Louis Theroux has interviewed hundreds of celebrities throughout the course of his career, but there are still a few he’d want to speak with.
More than two decades ago, the 53-year-old broadcaster debuted his series When Louis Met…, in which he met notable individuals ranging from Jimmy Savile to Ann Widdecombe.
Then, last year, his show Louis Theroux Interviews… debuted on television.
He interviewed six celebrities, including Stormzy, Dami Judi Dench, Bear Grylls, and Katherine Ryan, on their successful jobs and personal lives.
The second season is about to premiere, and the stars include two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, actor and producer Ashley Walters, whistleblower and activist Chelsea Manning, Hollywood icon Dame Joan Collins, artist and musician Pete Doherty, and singer-songwriter Raye.
Looking ahead, Louis has shared which more renowned personalities he still hopes to meet one day.
‘The door is always open for Tom Cruise,’ he shared at a recent screening and Q & A for Interviews.
‘If Lisa Marie Presley was still alive, she would be ideal as well,’ he added.
‘Dave Chapelle would be a big get, but possibly controversial, [and I’d love to speak to] Erkyah Badu and John Travolta.’
Chapelle, an American comedian, was chastised in 2021 for using transphobic jokes in his Netflix presentation.
Louis confessed that he still gets starstruck after meeting so many celebrities over the years, but he can typically play it down.
‘It feels a bit like playing favourites to say who, but in the rushes, I think I can play it off…but when we look at the material , my face gives me away and sometimes I can look too excited.
‘It can be a problem,’ he laughed.
While Louis is a well-known personality throughout the world, thanks to his viral version of Jiggle Jiggle last year, he claimed that one of his visitors this season kept him modest.
‘Chelsea Manning had no clue who I was,’ he shared.
‘In some ways that was helpful to keep my ego in check.’
During his interviews, Louis does not shy away from having unpleasant topics, but he does not want to go too far.
‘Sometimes I feel there is a temptation to strip layers away and to see that as the ultimate goal of making these programmes, the idea that we will take the armour off and then figuratively take the clothes off and then this person will be naked and raw, but that is not the goal,’ he explained.
‘The goal is to see people clearly and to explore their vulnerabilities, but alongside that to appreciate how they approach their craft, what is it that makes them special in their field and to have moments of lightness and humour.’
The presenter went on to say that he never wanted to “upset people unnecessarily” and that he wanted to guarantee the programming’ integrity.
However, he joked: ‘For me to say I have a lot of integrity is like saying I reviewed my own book on Amazon, which I actually did…but I did that as a joke!’
Last season, Louis chatted with the celebs about a variety of themes, including Katherine discussing facing a ‘sexual predator,’ Dame Judi giving details about losing her eyesight, and Stormzy discussing his desire to reunite with his estranged father.
Louis Theroux Interviews season 2 returns on Tuesday November 7 at 9pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
