Inside The Actors Studio is an interview based show that gives its audience an original insight into the world of Hollywood.

But this isn’t your typical chat between interviewer and celebrity about who they have or haven’t slept with – it’s a divulging workshop into the craft and method behind an actor or director’s work.

Here at Sky Arts we’re airing some of the best episodes from Seasons 12 and 13, including interviews with Elton John, Jodie Foster, Jane Fonda, Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman and Liza Minnelli. And in some cases you’ll even get a sneaky performance thrown in too.

We’ve got the newest episodes as well - including seminars with Daniel Radcliffe and the cast of The Simpsons!

Background to the show

The show is presented by James Lipton, the Dean of The Actors Studio Drama School, who genuinely knows what he’s talking about. The programme first aired in 1994 and helped to established the school as the home of ‘method acting,’ giving Lipton a first hand knowledge of the naturalism that has graced the silver screen for the past 70 years.

The workshops take place in front of a class of acting students from The Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University, creating a sense of intimacy and exclusivity - as we witness these Hollywood personalities answering questions from posed by these enthusiastic students during the Q and A section of the show.

Lipton is the Executive Producer of the show, and writes and chairs each episode. He was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award in January 2007 and has interviewed over 200 guests - including 74 Academy Award winners; 8 directors; 4 screenwriters; 61 actors and actresses and 2 musicians, all of whom have answered his famous standard 10-question questionnaire at the end of the show. Adapted from a questionnaire that was popular at the end of the 19th Century, it assesses someone’s personality and was famed by French Writer Marcel Proust.

Celebrated for this quick-fire style of questioning and praised for the revelations they provoke, Lipton is somewhat of a legend in Hollywood. He has the unique ability to extract exclusive confessions from his guests – for example Jack Lemmon revealed his alcoholism on the show. Interestingly, when he asks his guests, ‘What is your favourite curse word?’ the women always answer but the men rarely do.

Inside The Actors Studio is one of the greatest chat-shows ever made: it ignores society's obsession with celebrity and delves deep into the blood, sweat and tears that goes into the film-making and acting profession. To find out more about specific episodes simply click on the links below. 

We've got some of the newest episodes that include interviews with young up and coming actors as well as old pros making come-backs:

Guests:

The Cast of The Simpsons

The Cast of Family Guy

Daniel Radcliffe

Alec Baldwin

Billy Crystal

Mickey Rourke

Ricky Gervais

Dustin Hoffman

Al Pacino

Matt Damon

Cameron Diaz

Robert Downey Jr

Diana Ross

Tom Cruise

Liza Minelli

Morgan Freeman

Jodie Foster

Elton John

Michael J Fox

Angelina Jolie

Eddie Murphy

Forest Whitaker

Dave Chappelle

Don Cheadle

Tom Hanks

Robert Redford

Mark Ruffalo

Ralph Fiennes

Barbara Streisand

Hugh Laurie

Keifer Sutherland

Michelle Pfeiffer

David Duchovny

Jane Fonda

Laura Linney

Hilary Swank

James Franco

Chris Rock

Josh Brolin

Halle Berry

John Cusack

Sarah Jessica Parker

Charlie Sheen

Bradley Cooper