Front Row: Archive 2014 - Matthew McConaughey; Mary Chapin Carpenter; Nathan Filer

Download Matthew McConaughey; Mary Chapin Carpenter; Nathan Filer

With Mark Lawson.

Matthew McConaughey is Oscar nominated for his starring role in Dallas Buyers Club. He lost 47 lbs to play Ron Woodroof, a Texas electrician who became an unlikely AIDS activist after being diagnosed with HIV in the mid-1980s. He discusses the physical endurance of the part and his recent career renaissance.

Nathan Filer, a registered mental health nurse, has won the Costa Book of the Year award with his debut novel The Shock of the Fall, a story about loss, guilt and mental illness. A surprise win, Filer beat the favourite Kate Atkinson with her novel Life after Life, and other award winning writers Lucy Hughes-Hallett for The Pike, an account of the life of Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, and poet Michael Symmons Roberts for his collection Drysalter. Nathan Filer tells Mark about what the award will mean for his writing.

In the week that Rory Kinnear won twice at the Critics Circle for best actor and most promising playwright, David Edgar muses on the long tradition of the actor/writer, from Shakespeare to Pinter.

Grammy winning singer/songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter discusses her new album Songs from the Movie, a re-working of 10 of her songs, recorded with a full orchestra and 15 voice choir. She reveals what inspires her new songs and the emotional pain of revisiting old material.

Producer: Ellie Bury.

Published on Wednesday, 29th January 2014.

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