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Fresh Air

Best Of: Kate Hudson / Stellan Skarsgård

28 Feb 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 4.217 Unknown

Get in, loser. We're taking a trip under the sea to a junkyard.

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4.737 - 10.305 David Bianculli

I've done Cobra helicopters. We've seen old washer machines. Does a second strip boat count?

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10.325 - 24.423 Unknown

This junk helped create one of the world's largest artificial reefs and a new home for many marine animals. But how did our trash become another fish's treasure? Find out on Shortwave. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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24.724 - 44.919 Tanya Mosley

From WHYY in Philadelphia, this is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Tanya Mosley. Today, Kate Hudson. She's up for an Oscar for her role as Claire in the film Song Sung Blue, starring opposite Hugh Jackman as one half of Lightning and Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute band. And she can sing.

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45.78 - 56.717 Kate Hudson

Look at the night And it don't seem so lonely We fill it up with only two

57.997 - 80.514 Tanya Mosley

We'll also hear from Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård. He's won a Golden Globe Award and earned an Oscar nomination for his performance in the film Sentimental Value. He'll talk about his many roles over the years and recovering from a stroke that impaired his ability to memorize lines. And David Bianculli reviews a new documentary focusing on Paul McCartney and his wings years.

81.476 - 104.557 Tanya Mosley

That's coming up on Fresh Air Weekend. This is Fresh Air Weekend. I'm Tanya Mosley. My first guest is Kate Hudson. She's up for an Oscar for her role as Claire in the film Song Sung Blue, starring opposite Hugh Jackman as one half of Lightning and Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute band. Here they are together singing Neil Diamond's 1971 hit, Soloman.

104.797 - 136.148 Unknown

Take my hand, sweet Lord Walk with me this day If folks could see, you just started singing as you were listening to yourself.

137.174 - 141.522 Kate Hudson

It's such a joyous song. Yeah, yeah.

Chapter 2: What role is Kate Hudson nominated for and what is the film about?

158.572 - 177.778 Unknown

She was on TV promoting her debut album, Glorious, which she began writing during the pandemic. And while Hudson is primarily known for her acting, as I was preparing for this interview, I was struck by just how often she's used her voice over the years, singing on screen in Nine, performing Cinema Italiano,

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177.758 - 204.039 Unknown

and on television in Glee, where she played the demanding dance instructor Cassandra July. This latest Oscar nomination for Best Actress comes 25 years after she first earned a nod for playing Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. From there, she became one of the most recognizable romantic comedy stars in the 2000s. starring in films like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Bride Wars.

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204.681 - 223.759 Unknown

Most recently, she starred in the Knives Out sequel Glass Onion and the Netflix series Running Point about a woman who inherits ownership of a professional basketball team. The show has been picked up for a second season. And Kate Hudson, welcome to Fresh Air and congratulations on your Oscar nomination.

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223.959 - 227.545 Kate Hudson

Thank you. It's nice to be here. I look forward to our conversation.

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227.825 - 240.526 Unknown

Yes. Well, I just had a chance to look at this Oscar nomination luncheon. Yes. on bleachers and it's like a class photo, it's almost like a graduation.

240.546 - 257.593 Kate Hudson

It is. It is. I remember it the first time. It's actually one of my favorite experiences because I remember the first time feeling like, oh, you know, we all got to be in one room and it's really just a bunch of people who love to make movies.

257.653 - 258.154 Tanya Mosley

Mm-hmm.

258.134 - 271.16 Kate Hudson

There's not a lot of other people there. It's just sort of celebrating this class, this year of movies. And when you're a part of that, it's really fun. It feels really nice.

271.461 - 296.72 Unknown

You mentioned the first time, it was in 2001, where you were nominated for your role as Penny Lane in Almost Famous. I put both of those photographs side by side when I saw this most recent photograph. I mean, you're ravishing in this red outfit and you're smiling ear to ear. You're also, you have that same energy from 25 years ago, but there's sort of a pensiveness there in you.

Chapter 3: How did Hugh Jackman influence Kate Hudson's casting in Song Sung Blue?

642.192 - 674.739 Kate Hudson

You know, I think Hugh, it wasn't about my voice as much as it is about what I was talking about. And what I was saying was talking about why I had to make an album. And Hugh, to speak for Hugh, you know, he would reiterate, when he saw it, I was talking about my kids. I was talking about COVID and what happened when I was sort of reflecting on if I was going to die.

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674.799 - 688.095 Kate Hudson

Am I happy with my creative output? I'm very happy with myself as a mother. I feel like I've made all the right mistakes and all the wrong mistakes. I feel like I've been really great when it comes to parenting.

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688.115 - 699.024 Unknown

I'll tell you, Kate, it's so refreshing to meet a woman who says that because... Don't we so often, like, we're always stopping for a moment to say, I'm not sure if I was a great mom.

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699.044 - 699.465 Kate Hudson

Yeah.

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699.485 - 699.986 Unknown

Yeah.

700.006 - 727.765 Kate Hudson

But I like who my kids are. And so as I get to know them, I got one, an adult, as I get to know him as his own man and as an adult, I'm really proud of myself for the work I put in for him. And I am in it with my teenager right now in the best possible way. And my young girl, seven. Like, momming is everything to me. And I'm proud of that output. Like, I put a lot into that.

728.125 - 764.32 Kate Hudson

And so I could say, you know, during COVID, if this was it, I felt confident in what I've given my kids so far. But I couldn't say that about my art. And that would... be my own personal sadness and regret is that I didn't share my writings as a musician. Whether people like them or not, I just really was not happy with the fact that I wasn't brave enough to put it out there.

766.004 - 786.055 Tanya Mosley

If you're just joining us, my guest is Kate Hudson. She's nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Song Sung Blue, where she plays Claire Sardina, one half of a real-life Neil Diamond tribute band in Milwaukee. We'll hear more of our conversation after a short break. I'm Tanya Mosley, and this is Fresh Air Weekend.

786.794 - 811.772 Unknown

Kate, your breakout role for which you earned your first Oscar nomination in Golden Globe win was as Penny Lane in Almost Famous. And I actually want to play a scene from near the beginning of the film. So the young teen journalist, William, played by Patrick Fugate, is at the back door of a concert and the guard is not letting him in. And a few young women, including your character, Penny Lane,

Chapter 4: What challenges did Kate Hudson face during her Oscar nomination journey?

1266.508 - 1294.446 Kate Hudson

So to say that there's not opportunity is to be lying. But there's something else that comes with it when you grow up in it, which is You also, as an actor, as a performer, you have to be, you have to honor the craft and be good enough to have other people actually wanna watch you. So that part requires like, a different type of... Fortitude, yeah.

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1294.667 - 1316.462 Kate Hudson

Right, it's like going into it, it was like, okay, I just wanna do this on my own terms. I know that when I walk in the room, everyone's gonna know, or maybe some of them, maybe they won't. I have a different last name, thank God. I was so happy about that when I was younger, to not have to walk in the room and be a Russell or a Han.

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1316.723 - 1349.528 Kate Hudson

It was nice to not have that be something where people went, oh. so that the pressure didn't feel as intense. But you know when they do know that you have to be on your game. You can't walk in and not know your lines, which is why I worked so disciplined in everything else that I did. I just wanted to do a good job. And when you grow up with parents like that,

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1350.048 - 1370.436 Kate Hudson

There's so much modeling that they did that I take with me, right? Like right now, I look at this Oscar nomination and I look at my mother and it's an absolute extension of my mother. I think people who didn't grow up with a parent in the industry still feel like these moments are extensions of their parents and the gifts that they give.

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1370.537 - 1392.846 Kate Hudson

But I have a mom that sees me, sees all of that differently. She knows what it is. She knows what it feels like. She knows the work that goes into it, the time away from your kids that it takes. She knows how deeply I miss my kids when I'm doing these things. She knows all of it, right? And she knows that I know that that's what she went through.

1393.186 - 1418.63 Kate Hudson

So there's this amazing connection that I get to have with my mom at this time. She's 80. I'm 46. Like, how lucky am I that I get to really share that experience with her in that way. I feel very, very blessed to, like, have my mom and Kurt be the people that, like, really... Are behind you and set the model for you. Yeah. Yeah.

1419.571 - 1423.995 Unknown

Kate Hudson, it's been a pleasure to learn more about you and to have this conversation.

1424.015 - 1424.295 Tanya Mosley

Thank you.

1424.315 - 1424.816 Unknown

This was so nice.

Chapter 5: How does Kate Hudson reflect on her acting career and family dynamics?

2150.615 - 2172.117 Stellan Skarsgård

I have a bigger problem if I'm presenting a long thought chain, like if I'm having a political discussion or anything. I mean, I lose my bearing in the middle of it and just go quiet. But other than that, maybe some balance problems, but other than that, I was fine.

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2173.109 - 2186.386 Dave Davies

Well, of course, the problem, as I understand it, that you faced with your career was that you couldn't really learn lines as you did before. And you found a way to kind of work around this. Tell us what you did, how you got there.

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2188.348 - 2213.94 Stellan Skarsgård

Well, the thing is I've always had difficulties learning lines in a way. If I didn't sort of have them – It's tailored to my feelings. But the way I totally forgot lines immediately now. And I discovered that I sort of was lying in bed in a hospital and I was trying to test myself if I could remember the lines.

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2214.04 - 2221.528 Stellan Skarsgård

And I sort of took a book and I read something and I closed the book and I didn't remember it.

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2222.729 - 2222.809 Dave Davies

Hmm.

2223.245 - 2254.5 Stellan Skarsgård

So I called from the hospital. I made a call to Tony Gilroy, who was the. showrunner and writer of Andor. I was in the middle of doing them. I had done the first episodes and I hadn't done the second season. And I also owed Denise Villeneuve, who was going to do Dune II, a phone call. And I talked to them and I said, I cannot remember anything, any lines.

2255.122 - 2287.879 Stellan Skarsgård

And they said, don't worry, we'll fix it. And they said, take it easy. Come in and do what you need to. I did. And there's a lot of actors that are actually using this technique, which is an earpiece and a prompter. But I found it rather difficult if you wanted to be precise in terms of rhythm and of the rhythm of the scene. And to me, rhythm is very important.

2287.859 - 2303.978 Stellan Skarsgård

Because you use it as a tool, the way, the rhythm you make in the scene. And I had to have the guy, the prompter, put his lines on top of my fellow actor.

2303.958 - 2317.95 Dave Davies

So just so we understand this, you have a little earpiece, right? And it's not a recording of the lines. It's a live prompter who is saying these lines as you're in the scene, often speaking at the same time as your fellow actors.

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