# Louis Theroux **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198 "2011-04-04T22:04:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/1 "2011-04-04T22:04:51Z")
> **[Louis Theroux](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Theroux)** > > Louis Sebastian Theroux (/ˈluːi θəˈruː/; born 20 May 1970) is a British-American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received three British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award. > After graduating from Magdalen College, Oxford, Theroux moved to the United States and worked as a journalist for Metro Silicon Valley and Spy. He moved into television as the presenter of offbeat segments on Michael Moore's TV Nation series and later began t... What do you guys think of him? I think he’s awesome. I have a lot of admiration and respect for him and what he does. And I tend to have an extra pang of respect for Atheists too. For some reason I seem to remember him saying he’s Gay in one of his documentaries, but he has a girlfriend and kids so, perhaps not. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/2 "2011-04-04T22:13:46Z")
I admire how he appears so guileless and innocent while asking really quite outrageous questions. But he (usually) gets away with it because of his manner. Terreblanche was an exception. Did you watch the Phelps documentary by any chance? Bonus fact: he went to school with Adam and Joe. ---
**Author:** ![Tayto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Tayto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tayto)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/3 "2011-04-04T22:27:47Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I admire how he appears so guileless and innocent while asking really quite outrageous questions. But he (usually) gets away with it because of his manner. Terreblanche was an exception. > > Did you watch the Phelps documentary by any chance? > > Bonus fact: he went to school with Adam and Joe. The Phelps one is on BBC2 right now! ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/4 "2011-04-04T22:44:08Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I admire how he appears so guileless and innocent while asking really quite outrageous questions. But he (usually) gets away with it because of his manner. Terreblanche was an exception. > > Did you watch the Phelps documentary by any chance? > > Bonus fact: he went to school with Adam and Joe. I watched both (the first and the recent one) I didn’t know he went to school with Adam and Joe (I used to watch them when they were younger - the Adam and Joe show) It surprises me how much most of the people he talks to in the Phelps clan seem to like him. But then I guess he has that effect on people. With some minor exceptions he seems to be liked by whoever he happens to be doing a show about. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/5 "2011-04-05T01:00:33Z")
I’ve seen everything he has done, starting with Weird Weekends(which used to air on Bravo when they still aired arty things). I love him. Watch his failed documentary trying to get an interview with Michael Jackson. He got all the way to a few interviews with Joe Jackson, and those interviews revealed some interesting tidbits. Fascinating. His one on Black supremacy is also really interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/6 "2011-04-05T07:08:40Z")
I always feel rather sorry for [Marcel Theroux](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Theroux). A good novelist, by all accounts, but rather overshadowed by his dad and younger brother. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/7 "2011-04-05T15:36:19Z")
That one on BBC Two was a new Phelps one, not the original Phelps one. He went back, and they seemed quite glad to see him. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/8 "2011-04-05T16:01:06Z")
My online dating profile at a certain Swedish site has this section: A band: Flaming Lips A book: Microserfs A movie: Four Lions A hero: Louis Theroux So far, Mr Theroux hasn’t solved my relationship issues but I still love him. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/9 "2011-04-05T21:58:06Z")
Love the topics he tackles, but there’s something irritating about him. Can’t put my finger on it. Maybe his voice. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/10 "2011-04-06T00:50:00Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > That one on BBC Two was a new Phelps one, not the original Phelps one. He went back, and they seemed quite glad to see him. Wow, thanks for that. I had no idea he had made another one with them. I will watch it ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/11 "2011-04-06T01:57:31Z")
He has this please-help-me-I’m-lost look that’s great for his job. I remember the show with Eugene Terre 'Blanche, he listens to everything he says with a straight face and Terre 'Blanche (and the Nazi bastards with him) just dig themselves deeper and deeper. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/12 "2011-04-06T03:30:09Z")
What timing! I just watched several episodes over the weekend and I find them fascinating. I saw the South Africa Whites one, several of the Law & Disorder episodes, and the one about the prison for pedophiles. I have one question that just struck me about Eugene Terre’Blance. Is that really his real name? Eugene “White Land”? Really? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/13 "2011-04-06T03:47:38Z")
Love him. He did one episode on the evangelical/fundamentalist movement in the U.S. and though he went to some “hands in the air/talking in tongues” churches he was so respectful of the people that I was really impressed. He actually _wanted_ to be moved at one revival because it would have meant so much to one of the women he’d met (non-romantically- she was a middle aged big haired Fundie, but nice). And his report on the Phelps clan was also so even handed- he didn’t try to do a Nancy Grace/Geraldo Rivera “You’re a murdering dog Charlie Manson!” “When risk is slight one takes a stand” soapbox moment. Really great low key but thorough interviewer. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/14 "2011-04-06T04:33:05Z")
Louis is great. I’ve pretty much seen all of his stuff, from Weird Weekends to his later stuff. Favorites include the Black Nationalists, the meth heads in Fresno, San Quentin prison, the one on rap, and of course the Porn Valley one. His talent, I think, is to get people to trust him and share aspects of their lives that are usually for “insiders.” He has a knack for appearing completely naïve without coming across as an asshole, or mocking, or a smartass (although the last one is hardest to master). He’s likeable - but sometimes he’s too unknowing, or daft. If there’s a new one on Phelps I’ll be checking it out soon… thanks for the heads up! ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/15 "2011-04-06T04:39:17Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] Bonus fact: he went to school with Adam and Joe. [/QUOTE] Cartwright? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/16 "2011-04-06T04:41:02Z")
Anyone else think he looks a lot like [Mo Rocca](http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&biw=1406&bih=696&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=mo+rocca&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=)? ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/17 "2011-04-07T08:58:46Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Bonus fact: he went to school with Adam and Joe. Surely the far more interesting fact about his schooldays is that [he was Nick Clegg’s fag](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7604138/General-Election-2010-Louis-Theroux-claims-he-was-Nick-Cleggs-fag-at-public-school.html). ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/18 "2011-04-07T10:18:38Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Anyone else think he looks a lot like [Mo Rocca](http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&biw=1406&bih=696&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=mo+rocca&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=)? They also were doing similar bits on similar shows at the same time for a while (Mo Rocca on the Daily Show and Theroux on TV Nation) so I used to think they were the same person. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/19 "2011-04-07T10:40:41Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Cartwright? [Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00876k2) - their radio show and podcasts are IMO the funniest thing on any British media at the moment, by a very long way. I have nearly wrecked my car listening to them, on several occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198/20 "2011-04-07T20:01:12Z")
I just watched the later documentary - oh my god. These people are so horribly horribly tragic and sad. The only thing I feel for them is pity, watching them spew mantras about god and judgement that have been drummed into them. You can tell that their personalities are almost entirely held up by their slavish belief, even to the point of making them say the most ridiculous and counter-intuitive things. I’m just glad there are members of the church who are getting away and embarking on normal lives, although it made me sad to think of the girl who missed her family despite their rejection of her, and occasionally feared hell from her upbringing. How can anyone revel in such base hatred of others and call it righteous? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/louis-theroux/577198.md?page=2)