Awards Chatter

Awards Chatter is hosted by Scott Feinberg for The Hollywood Reporter, featuring in-depth interviews with the most accomplished people in show business. The podcast has produced over 500 episodes, offering extensive conversations with actors, directors, producers, and other industry professionals who have achieved the highest levels of success in their fields. Each episode provides a comprehensive look at a guest's career trajectory, creative process, and the decisions that shaped their path to prominence. The show is particularly known for its focus on awards-season contenders, offering insights into the craft and business considerations behind Oscar-nominated and Emmy-nominated performances and productions.

Feinberg's interview style is thorough and well-researched, allowing conversations to unfold over extended durations that give guests the space to reflect deeply on their work and careers. Episodes typically run 60 to 90 minutes, providing substantially more depth than shorter promotional interviews. The host's expertise in awards coverage and industry analysis enables him to ask informed questions that elicit substantive responses rather than rehearsed talking points. The podcast format creates an intimate conversational atmosphere that encourages guests to share candid reflections and behind-the-scenes stories about their most significant projects.

Ideal for actors who want to understand how the most successful professionals in the industry approach their craft, navigate career decisions, and sustain long-term careers at the highest level. The show is particularly valuable during awards season when the roster of guests includes many of the year's most celebrated performers and filmmakers. Aspiring and working actors can gain insights into the mindset, work ethic, and strategic thinking that distinguish those who achieve sustained excellence in an intensely competitive field. The podcast also offers a masterclass in storytelling, as guests often recount the development and production of their most important projects in detail.

Free on all podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. The Hollywood Reporter also publishes show notes and related articles on their website, extending the value of each episode beyond the audio content itself.

Highly recommended for actors who want to learn from the very best in the business. The depth of the conversations and the caliber of the guests make this one of the most valuable resources for understanding what it takes to work at the highest levels of the entertainment industry. What sets Awards Chatter apart from many celebrity interview podcasts is the host's genuine expertise in the industry and his ability to guide conversations beyond surface-level promotional content to substantive discussions of craft and career. The show provides a rare opportunity to hear accomplished professionals reflect on their entire bodies of work, not just their latest projects, which offers a longitudinal perspective on career development that is difficult to find elsewhere. For actors seeking role models and mentors whose experiences can inform their own career decisions, the podcast serves as an invaluable collection of case studies in professional excellence and longevity.

Awards Chatter is completely free on all major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. The Hollywood Reporter does not place any episodes behind a paywall or subscription service, ensuring that the insights shared by the industry's most accomplished professionals are accessible to aspiring and working actors regardless of their financial circumstances. The extensive archive of over 500 episodes represents a comprehensive oral history of contemporary entertainment that would cost thousands of dollars to access if it were delivered through private masterclasses or consulting sessions. For actors who cannot afford expensive workshops with industry professionals, this podcast provides free access to the wisdom and experience of the very people whose careers they aspire to emulate. The show notes and supplementary articles available on The Hollywood Reporter website add further value without requiring any paid access.

Actors who are serious about working at the highest levels of film and television should listen to Awards Chatter to understand how the industry's most accomplished professionals think about their craft and careers. The show is particularly valuable during awards season when the concentration of exceptional guests provides a masterclass in contemporary excellence across acting, directing, writing, and producing. Use the podcast to identify role models whose career paths resonate with your own aspirations, then study their approaches to craft, collaboration, and career decision-making as articulated in their interviews. If you are in the early stages of your career and need more practical, actionable advice about auditions, agents, and breaking into the industry, pair this podcast with resources that address those immediate concerns — Awards Chatter provides inspiration and long-term perspective rather than tactical guidance. The podcast is less useful for actors focused exclusively on theater or other performance disciplines not extensively covered in the awards-season conversation.

When listening to actor interviews, pay particular attention to how guests describe their preparation processes, their approaches to character development, and their strategies for collaboration with directors and fellow actors — these discussions often reveal specific techniques and mindsets you can adapt to your own work. Note the career decisions guests describe making at pivotal moments — choosing one project over another, taking risks on unconventional roles, managing the balance between artistic and commercial work — as these reflections offer insights into long-term career strategy that is rarely discussed elsewhere. Listen for the personal qualities and work habits that successful actors attribute to their sustained success — discipline, curiosity, resilience, generosity, professionalism — and honestly assess which of these qualities you are cultivating in your own practice. Use the podcast to stay current with the industry's most acclaimed work, as hearing creators discuss their projects in depth deepens your ability to analyze and appreciate excellence in the field you are pursuing. Share particularly insightful episodes with acting colleagues and use them as starting points for discussions about craft and career, as the conversations you have about what you learn often deepen the impact of the listening experience.