I like Real Time with Bill Maher*, so it’s no surprise that I watched the rebroadcast last night on which Julie Delpy was a guest.
I have never seen any of Julie Delpy’s films. Didn’t know who she was. She was so quiet during the first part of the show that I thought, “Hm. Why do they get these airheaded popular actors/actresses and have them sit there like lumps?” Some actor guests are very vocal and bring up good points. Others seem to use the show to run off some schtick to show how cool they are. At first, I thought Ms. Delpy was just there for eye candy.
But she finally did speak. I disagree with her on her views of gun ownership. IME/O most people who are against guns don’t know enough about them. (This is not a gun thread. Just saying that I disagreed with her comments.)
And then the conversation turned toward social issues and global politics. Ms. Delpy acquitted herself well. I’d thought that she was just something pretty to look at because she had been so quiet; but once she got going I could see how articulate and intelligent she is. She gave the impression of really thinking issues through. Beauty and brains. And a really good accent! 
To hijack my own thread right in the OP, Conservative guests sure seem stiff! P.J. O’Rourke was constantly cracking wise, and it was really lame. He had some good points, but his constant attempts at humour was making my eyes roll. I’ve noticed that other Conservative guests have the same effect (and usually they’re worse than this one). Maybe Conservatives have a different idea of what’s funny and what’s not. Maybe they’re trying too hard to be “cool”.