Amnesty International Concert at Giants Stadium in 1986, and Roger Waters' The Wall Concert in Berlin in 1990. In 1995, The Hooters went on hiatus but since then have released more studio and live albums and still tour together. Throughout his career Eric has collaborated on musical projects for many other artists. Some of the long list he has worked with include Jon Bon Jovi, Cyndi Lauper, The Scorpions, Robbie Williams, Ricky Martin, LeAnn Rimes, Journey and many others.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Matthew Nelson. Matthew is best know for being half of the popular rock band Nelson. Nelson achieved success during the early 1990s with their double platinum debut album After the Rain, which featured the number-one hit Love and Affection. That album ended up selling more than 3,000,000 copies and as a result the band began a World Tour with over 300 concerts. Every magazine from Rolling Stone to People did cover stories, and Nelson performed on television shows like Late Night With David Letterman and Saturday Night Live. They also did television hosting work for VH1 and E!. They are currently still recording and tour nationally as Nelson and on the shows Christmas with The Nelsons and Ricky Nelson Remembered.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Chris Williams. Chris is best known for his role as Krazee-Eyez Killa on Curb Your Enthusiasm and his co-starring roles in the series HBO Silicone Valley and the CBS series The Great Indoors. Other TV appearances include Californication, Hype, CSI: Miami, Weeds, The Shield, Reno 911!, Monk, Bones, Dice, 2 Broke Girls, Better Things and Ugly Betty. He has also been in the movies Dodge Ball: A True Underdog Story, Urban Decay, The World's Fastest Indian, Squatters, Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever and many more.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Reed Diamond. Reed got his first big break in the movie Memphis Belle. Since then he has made an impact in both films and TV. He has co-starred in many shows including 13 Reasons Why, Homicide: Life on the Street, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Designated Survivor, Judging Amy, The Purge, Good Girls Revolt, Franklin & Bash, Wayward Pines, The Shield, Journeyman, Dollhouse, 24, Bones and The Mentalist and has been a guest star on the series Elementary, How to Get Away with Murder, Billions, Feud: Bette and Joan, Cold Case, The West Wing, Medium, Law & Order, CSI, Castle, Monk, White Collar, Revolution, The Glades and Criminal Minds and many others. He has also been in numerous movies such as Moneyball, Good Night, and Good Luck and Much Ado About Nothing.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Andrew Farriss. Andrew is best known as the keyboardist, backing vocalist, main composer and one of the founding members of the rock band INXS. To date INXS has sold well over 50 million records. They have had 10 Australian Top 10 Singles, 7 U.S. Top 10 Singles, 3 Grammy nominations, a BRIT Award (for Best International Group), 5 MTV Music Video Awards, 7 ARIA Awards and elevation into the ARIA Hall of Fame. Andrew has written, produced, and performed music all over the globe for the last 40 years. He has written for or produced various other acts, such as Yothu Yindi, Tom Jones, Alisan Porter, Tania Kernaghan, and Jenny Morris. His personal awards include: Producer of the Year at the ARIA Music Awards for his work on Jenny Morris’s album Shiver which went triple platinum and he was inducted into the Australian Songwriter Hall of Fame in 2016. He recently recorded his first solo album.

Steve Cooper talks with Paul Ben-Victor. Paul has built a career entertaining audiences and impressing critics with his work in film (recently in Martin Scorsese's The Irishman), television and on stage. With roles on numerous HBO series and over 50 films, he has time and again delivered standout performances with his tremendous range of characters. For the past two decades, he has been an actor in demand. On television, he has made a lasting impression with his quiet ruthlessness as the Greek henchman Spiros Vondas on the widely acclaimed series, The Wire. He received critical acclaim for his recurring portrayal of Warner Brothers studio chief Alan Grey on Entourage. He also starred as Special Agent Bobby Hobbes in the international hit series The Invisible Man a role that earned him a Best Supporting Actor Audience Award for Sci Fi. Some of his other impressive roles have been playing Moe Howard in the ABC bio-pic The Three Stooges, making several appearances in a large recurring role on the hit comedy series Everybody Hates Chris and playing Stan McQueen for five seasons in the series In Plain Sight.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Sean Kanan. Sean is best known for his portrayals of A. J. Quartermaine on General Hospital, Deacon Sharpe on The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless, and Mike Barnes in The Karate Kid Part III. He currently co-stars in a series he co-created called Studio City.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Ajay Popoff. Ajay is best known for being lead singer of the band Lit. Lit is considered one of the preeminent bands to have come out of the post-grunge era of the late 90's and helped define an entire generation of SoCal power punk with hard-charging hits like My Own Worst Enemy, Miserable, Zip-Lock and Lipstick & Bruises. The band has released 6 worldwide studio albums, including their RIAA Certified Platinum A Place in the Sun, and they are currently writing and recording to release new material. Ajay has also joined forces with his brother Jeremy to form the band Popoff Brothers.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/director Terry Kinney. Terry is a co-founder of Steppenwolf Theatre Company. His directing credits there include The Violet Hour, A Streetcar Named Desire, A Clockwork Orange, Of Mice and Men and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, which moved to Broadway and won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. NYC directing credits include the world premiere of Checkers by Doug McGrath, reasons to be pretty for MCC and Broadway, After Ashley and Beautiful Child at the Vineyard Theatre, The Money Shot by Neil LaBute for MCC and others. His film appearances include Save the Last Dance, Sleepers, Fly Away Home, Last of the Mohicans, The Firm, Devil in a Blue Dress and Turn The River and his TV credits include Tim McManus in HBO’s prison drama Oz, The Black List, The Mentalist, The Unusuals, The Laramie Project, Being Human, Kidnapped, Black Box, Fargo, Good Behavior, The Good Wife, Elementary and Billions.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Patrick Fabian. Patrick is best known for his role as Howard Hamlin on Better Call Saul. His recurring roles include shows such as Black Monday, Carol's Second Act, Special, Code Black, Valentine, Big Love, Veronica Mars, Providence, Joan of Arcadia, 24, The Newsroom and Saved by the Bell: The College Years. He has also guest starred in countless series like Lucifer, Barry,The Conners, Elementary, Ugly Betty, NCIS, Will & Grace, Friends, Scandal, The Mentalist, CSI: Crime Investigation Scene, Bones, Criminal Minds, Castle, Burn Notice, Longmire and many more. On the big screen he can be seen in DriverX, Extracurricular Activities, Eat Brains Love, 30 Nights, Cloud 9, Bad Ass and the Last Exorcism.

Steve Cooper talks with Doug Clifford. Doug, nicknamed Cosmo, is best known for being drummer and one of the founding members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band, Creedence Clearwater Revival. CCR has sold 28 million albums and their numerous hits include Suzie Q, Bad Moon Rising, Who'll Stop the Rain, Proud Mary, Fortunate Son, Born on the Bayou, Have You Ever Seen the Rain and Down on the Corner. The band broke up in 1972. In 1995 he formed Creedence Clearwater Revisited with original CCR bassist Stu Cook and they just recently stopped touring. He also just released a new solo album, Magic Window, that was originally recorded in 1985.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Scott Valentine. Scott is best known for his roles as Nick Moore on the NBC hit Family Ties. Scott has had numerous starring roles and guest star roles in various TV shows and movies such as Matlock, My Demon Lover, Midnight Caller, To Sleep with a Vampire, Batman: The Animated Series, Murder She Wrote, Phantom 2040, NewsRadio, Black Scorpion, CSI:NY and many others.

Steve Cooper talks with drummer David Uosikkinen. David has played drums with The Hooters for 40 years and has recorded and performed with Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper, Taj Mahal and Patty Smyth, as well as with many other emerging artists. In addition, he has performed on extensive international tours and has played many major events including Live Aid, Amnesty International and Roger Waters’ The Wall in Berlin. In 2011 he launched In The Pocket: Essential Songs of Philadelphia which records and makes documentary music videos of classic tunes from the City of Brotherly Love and he has another project called The Bar Band that is a supergroup of Philly talent.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Eric Roberts. Eric is and Academy Award nominee for his role in Runaway Train, and a three-time Golden Globe nominee for Runaway Train, Star 80, and King of the Gypsies. His feature films include The Pope of Greenwich Village, Raggedy Man, Nobody's Fool, Best of the Best, The Specialist, The Dark Knight, The Expendables and Inherit Vice to name a few. On television he starred in the sitcom Less than Perfect and had memorable recurring roles include USA's Suits, CSI and Code Black for CBS, NBC's Heroes, and Crash for Starz plus the soap opera The Young and the Restless. He has also appeared in guest star roles on ABC's Greys Anatomy, NBC's Will & Grace, Fox's Brooklyn Nine-Nine, CBS' Hawaii Five-O, HBO's Entourage, and many more.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Ray Abruzzo. Ray is best known for his role as Little Carmine Lupertazzi on The Sopranos as well as for playing police sergeant John Zorelli on Dynasty, detective Michael McGuire in The Practice and Sal in Transparent. A very familiar face to TV his some of his other credits include Criminal Minds, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Rookie, Chicago P.D., Ray Donovan, Castle, NCIS, Murder She Wrote, L.A. Law, House M.D, Night Court,NYPD Blue, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, In Plain Sight, Mad Men and many, many more.

Steve Cooper talks with voice actor Rob Paulsen. Rob is best known for Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius, and most of the other animated projects that he has been part of as a voice actor for nearly three decades.  With over 2,000 half-hour programs and dozens of films, video games, and other animated media to his credit, he has been one of the hardest working, most in-demand, and most beloved voice artists in the industry, earning a Daytime Emmy, a Peabody and three times winning the Annie Award (for voice actors).

Steve Cooper talks with musician Phil Solem. Phil is best known as one half of The Rembrandts. In 1990, Phil and Danny Wilde got together to record some demos in Danny's Southern California garage/studio. The demo was released 'as is', as The Rembrandts. The album landed in the Billboard hot 100, thanks in part to the Top 20 hit Just The Way It Is, Baby. The follow up single Someone, with Phil on lead vocals, also ended up on the Billboard Top 100. In 1992, The Rembrandts received more critical acclaim for their follow up album, Untitled. In 1995, The Rembrandts became most famous for a song that was never intended to be on an album. Although the duo had recorded the 42 second theme I'll Be There For You for the show Friends, it was never intended to be a full length song. But the label insisted the duo record a full length version and include it at the end of the already finished album, LP. 

Steve Cooper talks with guitarist Ace Von Johnson. Ace is the rhythm guitarist and tours nationally with the popular band L.A. Guns. Before that he was the lead guitarist for Faster Pussycat. He was also member of metal bands such as Cheap Sex, Madcap, The U.S. Bombs, The Generators, Unwritten Law and Murphy's Law. He recently started a career as a voice over actor and has recorded documentaries, cartoon, TV series and spokesperson spots.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/musician Rob Mailhouse. Rob appeared on Days of Ours Lives in the early 90's and has guest starred in a number of TV shows including Bones, Seinfeld, Picket Fences, Melrose Place, Caroline in the City, Sports Night, Dharma & Greg, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Judging Amy and The Larry Sanders show. He has also co-starred in the series Easy to Assemble with Illeana Douglas and the popular TV movie The Christmas Pageant. As a musician he is the drummer for the band Dogstar whose bassist is Keanu Reeves.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Chris Bauer. Chris is best known for his roles as Frank Sobotka in The Wire, Andy Bellefleur in True Blood and Bobby Dwyer in The Deuce. He has been a regular in series such as For All Mankind, Law & Order True Crime, Survivor's Remorse, American Crime Story and Third Watch and also has guest starred in numerous shows including Brooklyn Nine-Nine, FBI, Modern Family, Full Circle, Parks and Recreation, Elementary, The Office, Hawaii Five-0, The Good Wife and New Amsterdam.

Steve Cooper talks with Danny Goldberg. Danny has worked in the music business as a personal manager, record company president, public relations man and journalist since the late 1960s. He wrote Serving The Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain (2019), Bumping Into Geniuses (2008) and How the Left Lost Teen Spirit (2005), which appeared in a shorter form as Dispatches From the Culture Wars (2003). Earlier in his career he formed and co-owned Modern Records, which released Stevie Nicks’ solo albums including her number one album Bella Donna. Prior to that he was Vice-President of Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song Records and worked with the band from 1973 through 1975. In 1980, he co-produced and co-directed the rock documentary feature, No Nukes starring Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, and Jackson Browne among others. He was also CEO of Air America Radio from 2005 until mid-2006; chairman and CEO of Mercury Records, a division of Polygram from 1995 to 1998; chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records in 1995; president of Atlantic Records from 1993 to 1994; and founder and president of Gold Mountain Entertainment, whose clients included Nirvana, Hole, Sonic Youth, Bonnie Raitt, The Allman Brothers and Rickie Lee Jones from 1983 to 1992. He began his career as a music journalist at the age of 18, writing for Rolling Stone, Billboard and The Village Voice. He is currently is the president of Goldve Entertainment (GVE), an entertainment company representing artists in music, touring, books, films and other media.

Steve Cooper talks with singer Lisa Lisa. Lisa in one of the greatest RnB/Pop divas to come out of the 1980's music scene. She and her band, Cult Jam, produced 5 albums and scored top 10 hits with songs like I Wonder If I Take You Home, All Cried Out, Let The Beat Hit Em, Lost In Emotion, Little Jackie and Head to Toe. After disbanding in 1994, she released the funk-soul album LL77 which included the Top 40 hit Skip To My Lu and her first Spanish-language track Cuando Me Enamore which peaked at #1 on Puerto Rico radio stations. In the 90's she starred in Broadway and off Broadway plays such as Barrio Babes and West Side Story and in 2001 starred in the Nickelodeon series "Taina" playing Gloria Morales, Taina's young and sharp witted mother. She also made a guest appearance on Law & Order's 300th episode in 2003. She is currently recording new music and tours with Taylor Dayne and Jody Watley.

Steve Cooper talks with writer/producer George Pelecanos. George was the co-creator of the HBO series The Deuce and was nominated for an Emmy and a WGA Award for his work on The Wire. He has served as a producer/writer on shows such as Treme, The Pacific and Bosch and is the author of twenty-one novels set in and around Washington, D.C. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire, Playboy, and the collections Unusual Suspects, Best American Mystery Stories of 1997, Measures of Poison, Best American Mystery Stories of 2002, Men From Boys, and Murder at the Foul Line and is also an award-winning essayist who has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ, Sight and Sound, Uncut, Mojo, and numerous other publications.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Joe Pantoliano. Joe has amassed an impressive catalog of classic American film, theater and television titles, collaborating with some of Hollywood’s most prestigious filmmakers including Christopher Nolan (Memento), Steven Spielberg (The Goonies, Empire of the Sun), The Wachowskis’ (The Matrix), Andrew Davis (The Fugitive, Steal Big Steal Little), Michael Bay (Bad Boys), and Martin Brest (Midnight Run). His theater credits include John Patrick Shanley’s Italian American Reconciliation, Lyle Kessler’s Orphans, and Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune. His television appearances have included the hit TV series The Sopranos, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He can also be seen in the recently released Bad Boys for Life alongside Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Bruce Watson. Bruce is best known for being a guitarist in Big Country. Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it retained a cult following for many years after. They have recorded nine studio albums and had hits with the singles Big Country, Harvest Home and Fields of Fire (400 Miles.) Currently Bruce is with the band WKW which includes his son, Jamie. They just released the album Men of Steel and are playing live dates.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Chris Hayes. Chris is best known for being lead guitarist for Huey Lewis and the News. As well as playing guitar and singing backing-vocals, he became an established rock songwriter, and would often put Huey’s lyrics to music. He left the band in the year 2000, to spend more time with his family; although has occasionally filled in for the News’ current lead guitarist, Stef Burns.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Josh Pais. Josh had a very busy 2019. He brought back his character Stu Feldman in Ray Donovan, was recurring as Barry in HBO's Mrs. Fletcher and appeared in the hit movies Joker and Motherless Brooklyn. He got his first big break playing Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and has constantly worked since then. He has been seen in shows such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Maniac, Younger, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, The Good Wife, Psych, 2 Broke Girls, How to Make It in America and Law & Order and in many movies including Confess, Reunion, Adventureland, Price Check, Arbitrage, I Saw the Light and Going in Style. He can soon be seen in the HBO mini-series The Plot Against America and also heads up the acting school Committed Impulse. 

Steve Cooper talks with musician/songwriter/producer/professor/author Richard Barone. Richard pioneered the indie rock scene in Hoboken, NJ as frontman for The Bongos and then helped launch the chamber pop movement with his solo debut cool blue halo. He has also produced countless studio recordings and worked with artists in every musical genre. Collaborators have included Tony Visconti, Beach Boy Al Jardine, Sean Lennon, Dion, John Sebastian, Alejandro Escovedo, Donovan, Moby, the late Lou Reed, and American folk icon Pete Seeger. He has scored shows and staged all-star concert events at such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and New York’s Central Park. His memoir Frontman: Surviving The Rock Star Myth was published by Hal Leonard Books and is affiliated with the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University and The New School University of Jazz & Contemporary Music. Plus he serves on the Board of Governors of The Recording Academy and on the Board of Advisors of Anthology Film Archives.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/comic Jamie Kennedy. Jamie is best known for playing Randy Meeks in the Scream franchise and playing various characters in The Jamie Kennedy Experiment. He wrote and starred in the movie Malibu's Most Wanted and has been seen in other films such as Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell, Tremors 5: Bloodlines, Extreme Movie, Son of the Mask, Boiler Room, Bowfinger, Three Kings and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. His TV credits include Criminal Minds, Lucifer, Heartbeat, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Kingdom, The Cleveland Show, Entourage and Ghost Whisperer.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Taylor Nichols. Taylor is best known for his roles in the Whit Stillman movies Metropolitan, Barcelona and the Last Days of Disco. He also appeared in the films Boiler Room, Congo, The American President, The Big Easy, Chappaquiddick and Jurassic Park III, as well as episodes of several TV series such as Murder She Wrote, NewsRadio, Chicago Hope, Judging Amy, The Mind of the Married Man, NCIS Criminal Minds, Dirty John, PEN15, The Rookie, Bones, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Mentalist, Perry Mason and many more.

Steve Cooper talks with writer/producer Dana Olsen. Dana is best known for writing the The 'Burbs that starred Tom Hanks. He has written the story or screenplay for such movies Inspector Gadget , Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Going Beserk and George of the Jungle. He also wrote for Laverne & Shirley and co-starred in the in the film Making the Grade. Most recently he was the creator of the Nickelodeon hit Henry Danger.

Steve Cooper talks with director/producer/writer Bobby Moresco. Bobby is best known for winning an Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay for the movie Crash. He created the TV series Falcone, The Hundred Code and The Black Donnellys. He has also written for the shows Millennium and EZ Streets and co-produced the Oscar winning film Million Dollar Baby.

Steve Cooper talks with actor Michael Kostroff. Michael is best known for his five seasons on HBO’s The Wire and a long list of TV appearances, including recurring roles on The Blacklist, The Deuce, The Good Wife and Law & Order:SVU. He has toured nationally with The Producers, understudying the lead role of Max Bialystock, and with Les Misérables, as the comically evil Thénardier, a role he later reprised for the reimagined 25th anniversary production. He’s also performed at some of the nation’s most respected regional theatres and in March can be seen in the HBO mini-series The Plot Against America.

Steve Cooper talks with director Deran Sarafian. Deran is best known for his work on FOX's hit show House where he was co-executive produced for over forty episodes and directed twenty-three of the first one hundred episodes. For his work on the series, he won an AFI Award for Best Director and was nominated for two Primetime Emmys. Other TV directing credits include numerous shows including Swamp Thing, Blue Bloods, Rosewood, CSI: Miami, The Strain, Dominion, Hell on Wheels, Hemlock Grove, CSI: NY, In Plain Sight, Lost, CSI: Crime Investigation Scene, The District, Without a Trace, Nash Bridges, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Cold Case. He has also directed feature films such as Alien Predator, Interzone, Death Warrant and Terminal Velocity.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Robert Tepper. Robert is best known for his hit song No Easy Way Out from the Rocky IV motion picture soundtrack. He started to get recognition as a song writer with his first Top 40 hit recorded by Paul Anka, This Is Love which went on to earn an ASCAP award. He later he teamed up with fellow singer Benny Mardones to help with his hit album Never Run, Never Hide. On that record was the iconic song Into The Night. Since then he has recorded 5 solo albums and music has appeared in such hit films and TV shows such as Cobra, Get Hard, South Park and Breaking Bad.

Steve Cooper talks with musician Brian Nash. Brian is best known for being lead guitarist for the 80's band Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Their first album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome which was released in 1984 included the three hits; Relax, Two Tribes and The Power of Love which all hit number 1 on the UK charts. They also received Grammy and MTV Video Music Award nominations for Best New Artist. The group broke up shortly after their second album was released in 1986. From 1987 to 1997 Nash worked as a guitarist and songwriter for various bands and then he began a solo career, releasing music as Nasher.

Steve Cooper talks with actor/director/writer Chris Eigeman. Chris is best known for roles in the films Metropolitan, Barcelona, and The Last Days of Disco which were written and directed by Whit Stillman. He has appeared in many movies including Kicking and Screaming, Maid in Manhattan, Mr. Jealousy, Highball, Crazy Little Thing and The Treatment. A familiar face to TV he has been seen in shows such as It's Like, You Know..., Gilmore Girls, Malcolm in the Middle, Homicide: Life on the Street, Fringe and Girls. He also has written and directed the features Turn the River and Seven in Heaven and acted and directed an episode of Bunheads.