WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.759 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are taking 00:00:03.759 --> 00:00:07.440 on someone who really just defines any easy label. 00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:10.179 Oh, absolutely. A comedian, yes, but also a serious 00:00:10.179 --> 00:00:14.179 actor, a political activist, an elite endurance 00:00:14.179 --> 00:00:18.940 athlete. It's quite the list. He really is. We 00:00:18.940 --> 00:00:21.179 are diving deep into the extraordinary life, 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:24.239 the evolving identity, and, well, the relentless 00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:27.219 career of Susie Eddie Izzard. And it's a fascinating 00:00:27.219 --> 00:00:29.559 stack of source material we've got here. It covers, 00:00:29.620 --> 00:00:32.340 what, several decades? Decades of intense public 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:34.939 life. And when you try to synthesize all these 00:00:34.939 --> 00:00:37.140 pieces, you know, the whimsical comedy, the incredible 00:00:37.140 --> 00:00:39.299 dedication to languages, the grueling physical 00:00:39.299 --> 00:00:42.200 stuff, the political campaigning, you get this, 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:45.700 well. singular figure. Right. So our mission 00:00:45.700 --> 00:00:47.539 for you, the listener, isn't just about listing 00:00:47.539 --> 00:00:49.359 achievements. It's about trying to understand 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:51.759 what ties it all together. What's the sort of 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:54.740 unifying principle? And it seems to be this commitment 00:00:54.740 --> 00:00:56.920 to breaking boundaries, doesn't it? Like intentionally, 00:00:57.100 --> 00:01:00.640 linguistic, physical, social, all of them. Exactly. 00:01:00.820 --> 00:01:04.379 That intentionality is key. And the hook is just 00:01:04.379 --> 00:01:09.000 the sheer, it's almost absurd, the breadth of 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:11.700 what she's done. We're talking two primetime 00:01:11.700 --> 00:01:14.000 Emmys, right? Yeah. For Dressed to Kill. Yeah, 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:16.939 the stand -up special, incredible. Tony nomination 00:01:16.939 --> 00:01:20.069 for a serious Broadway role. Starring in massive 00:01:20.069 --> 00:01:22.790 Hollywood films like the Ocean series. But then, 00:01:22.829 --> 00:01:24.769 like you said, you get these stats that just 00:01:24.769 --> 00:01:27.790 pull the rug out from under any normal idea of, 00:01:27.790 --> 00:01:30.209 you know, celebrity effort. Like the marathons. 00:01:30.209 --> 00:01:34.629 The marathons. 43 marathons in 51 days. And this 00:01:34.629 --> 00:01:36.549 is someone with basically no running background 00:01:36.549 --> 00:01:39.189 beforehand. It's mind boggling. And then performing 00:01:39.189 --> 00:01:42.769 complex stream of consciousness stand up. In 00:01:42.769 --> 00:01:45.810 French, German, Arabic, Russian, Spanish, languages 00:01:45.810 --> 00:01:47.950 she taught herself specifically for this. Right, 00:01:48.030 --> 00:01:49.810 which we'll definitely get into. It's dedication 00:01:49.810 --> 00:01:52.629 turned up to 11, maybe 12. Or maybe just pure 00:01:52.629 --> 00:01:55.030 stubbornness, but always for a reason, it seems. 00:01:55.129 --> 00:01:57.689 Always seems linked to a bigger goal, yeah. Okay, 00:01:57.769 --> 00:01:59.950 so let's unpack this. Where do we start? The 00:01:59.950 --> 00:02:03.629 foundation, I guess. Her origins and that very 00:02:03.629 --> 00:02:07.189 personal but also very public identity evolution. 00:02:07.709 --> 00:02:09.550 Sounds like the right place. It informs pretty 00:02:09.550 --> 00:02:12.949 much everything else. Okay, so Susie Eddie Izzard, 00:02:13.069 --> 00:02:19.210 born Edward John Izzard, 7 February 1962. And 00:02:19.210 --> 00:02:21.129 the birthplace itself is interesting, Aiden. 00:02:21.270 --> 00:02:23.990 Yeah, Aiden Colony as it was then, now a part 00:02:23.990 --> 00:02:26.090 of Yemen. It sort of hints at that global perspective 00:02:26.090 --> 00:02:27.969 right from the start, doesn't it? It really does. 00:02:28.069 --> 00:02:30.090 Her family background, though, fundamentally 00:02:30.090 --> 00:02:33.250 English. Fundamentally English, yes. Though the 00:02:33.250 --> 00:02:36.590 surname, Izzard, that has French Huguenot origins. 00:02:37.330 --> 00:02:39.650 Which, again, kind of connects to the European 00:02:39.650 --> 00:02:42.550 theme that pops up later. Ah, interesting. Her 00:02:42.550 --> 00:02:45.229 parents were Dorothy, who is a midwife and nurse, 00:02:45.430 --> 00:02:48.330 and Harold, an accountant. He was working for 00:02:48.330 --> 00:02:51.689 British Petroleum, BP, out in Aden at the time. 00:02:51.789 --> 00:02:53.789 Right, which explains the location. And like 00:02:53.789 --> 00:02:55.530 a lot of families linked to those big corporations, 00:02:55.789 --> 00:02:58.069 they moved around. They did. Lived in Bangor, 00:02:58.110 --> 00:02:59.949 Northern Ireland for a bit until she was about 00:02:59.949 --> 00:03:02.750 five. Then they moved to Skewen in Wales. Okay. 00:03:03.210 --> 00:03:05.569 But the really formative event, tragically, came 00:03:05.569 --> 00:03:08.569 very early. Her mother, Dorothy, died of cancer 00:03:08.569 --> 00:03:11.289 when Susie was just six years old. Six. Wow. 00:03:11.469 --> 00:03:13.949 That's incredibly young to lose a parent. It 00:03:13.949 --> 00:03:16.780 is. And you often see, well. Psychologists talk 00:03:16.780 --> 00:03:19.319 about how that kind of loss can create this deep 00:03:19.319 --> 00:03:22.740 need for self -definition, for agency later in 00:03:22.740 --> 00:03:24.879 life. And you can definitely see echoes of that, 00:03:24.979 --> 00:03:27.099 can't you? The endurance, the political drive. 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:30.219 Absolutely. That resilience. Around the same 00:03:30.219 --> 00:03:32.460 time, she was attending various private schools, 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:35.979 St. John's in Newton, St. Bede's Prep in Eastbourne, 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:39.020 then Eastbourne College, eventually studied drama 00:03:39.020 --> 00:03:41.539 at the University of Sheffield. But it's fascinating 00:03:41.539 --> 00:03:45.180 how early her core ambitions seem to form. She 00:03:45.180 --> 00:03:47.580 talks about two key realizations from childhood. 00:03:47.659 --> 00:03:50.000 Yes. Two really fundamental ones. First, she 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:52.889 knew she was transgender at age four. Four. How 00:03:52.889 --> 00:03:55.349 does she connect that? She links it to seeing 00:03:55.349 --> 00:03:57.969 a boy being forced to wear a dress and feeling 00:03:57.969 --> 00:04:00.090 a sense of resonance, of understanding something 00:04:00.090 --> 00:04:02.669 about herself in that moment. Incredible. And 00:04:02.669 --> 00:04:04.550 the second. Knew she wanted to be an actor at 00:04:04.550 --> 00:04:06.449 age seven. So right from the beginning, you have 00:04:06.449 --> 00:04:08.810 this intertwining of performance, ambition, and 00:04:08.810 --> 00:04:10.490 personal identity. They weren't separate things 00:04:10.490 --> 00:04:13.750 for her. That makes sense. So given that deep, 00:04:13.770 --> 00:04:16.649 early understanding, the way her public identity, 00:04:16.850 --> 00:04:21.800 pronouns, name. How that's evolved publicly is 00:04:21.800 --> 00:04:24.939 a major part of her story. It really is. She 00:04:24.939 --> 00:04:27.740 identifies primarily as gender fluid. She often 00:04:27.740 --> 00:04:29.879 uses transgender too, but more as an umbrella 00:04:29.879 --> 00:04:32.480 term that covers her experience. And she's described 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:35.879 it as somewhat boyish and some girlish. Exactly. 00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:38.879 That sense of duality, of fluidity. It's kind 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:41.199 of a key to understanding her whole career, I 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:44.639 think. How she can shift between, say, playing 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:47.079 a very masculine general in Valkyrie and then 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:49.879 performing stand -up in a dress and heels. It's 00:04:49.879 --> 00:04:52.420 not a contradiction for her. Right. And her language 00:04:52.420 --> 00:04:54.620 around pronouns has changed over time, too. It 00:04:54.620 --> 00:04:57.019 has, reflecting that fluidity. For years, she 00:04:57.019 --> 00:04:59.279 was comfortable with either he or she, and she'd 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:01.879 talk about being in boy mode or girl mode. But 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:04.519 then in 2020, there was a shift. She requested 00:05:04.519 --> 00:05:07.000 to hear pronouns for a TV appearance, specifically 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:09.160 saying she wanted to be based in girl mode from 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:11.620 now on. Okay. And then more recently, the name 00:05:11.620 --> 00:05:15.779 change. Yes, March 2023. That felt like a really 00:05:15.779 --> 00:05:19.230 significant personal moment. She announced she'd 00:05:19.230 --> 00:05:21.449 start using the name Susie, which she'd apparently 00:05:21.449 --> 00:05:24.290 wanted since she was 10. 10 years old. Yeah. 00:05:24.709 --> 00:05:27.649 So now it's Susie Eddie Izzard. But the way she 00:05:27.649 --> 00:05:30.350 handled the announcement was quite remarkable, 00:05:30.470 --> 00:05:32.970 I thought. How so? Well, she didn't make it a 00:05:32.970 --> 00:05:35.850 demand. It was more like an invitation. She explicitly 00:05:35.850 --> 00:05:39.269 said people can choose which name to use, Susie 00:05:39.269 --> 00:05:42.050 or Eddie. And crucially, she added, you can't 00:05:42.050 --> 00:05:44.639 make a mistake. That's incredibly generous, isn't 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:46.699 it? Especially given how fraught these discussions 00:05:46.699 --> 00:05:50.019 can be. Exactly. It's very pragmatic, very open. 00:05:50.180 --> 00:05:53.019 She still uses Eddie Izzard professionally, largely 00:05:53.019 --> 00:05:55.079 for name recognition. You know, it's the established 00:05:55.079 --> 00:05:58.040 brand. But Susie is there now, too. It's a really 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:00.040 interesting approach to managing a public self 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:01.860 that's evolving. We should probably touch on 00:06:01.860 --> 00:06:03.639 the older terminology she used, too, reflecting 00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:06.129 the times. Right. Earlier in her career, she 00:06:06.129 --> 00:06:08.389 identified as a transvestite, and she had some 00:06:08.389 --> 00:06:10.790 very famous, very quotable lines about it, like 00:06:10.790 --> 00:06:13.529 calling herself a lesbian trapped in a man's 00:06:13.529 --> 00:06:16.050 body. I remember that one. And a complete boy 00:06:16.050 --> 00:06:19.850 plus half girl. Yes. Those phrases really captured 00:06:19.850 --> 00:06:21.769 the complexity she was trying to articulate, 00:06:22.009 --> 00:06:24.529 maybe before the current vocabulary around gender 00:06:24.529 --> 00:06:27.240 fluidity was as widely understood. And the act 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:29.240 of dressing itself, which became public around 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:31.459 92, she's very clear about what that means. Very 00:06:31.459 --> 00:06:33.519 clear. It's not a performance gimmick for the 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:36.300 stage. It's not a sexual fetish. It's just self 00:06:36.300 --> 00:06:38.959 -expression. Purely. She puts it simply, it's 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:41.240 just wearing a dress. It's about me just expressing 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:44.379 myself. It's integral, not theatrical. And that 00:06:44.379 --> 00:06:47.060 fundamental drive for authentic self -expression, 00:06:47.259 --> 00:06:49.420 I think that's what really propelled her out 00:06:49.420 --> 00:06:51.939 of university drama societies and onto the street. 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:53.839 Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Yeah. Leading 00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:56.949 us right into her comedy. Exactly. need for raw, 00:06:57.110 --> 00:07:00.269 unfiltered self -expression, it feeds directly 00:07:00.269 --> 00:07:02.949 into how her comedy developed. She did dabble 00:07:02.949 --> 00:07:05.709 a bit at University of Sheffield with a friend, 00:07:05.810 --> 00:07:08.670 Rob Ballard. But the real forging ground, the 00:07:08.670 --> 00:07:11.050 place where that unique Izzard style was hammered 00:07:11.050 --> 00:07:13.810 out, wasn't the student union bar. It was the 00:07:13.810 --> 00:07:17.410 street corner. Covent Garden, mostly. Right, 00:07:17.490 --> 00:07:19.750 the street performing. That's such a key part 00:07:19.750 --> 00:07:21.730 of her origin story, connecting her to that whole 00:07:21.730 --> 00:07:25.230 tradition of busking escape artistry. It is. 00:07:25.250 --> 00:07:27.910 Early 1980s, she's out there, Europe, the U .S., 00:07:27.910 --> 00:07:30.389 but often London's Covent Garden, doing solo 00:07:30.389 --> 00:07:33.290 escape acts, chains, handcuffs, that sort of 00:07:33.290 --> 00:07:35.670 thing. Okay, so how does escape artistry lead 00:07:35.670 --> 00:07:38.769 to, well, rambling monologues about historical 00:07:38.769 --> 00:07:41.870 figures and jam? Necessity. Street performing, 00:07:42.230 --> 00:07:44.610 especially escape acts, involves a lot of setup, 00:07:44.730 --> 00:07:46.829 a lot of managing the crowd, keeping them engaged 00:07:46.829 --> 00:07:49.110 while you, you know, strap yourself into something 00:07:49.110 --> 00:07:52.079 dangerous. So she had to talk. to fill the time 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:54.720 constantly she developed her voice by just talking 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:56.980 at the audience keeping their attention during 00:07:56.980 --> 00:08:00.680 these long sometimes chaotic setups that need 00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:03.040 to fill space to keep people hooked that's where 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:05.220 the rambling stream of consciousness thing comes 00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:07.680 from that makes so much sense so what seems like 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:11.199 chaos is actually born from Intense crowd control 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:13.600 practice. Pretty much. And it becomes this style. 00:08:14.019 --> 00:08:17.160 Rambling, whimsical, self -referential pantomime, 00:08:17.220 --> 00:08:20.180 jumping between topics history, religion, household 00:08:20.180 --> 00:08:22.959 appliances, scrolls with guns. It's an architecture 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:25.660 built on tangents. Beautifully put. And it's 00:08:25.660 --> 00:08:27.680 that apparent lack of structure that makes it 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:30.579 so distinctive. The highest praise and the influence 00:08:30.579 --> 00:08:33.940 she herself cites most. Monty Python. Right. 00:08:34.059 --> 00:08:36.519 John Cleese calling her the lost Python. Exactly. 00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:39.379 It suggests her brand of surreal, intelligent 00:08:39.379 --> 00:08:42.360 absurdity is seen as a direct continuation of 00:08:42.360 --> 00:08:45.039 that legacy. And was there a specific moment 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:47.860 that style broke through to a wider audience? 00:08:48.179 --> 00:08:52.159 Yeah. 1991. She performed her Raised by Wolves 00:08:52.159 --> 00:08:54.519 routine, which is classic Izzard on a televised 00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:57.960 AIDS benefit. Hysteria 3. That was the platform. 00:08:58.059 --> 00:09:00.100 It showed people this wasn't just club comedy. 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:02.519 It was something more. And that led to the big 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:04.659 tours. That really opened the doors. Suddenly 00:09:04.659 --> 00:09:07.000 she's doing major international tours, shows 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:09.240 that became, you know, landmarks of alternative 00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:12.139 comedy. Live at the Ambassadors in 93. Definite 00:09:12.139 --> 00:09:15.820 Article 90. And the big one, Dressed to Kill 00:09:15.820 --> 00:09:18.600 in 98. That really crossed the Atlantic, didn't 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:20.779 it? That was the global breakthrough, followed 00:09:20.779 --> 00:09:24.000 by Circle in 2000, Stripped in 2009, Force Majeure 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:27.740 in 2013, Wonder Bar more recently in 2022. Just 00:09:27.740 --> 00:09:30.860 a phenomenal body of stand -up work. And Dressed 00:09:30.860 --> 00:09:32.919 to Kill got serious awards recognition too, didn't 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:35.360 it? Not just laugh. Oh, yeah. Huge validation. 00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:39.500 In 2000, it won two primetime Emmys. Not one, 00:09:39.580 --> 00:09:42.399 two. Okay, what were they for specifically? Outstanding 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:44.740 individual performance in a variety or music 00:09:44.740 --> 00:09:48.240 program, so recognizing her stage presence. And 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:52.059 outstanding writing for a variety or music program. 00:09:52.279 --> 00:09:54.720 Wow. So acknowledging the performance and the 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:57.340 material itself. Exactly. It proves that the 00:09:57.340 --> 00:09:59.679 apparent rambling isn't just random. There's 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:02.019 a rigorous intellect, a real structure underneath 00:10:02.019 --> 00:10:04.639 all that seemingly effortless chaos. But the 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:06.580 Emmys weren't the end of her ambition, were they? 00:10:06.659 --> 00:10:08.600 Especially internationally. She started linking 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:10.820 it to political ideas, too. Very consciously. 00:10:11.019 --> 00:10:13.659 She's famously fluent in French, performs her 00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:16.639 entire shows in French. effortlessly it seems 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:18.419 right but then and this is where the activism 00:10:18.419 --> 00:10:21.360 really kicks in around 2014 she decided to start 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:24.080 performing in languages she didn't speak arabic 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:27.220 german russian spanish okay hold on performing 00:10:27.220 --> 00:10:30.200 that kind of complex improvised stream of consciousness 00:10:30.200 --> 00:10:33.259 stuff in a language you've only just learned 00:10:33.259 --> 00:10:36.559 that sounds terrifying like professional suicide 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:39.299 almost It's an absolutely massive risk. You're 00:10:39.299 --> 00:10:41.879 not just reciting memorized lines. You need to 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:44.139 understand the rhythm, the culture, the nuances 00:10:44.139 --> 00:10:46.740 well enough to riff to interact with the audience 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:51.100 spontaneously. So I do it. Politics. She explicitly 00:10:51.100 --> 00:10:54.480 connects it to her activism, supporting Europeanism, 00:10:54.539 --> 00:10:57.799 supporting integration. It's using humor as a 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:00.360 practical tool for cultural connection. She's 00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:03.360 literally demonstrating boundary breaking. Precisely. 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:05.940 The message is, look, if I, this English comedian, 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:08.480 can learn enough German to make jokes work in 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:11.860 Berlin or enough Russian for Moscow, then maybe 00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:15.080 these cultural and political divides aren't insurmountable. 00:11:15.559 --> 00:11:18.220 its performance as practical diplomacy. That's 00:11:18.220 --> 00:11:20.259 actually really profound. Turning the stage into 00:11:20.259 --> 00:11:23.059 a statement about connection, it fits that theme 00:11:23.059 --> 00:11:25.120 perfectly, breaking barriers, whether they're 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.820 gender, comedy conventions, or national borders. 00:11:28.039 --> 00:11:30.120 Yeah, it's all part of the same project for her, 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:32.059 it seems. So that same drive, that ambition, 00:11:32.299 --> 00:11:35.440 it took her from stand -up into, well, serious 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:37.419 dramatic acting, which might seem like a leap, 00:11:37.539 --> 00:11:39.720 but the versatility she showed is quite something. 00:11:40.090 --> 00:11:42.230 It really is. And the bridge seems to have been 00:11:42.230 --> 00:11:45.230 the theater stage. Her West End drama debut was 00:11:45.230 --> 00:11:48.429 actually quite early, 1994. David Mamet's The 00:11:48.429 --> 00:11:51.710 Cryptogram. Which is not exactly light comedy. 00:11:51.889 --> 00:11:54.429 No, that's intense stuff. Definitely. And she 00:11:54.429 --> 00:11:56.629 didn't just stick to contemporary plays. She 00:11:56.629 --> 00:11:58.690 went straight into classics. Played the title 00:11:58.690 --> 00:12:02.490 role in Marlowe's Edward II in 1995. Then she 00:12:02.490 --> 00:12:05.529 tackled Lenny Bruce in the play Lenny in 99. 00:12:05.730 --> 00:12:07.929 Playing Lenny Bruce, another boundary -pushing 00:12:07.929 --> 00:12:10.600 comedian? That feels fitting. Very fitting. These 00:12:10.600 --> 00:12:12.399 roles demand real discipline, very different 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:14.700 from the freewheeling stand -up persona. And 00:12:14.700 --> 00:12:18.139 the recognition came. Broadway, 2003. She took 00:12:18.139 --> 00:12:21.240 over from Clive Owen in A Day in the Death of 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:23.419 Joe Egg. And got a Tony nomination for that. 00:12:23.500 --> 00:12:25.720 Yep. Tony nomination for Best Leading Actor, 00:12:25.899 --> 00:12:28.759 which is huge. Think about that journey. Street 00:12:28.759 --> 00:12:31.320 busker to Tony nominee for Serious Acting in, 00:12:31.419 --> 00:12:34.039 what, less than 20 years? It's remarkable validation 00:12:34.039 --> 00:12:36.419 of her range. And that stage work continued, 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:38.399 didn't it? Didn't she recently do a one -person 00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:41.210 Hamlet? She did. that's almost the ultimate dramatic 00:12:41.210 --> 00:12:43.690 challenge, isn't it? A one -person Hamlet adapted 00:12:43.690 --> 00:12:46.149 by her brother, Mark, debuted in New York in 00:12:46.149 --> 00:12:49.950 2024. One person playing all those parts. How 00:12:49.950 --> 00:12:52.909 does that even work? It relies entirely on incredible 00:12:52.909 --> 00:12:56.309 physical and vocal skill, memory, sheer presence, 00:12:56.590 --> 00:12:59.090 holding an audience through five acts of maybe 00:12:59.090 --> 00:13:02.149 the most complex play ever written all by yourself. 00:13:02.350 --> 00:13:04.330 It's another endurance feat, just a different 00:13:04.330 --> 00:13:07.340 kind. Right. Like the marathons, but with soliloquies. 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:09.559 Exactly. And it was a huge success, extended 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:11.799 three times in New York, then transferred to 00:13:11.799 --> 00:13:14.980 London. It really cemented her status as a serious, 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:17.460 heavyweight, dramatic actor. Okay, so let's look 00:13:17.460 --> 00:13:20.259 at her screen career then. Films and TV. It's 00:13:20.259 --> 00:13:22.279 pretty extensive. Very extensive. Started back 00:13:22.279 --> 00:13:25.200 in 1995. What often stands out is her being cast 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.879 as these complex, often historical figures. Like 00:13:27.879 --> 00:13:30.720 who? She played Charlie Chaplin in Peter Bogdanovich's 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:33.720 The Cat's Meow, the German actor Gustav von Wangenheim 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:36.720 in Shadow of the Vampire, General Eric Felgiebel, 00:13:36.820 --> 00:13:39.460 one of the conspirators in Valkyrie, and Robert 00:13:39.460 --> 00:13:42.100 Watson Watt, the radar pioneer, in a BBC film 00:13:42.100 --> 00:13:45.620 called Castles in the Sky. So often playing real 00:13:45.620 --> 00:13:47.679 people known for their intellect or their role 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:50.399 in history. Yeah, she seems to have a knack for 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:53.730 embodying that kind of... brilliance or intensity 00:13:53.730 --> 00:13:57.210 but then on the flip side you have the big hollywood 00:13:57.210 --> 00:14:00.389 blockbusters the oceans films right oceans 12 00:14:00.389 --> 00:14:03.750 and oceans 13 playing roman nagel the sort of 00:14:03.750 --> 00:14:06.629 smooth technical expert the criminal mastermind 00:14:06.629 --> 00:14:08.710 very different vibe but she fit right into those 00:14:08.710 --> 00:14:11.450 big ensemble casts showed she could do the slick 00:14:11.450 --> 00:14:14.309 hollywood thing too definitely and we shouldn't 00:14:14.309 --> 00:14:16.269 forget her voice acting work either she's got 00:14:16.269 --> 00:14:18.909 a pretty distinctive voice who has your voice 00:14:19.240 --> 00:14:22.419 Nigel the Koala in Disney's The Wild, the valiant 00:14:22.419 --> 00:14:24.600 mouse Reepicheep in The Chronicles of Narnia, 00:14:24.620 --> 00:14:27.639 Prince Caspian. And then, back to that Python 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:31.139 -esque absurdity, she voiced Voldemort. In the 00:14:31.139 --> 00:14:33.399 Lego Batman movie. Voldemort in Lego Batman. 00:14:33.500 --> 00:14:35.320 That's brilliant. It's perfect casting, isn't 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:37.220 it? Her TV work's been significant, too, especially 00:14:37.220 --> 00:14:39.879 in some quality U .S. shows. Like The Riches. 00:14:39.940 --> 00:14:42.360 Yeah, starred opposite Minnie Driver in The Riches 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:45.039 for 20 episodes, played Dr. Hedaris in United 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:49.120 States of Tara, and had a really memorable, quite 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:52.120 chilling role as Dr. Abel Gideon in Hannibal. 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:55.019 Oh, right. She was very creepy in that. Unsettlingly 00:14:55.019 --> 00:14:57.649 good. And just to loop back to her comedy roots, 00:14:57.809 --> 00:15:00.649 she had those lovely cameo moments with Monty 00:15:00.649 --> 00:15:03.769 Python. Ah, yes, the lost Python finally getting 00:15:03.769 --> 00:15:07.440 on stage. Sort of. In 1998, at the Monty Python 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:10.340 Live at Aspen Tribute, she walked on stage and 00:15:10.340 --> 00:15:13.179 was immediately ushered off by Eric Idle and 00:15:13.179 --> 00:15:15.940 Michael Palin. It was a brilliant inside joke. 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:18.059 That is the ultimate tribute from them, isn't 00:15:18.059 --> 00:15:20.940 it? Absolutely. Then in 2014, for their Monty 00:15:20.940 --> 00:15:24.240 Python Live, mostly reunion shows, she was invited 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:26.659 back properly as a special guest in the blackmails. 00:15:26.779 --> 00:15:30.159 Right. That lack of prep is crucial. Let's start 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:33.080 with the first big one, the 2009 Marathon Challenge 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:36.679 for Sport Relief. Okay. Goal. Run back -to -back 00:15:36.679 --> 00:15:39.230 marathons across the UK. Simple enough goal, 00:15:39.389 --> 00:15:42.110 insanely difficult execution. And the preparation. 00:15:42.509 --> 00:15:45.669 Five weeks of training. Five weeks for multiple 00:15:45.669 --> 00:15:47.809 marathons. That's dangerous, isn't it? For a 00:15:47.809 --> 00:15:50.230 seasoned runner prepping for one marathon, five 00:15:50.230 --> 00:15:52.950 weeks is cutting it fine. For a non -runner planning 00:15:52.950 --> 00:15:56.789 to run dozens consecutively, it's almost unthinkable. 00:15:56.990 --> 00:15:59.549 It just shows this incredible belief in mind 00:15:59.549 --> 00:16:02.250 over matter, especially when charity's involved. 00:16:02.529 --> 00:16:04.950 So what was the final result? She completed 43 00:16:04.950 --> 00:16:09.610 marathons in 51 days. over 1 ,100 miles, running 00:16:09.610 --> 00:16:11.710 through England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. 00:16:11.929 --> 00:16:15.789 43 in 51 days. And the times weren't super fast, 00:16:15.909 --> 00:16:17.830 but that's not the point, is it? Not at all. 00:16:17.870 --> 00:16:20.090 The times ranged from maybe five hours to 10 00:16:20.090 --> 00:16:22.490 hours per marathon. The point is the accumulation, 00:16:22.570 --> 00:16:25.370 the sheer physical toll of getting up the next 00:16:25.370 --> 00:16:27.830 day and the next and doing it again for nearly 00:16:27.830 --> 00:16:29.970 two months. And there was symbolism involved 00:16:29.970 --> 00:16:33.129 too, wasn't there? With flags. Yes, very deliberate 00:16:33.129 --> 00:16:36.580 symbolism. In England, Scotland, Wales, she carried 00:16:36.580 --> 00:16:38.700 the flag that nation. But in Northern Ireland, 00:16:38.899 --> 00:16:41.299 reflecting the political sensitivities, she carried 00:16:41.299 --> 00:16:44.139 a flag she designed herself. Green, with a white 00:16:44.139 --> 00:16:46.360 dove. Referencing the Northern Ireland football 00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:49.200 jersey, but adding the dove for peace. Exactly. 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:51.860 A direct link between the physical effort and 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:54.580 a political hope for unity. That whole endeavor 00:16:54.580 --> 00:16:56.879 earned her a special award at the BBC Sports 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:59.740 Personality of the Year in 2009. Rightly so. 00:16:59.899 --> 00:17:01.960 But knowing Izzard, that wasn't the end of it. 00:17:02.250 --> 00:17:05.150 Not even close. One insane challenge just sets 00:17:05.150 --> 00:17:08.430 the stage for the next. 2016 South Africa. Ah, 00:17:08.789 --> 00:17:11.589 the Nelson Mandela challenge. This one felt even 00:17:11.589 --> 00:17:13.950 more charged emotionally and politically. Definitely. 00:17:14.009 --> 00:17:18.019 The goal. 27 marathons in 27 days, specifically 00:17:18.019 --> 00:17:20.640 honoring the 27 years Mandela was imprisoned. 00:17:20.900 --> 00:17:23.099 And the physical conditions were brutal. Incredibly 00:17:23.099 --> 00:17:26.119 tough. Over 700 miles, South African heat, temperatures 00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:28.500 hitting 40 degrees Celsius sometimes. And remember, 00:17:28.619 --> 00:17:30.740 she'd actually tried this once before in 2012 00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:33.900 and had to pull out due to health issues. So 00:17:33.900 --> 00:17:35.880 there was that psychological hurdle to the memory 00:17:35.880 --> 00:17:39.039 of the previous failure. How did she manage it 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:43.180 this time? Pure grit. She finished it March 20th, 00:17:43.180 --> 00:17:46.099 2016, right at the statue of Mandela in Pretoria. 00:17:46.460 --> 00:17:48.920 But there is a twist. Oh. Because she had to 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:50.799 spend one day in the hospital during the run, 00:17:50.920 --> 00:17:53.660 she was technically one marathon short heading 00:17:53.660 --> 00:17:56.380 into the final day. So what did she do? She ran 00:17:56.380 --> 00:17:59.240 two marathons back to back on the last day, just 00:17:59.240 --> 00:18:02.579 powered through 52 .4 miles to hit the 27 total 00:18:02.579 --> 00:18:06.539 within the 27 days. That is... frankly bonkers, 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:09.099 an absolutely fanatical level of determination. 00:18:09.539 --> 00:18:12.059 It connects that physical suffering directly 00:18:12.059 --> 00:18:14.440 to the political memory, doesn't it? Like embodied 00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:16.400 activism. Completely. And it worked in terms 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:18.779 of fundraising, too, raised over $1 .35 million 00:18:18.779 --> 00:18:21.160 for sport relief just from that run. Astonishing. 00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:22.819 But she still wasn't done. There was another 00:18:22.819 --> 00:18:25.119 challenge more recently. 2021. And this time 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:27.900 she combined her worlds, the challenge, run 31 00:18:27.900 --> 00:18:30.980 marathons and perform 31 stand -up gigs all during 00:18:30.980 --> 00:18:33.839 the 31 days of January 2021. Okay, that's just 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:36.220 logistically insane. Run a marathon, travel, 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:39.559 perform a full show, sleep, repeat. For a month. 00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:42.000 The sheer exhaustion must have been immense. 00:18:42.420 --> 00:18:45.539 But she did it. pulled off both the running and 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:49.740 the performing, raise over 275 ,000 pounds for 00:18:49.740 --> 00:18:52.440 various charities. So the running isn't a side 00:18:52.440 --> 00:18:54.960 hobby. It's a core part of her activism, a tool 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:57.259 for raising awareness and funds. It's another 00:18:57.259 --> 00:19:00.460 form of performance, a very painful, very public 00:19:00.460 --> 00:19:02.400 performance for a cause. I think that's a great 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:04.440 way to put it. Which brings us neatly to the 00:19:04.440 --> 00:19:07.740 politics itself. Moving from the physical endurance 00:19:07.740 --> 00:19:12.460 of marathons to the... psychological endurance 00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:14.680 needed for a political career. Her commitment 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:16.319 to the Labor Party goes way back, doesn't it? 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:18.240 Oh, yeah. Decades. She joined the Labor Party 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:20.700 back in 1995. And this wasn't just, you know, 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:22.759 celebrity endorsement. She got involved. She 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:25.059 was listed as one of their biggest private donors 00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:28.000 back in 98, donated again significantly in 2008. 00:19:28.299 --> 00:19:30.299 She put her money where her mouth was. And used 00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:33.079 her platform to campaigning actively, appeared 00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:36.180 in party political broadcasts for the 2005 election, 00:19:36.339 --> 00:19:38.700 the 2009 European election, that brilliant Britain 00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:41.460 video in 2010. She clearly sees politics and 00:19:41.460 --> 00:19:43.299 public service as something she wants to do, 00:19:43.339 --> 00:19:46.220 not just support. But translating that commitment 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:50.039 into actual elected office, that's been tougher. 00:19:50.180 --> 00:19:53.460 It has. The internal party structures, the electoral 00:19:53.460 --> 00:19:56.619 system itself, they've been real hurdles. She 00:19:56.619 --> 00:19:58.420 ran for Labor's National Executive Committee, 00:19:58.539 --> 00:20:02.480 the NEC, twice, 2016 and 2018, and didn't win 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:05.490 a seat initially. Just remind us, the NEC. That's 00:20:05.490 --> 00:20:07.650 the party's governing body, right? So getting 00:20:07.650 --> 00:20:09.589 on that is a big deal internally. Huge deal. 00:20:09.630 --> 00:20:11.789 It controls party management, discipline, policy 00:20:11.789 --> 00:20:14.490 direction. It's a real sign of grassroots support 00:20:14.490 --> 00:20:17.170 and influence. Now, she did actually get onto 00:20:17.170 --> 00:20:20.630 the NEC briefly. In March 2018, she was the next 00:20:20.630 --> 00:20:23.410 highest runner up when someone resigned. But 00:20:23.410 --> 00:20:25.630 then she failed to get reelected in the main 00:20:25.630 --> 00:20:27.630 elections later that summer. So it was a short 00:20:27.630 --> 00:20:30.690 stint. And the ambition to become an MP or mayor. 00:20:31.180 --> 00:20:33.319 That's ongoing. Seems to be. She talked about 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:35.859 running for mayor of London in 2020, though that 00:20:35.859 --> 00:20:37.839 didn't happen in the end. Yeah. Then she went 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:39.599 for selection as the prospective parliamentary 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:42.579 candidate, the PPC for Sheffield Central in 2022. 00:20:43.059 --> 00:20:45.759 Didn't get it. No. Then tried again for Brighton 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:48.640 Pavilion in 2023. Didn't get that either. No. 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:51.619 Lost the members ballots both times. But the 00:20:51.619 --> 00:20:54.710 fact that she keeps trying. keeps putting herself 00:20:54.710 --> 00:20:57.869 forward despite these setbacks. It echoes the 00:20:57.869 --> 00:20:59.769 marathons, doesn't it? That same persistence. 00:20:59.970 --> 00:21:02.170 She just keeps running. That's a good analogy. 00:21:03.309 --> 00:21:05.630 Despite not getting elected yet, her core political 00:21:05.630 --> 00:21:08.430 views are pretty clear and consistent, especially 00:21:08.430 --> 00:21:11.750 on Europe. Oh, an incredibly clear, staunch Europeanist, 00:21:11.789 --> 00:21:14.730 calls herself a British European, sees it as 00:21:14.730 --> 00:21:17.589 a natural cultural identity and not a contradiction. 00:21:17.930 --> 00:21:19.869 And she famously spent one of the first euros 00:21:19.869 --> 00:21:22.349 in London. She did. A very public statement of 00:21:22.349 --> 00:21:24.750 belief. And as we said, that feeds directly into 00:21:24.750 --> 00:21:26.869 the multilingual comedy strategy. It's all connected. 00:21:27.109 --> 00:21:29.990 And beyond Europe. What about UK politics specifically? 00:21:30.289 --> 00:21:32.829 She's pushed for electoral reform, campaigned 00:21:32.829 --> 00:21:35.430 for the alternative vote AV system back in the 00:21:35.430 --> 00:21:38.269 2011 referendum, wanting to replace first past 00:21:38.269 --> 00:21:41.470 the post. She's also a proponent of British republicanism, 00:21:41.490 --> 00:21:43.569 believes the UK should eventually have an elected 00:21:43.569 --> 00:21:47.359 head of state, not the monarchy. Okay. Ideologically, 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:49.299 where does she place herself? Clearly identifies 00:21:49.299 --> 00:21:51.759 as a social Democrat, but she's made a point 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:54.420 quite explicitly of saying she is not a socialist. 00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:57.799 So firmly left of center, but drawing a line 00:21:57.799 --> 00:22:00.440 within that spectrum. Right. And on things like 00:22:00.440 --> 00:22:02.579 Scottish independence. Campaigned against it 00:22:02.579 --> 00:22:06.039 in the 2014 referendum. Very passionately argued 00:22:06.039 --> 00:22:08.599 that the rest of the UK would feel a deep sense 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:12.230 of loss if Scotland left. Pro -union in that 00:22:12.230 --> 00:22:14.970 context. Okay. And then there are the more personal 00:22:14.970 --> 00:22:16.690 interests that sort of flesh out the picture. 00:22:16.849 --> 00:22:19.269 Yeah, the little fascinating side bits. She's 00:22:19.269 --> 00:22:21.109 been an associate director at Crystal Palace 00:22:21.109 --> 00:22:24.150 Football Club since 2012. A football fan. Apparently 00:22:24.150 --> 00:22:27.630 so. And a dedicated train modeler. Even donated 00:22:27.630 --> 00:22:30.009 her childhood model railway set to Bexhill Museum 00:22:30.009 --> 00:22:33.250 in 2016. Train sets and football. Hmm. That's 00:22:33.250 --> 00:22:35.789 another layer. And her overall philosophy, you 00:22:35.789 --> 00:22:37.930 mentioned her views on religion earlier. Right. 00:22:38.299 --> 00:22:40.519 identifies as an atheist, said the realization 00:22:40.519 --> 00:22:42.900 actually hit her while she was on stage during 00:22:42.900 --> 00:22:46.119 the strip tour in 2008. On stage, wow. Yeah. 00:22:46.619 --> 00:22:49.059 Though she later refined it a bit, described 00:22:49.059 --> 00:22:52.180 herself as a spiritual atheist. Her explanation 00:22:52.180 --> 00:22:55.099 was brilliant. I don't believe in the guy upstairs. 00:22:55.220 --> 00:22:57.759 I believe in us, putting faith in humanity's 00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:01.119 potential. I believe in us. That feels very Izzard, 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:04.759 very humanist. Exactly. Which ties into the kind 00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:07.019 of recognition she's received from certain institutions. 00:23:07.969 --> 00:23:09.650 Yeah, when you look at the honors and awards, 00:23:09.829 --> 00:23:11.769 it's clear that academic and cultural bodies 00:23:11.769 --> 00:23:14.470 see her as more than just an entertainer. She's 00:23:14.470 --> 00:23:17.230 seen as a significant cultural force, an advocate. 00:23:17.549 --> 00:23:20.089 She's got a whole string of honorary doctorates. 00:23:20.109 --> 00:23:22.250 One more. University of East Anglia, Sunderland, 00:23:22.509 --> 00:23:25.829 York St. John's, Sussex, Sheffield. Quite a list. 00:23:26.069 --> 00:23:27.529 And the reasons they give are important, right? 00:23:27.630 --> 00:23:29.769 Citation. Absolutely crucial. They spell out 00:23:29.769 --> 00:23:33.450 the perceived impact. UEA, back in 2003, specifically 00:23:33.450 --> 00:23:35.650 mentioned her work promoting modern languages 00:23:35.650 --> 00:23:37.829 and tolerance of other cultures and lifestyles 00:23:37.829 --> 00:23:40.069 and for having transcended national barriers 00:23:40.069 --> 00:23:43.029 with her humor. So direct academic recognition 00:23:43.029 --> 00:23:46.849 of the multilingual comedy as a tool for positive 00:23:46.849 --> 00:23:50.730 social change. Precisely. Then in 2014, The Guardian 00:23:50.730 --> 00:23:53.410 named her their public language champion. Again, 00:23:53.490 --> 00:23:56.009 a direct nod to that active effort she puts into 00:23:56.009 --> 00:23:58.230 learning and performing in French, German, Spanish, 00:23:58.509 --> 00:24:01.619 etc. And within the comedy world itself, where 00:24:01.619 --> 00:24:03.740 does she rank? Well, rankings are subjective, 00:24:03.980 --> 00:24:08.180 but in a big 2007 poll of the 100 greatest British 00:24:08.180 --> 00:24:10.380 national comedians, she came in at number three. 00:24:10.460 --> 00:24:12.680 Number three. Who was ahead of her? Only Peter 00:24:12.680 --> 00:24:15.569 Kay and Billy Connolly. So incredibly high regard 00:24:15.569 --> 00:24:17.930 from both critics and the public, placing her 00:24:17.930 --> 00:24:20.329 among the absolute legends. That's serious staying 00:24:20.329 --> 00:24:22.630 power in a tough business. Definitely. And then 00:24:22.630 --> 00:24:24.450 tying back to that humanist philosophy we just 00:24:24.450 --> 00:24:27.410 mentioned, in 2013, Harvard University gave her 00:24:27.410 --> 00:24:29.589 the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in 00:24:29.589 --> 00:24:32.690 Cultural Humanism. Cultural Humanism. That award 00:24:32.690 --> 00:24:34.869 really seems to capture her core values, doesn't 00:24:34.869 --> 00:24:38.369 it? Championing liberal ideals, democracy, human 00:24:38.369 --> 00:24:41.230 effort. And linking it all to her public career. 00:24:41.390 --> 00:24:44.009 It fits perfectly. It recognizes the belief in 00:24:44.009 --> 00:24:46.430 us that seems to drive so much of what she does. 00:24:46.710 --> 00:24:49.730 So looking back at everything, the street performer 00:24:49.730 --> 00:24:52.170 who masters Shakespeare, the political activist 00:24:52.170 --> 00:24:54.950 who embraces the struggle, the athlete who pushes 00:24:54.950 --> 00:24:59.220 physical limits with almost no prep. Susie Eddie 00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:00.759 Izzard really is the definition of intentional 00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:03.279 self -reinvention, isn't she? Always pushing 00:25:03.279 --> 00:25:05.019 boundaries. I think that's the perfect summary. 00:25:05.140 --> 00:25:07.240 The unifying thread, the through line across 00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:09.859 all these seemingly disparate activities is that 00:25:09.859 --> 00:25:12.660 profound commitment to defying limits. Whether 00:25:12.660 --> 00:25:14.880 it's language barriers in Paris, physical barriers 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:17.599 in South Africa, or social barriers around gender 00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:21.309 or politics. It's a constant, rigorous push against 00:25:21.309 --> 00:25:24.150 constraints. And maybe the most impressive performance 00:25:24.150 --> 00:25:27.069 of all is her ability to navigate and publicly 00:25:27.069 --> 00:25:30.029 embrace this evolving personal identity, Suzy 00:25:30.029 --> 00:25:32.569 Eddie Izzard, while maintaining such a recognizable, 00:25:32.910 --> 00:25:36.069 versatile, and impactful public persona. That 00:25:36.069 --> 00:25:38.329 idea of using self -expression not just for yourself, 00:25:38.490 --> 00:25:40.490 but as a tool to actively dismantle barriers 00:25:40.490 --> 00:25:42.869 for others. That's really powerful. Which leaves 00:25:42.869 --> 00:25:44.980 us with a thought for you, the listener. Considering 00:25:44.980 --> 00:25:47.220 Izzard's intense dedication to performing in 00:25:47.220 --> 00:25:49.940 multiple languages, her passionate Europeanism, 00:25:50.059 --> 00:25:53.339 what's one small step, maybe, that you could 00:25:53.339 --> 00:25:55.319 take today? Something to break down a little 00:25:55.319 --> 00:25:58.140 cultural or linguistic barrier in your own community. 00:25:58.299 --> 00:26:00.619 It makes you think, doesn't it? Can humor and 00:26:00.619 --> 00:26:02.519 empathy really travel if we put in the effort? 00:26:02.700 --> 00:26:04.799 Definitely food for thought. That's all for this 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:06.420 deep dive. We'll catch you next time.