I saw an interview with Barbara Streisand (Bill Maher?). I was surprised how much I enjoyed her, despite a lifetime of hating her music.
Adele also seems nice, but I’m not a fan of her music.
Came here to mention him. There’s no music in his music, but I still find him an undeniably talented guy. And he doesn’t just need to stick to comedy: his performance in The Social Network was a revelation. Maybe he belongs in a subcategory of answer though…yes on the talent, not so much on his character due to his his role in the Janet Jackson performance.
Ariana Grande is another one for me. She’s got a brilliant singing voice with incredible range, but her music does nothing for me.
James Blunt is an extremely funny and self-deprecating guy. Seems to be a really lovely and has one of the funniest accounts on Twitter. Though I do like the song Wisemen.
There’s also the story about the time he commanded 30,000 NATO troops in Kosovo and refused an order to attack Russian troops.
I follow a number of science fiction writers on Twitter, because I first followed Wil Wheaton (no longer on Twitter, I believe), and I find them amusing. Of them, I have only bought one book, and I didn’t particularly care for it. According to the author (John Scalzi), it was not the best choice. So I’ve bought Old Man’s War and will try it.
Either way, I will keep following him on Twitter. He’s amusing.
Eminem definitely fits the bill for me. His work is amazing, but it’s just not me. And I’ll also add my vote for Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire.
You guys apparently aren’t the only ones who love Dolly Parton but aren’t a fan of her music. Her husband of many decades has apparently only ever gone to one of her concerts.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
I don’t like WWE and I’m not a fan of the movies I’ve seen him in (seems like the same thing again and again) but whenever I see him interviewed he comes across a really likeable smart and charismatic guy.
Yes, he mostly comes across that way in the carefully orchestrated videos that are released for public consumption.
Are there other times that ring different? Seems weird to single Dwayne Johnson out for this as though, say, Taylor Swift’s press and interviews aren’t an orchestrated performance or she doesn’t have a tight grip on her PR with an army of media flacks watching what you get to see.
Taylor Swift has not, as far I know, orchestrated a video shoot that involves giving a new truck to a long-time friend and mentor who sheltered her as a teen, ostensibly as a gesture of gratitude for those good deeds, but is actually a promo spot for her latest project, meant to engender warm fuzzy “awwww what a good person” vibes so that people would be more disposed to purchase said product.
I don’t single out Johnson for this; I’d likely find it distasteful no matter who did it; it’s exploitative as fuck IMO.
Ok, but Boycott said “see interviews”, not “see videos about him giving away trucks yadda yadda”.
I assume Johnson’s interviews aren’t any more planned/orchestrated than any other A-tier celebrity’s.
Kevin Nealon, especially on SNL, never did a whole lot for me, but he’s also come to be my favourite interviewee. It’s been ages, but whenever I saw him with Conan, it was like “how downbeat and self-decprecating can I get?” Killed me.
The assholes in show biz get a lot of press, but I maintain that in the extremely competitive music business, for instance, it is far more likely for people like Taylor Swift, according to the above characterization, to make it to the top.