Hi babes! I’m Josh Smith and welcome to Reign! I am a journalist and presenter, and in each episode of my podcast, you’ll hear me sit down with some favourite f...
We are starting 2025 on Reign with a guest you have been desperate to hear from on the podcast and today it finally happens, say hello to THE Florence Pugh.
Over the last decade Florence has been the definition of booked, busy and blessed with roles in ‘Dune’, ‘Oppenheimer’, ‘Black Widow’, ‘Don’t Worry Darling’, and her Oscar nominated performance in ‘Little Women’.
Now she’s breaking our hearts into a million pieces opposite Andrew Garfield in ‘We Live In Time’, which tells the story of a couple, Almut aka Alma and Tobias. who are brought together by a chance encounter and find time is running out after a devastating diagnosis. It’s ‘P.S I Love You’ levels of tears, so take your tissues.
We recorded this episode just after Florence came to a premiere I hosted and she gave me THE best pep talk beforehand, so expect plenty of inspiration and deep moments from her as we tackle the under- discussed topics of death and grief, plus we talk about Andrew Garfield shaving her head, and the pressures of being a young woman in the entertainment industry.
The moment I love most though? Florence talking about a random act of kindness she received when she most needed it. So I hope this episode inspires you to take life by the horns and go out there and spread kindness. If it does please get in touch, as always please get in touch as I love hearing from you. You can get me at @joshsmithhosts across socials. Love, Josh x
P.S. It's a new year, new me central at the moment and if you are in the market for a self help book… In this episode you will have heard me talk about my book, ‘Great Chat: Seven Lessons for Better Conversation, Deeper Connections and Improved Wellbeing’ which is out now! You can get your copy here https://geni.us/GreatChat and I really hope it inspires you to start using conversation as a self help practice, empowers you to be a better communicator and helps you build the connections you are deserving of.
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38:03
Ep 127: Kerry Washington
Today’s episode is empowerment for the soul as we are joined by THE Kerry Washington.
Kerry hit the big time playing the political fixer Olivia Pope in ‘Scandal’ (IfF you haven’t watched it yet it is truly one of the greatest TV shows ever) alongside roles in the movie, ‘Django Unchained’ where she starred alongside Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCcaprio, and the epic TV show 'Little Fires Everywhere’ with Reese Witherspoon.
Now Kerry has us standing to attention in the Netflix movie, ‘The Six Triple Eight’ which brings the real life story of World War Two’s only Women’s Army Corps unit of colour, who were given the seemingly impossible task of sorting through a three-year backlog of mail that hadn’t been delivered to American soldiers. In the face of discrimination, Kerry’s real life character Major Charity Adams ensured they delivered hope when no one else could and the movie serves YOU the hope we all need right now.
Today Kerry talks about the gender double standards in leadership and the transformative power of inclusive leadership after being told by a male co-star, “you aren’t here to think,” earlier in her career. Plus aside from serving us so many life lessons she shares the moment she felt so satisfied by proving people wrong.
Listening to Kerry is like being an incubator of empowerment so I hope she inspires you to see the hurdles in front of you, and jump right over them, just like she has done! If you love this episode, as always please get in touch as I love hearing from you. You can get me at @joshsmithhosts across socials. Love, Josh x
P.S. In this episode you will have heard me talk about my book, ‘Great Chat: Seven Lessons for Better Conversation, Deeper Connections and Improved Wellbeing’ which is out now! You can get your copy here https://geni.us/GreatChat and I really hope it inspires you to start using conversation as a self help practice, empowers you to be a better communicator and helps you build the connections you are deserving of.
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30:02
Ep 126: Richard E. Grant
Today we are sharing a VERY special live recording of the podcast with none other than a true national treasure, Richard E. Grant. And trust me when I say this episode is packed full of incredible stories!
You will of course know Richard from his extensive TV and Movie career, from the iconic 1980s movie, ‘Withnail and I’ to the bathwater slurping smash, ‘Saltburn.’ If you are a big ‘Saltburn’ fan, you have to listen to our episode with the movie’s creator and director, Emerald Fennell, after this episode.
But it’s not just this Oscar Nominee’s on screen performances that have made him an icon, it's also his joyful Instagram content of frolicking in fields and his beautiful book, ‘A Pocketful of Happiness’ which details his life story and his one true love story with his wife, Joan Washington.
Today Richard talks very movingly about losing his wife to cancer, grief and why we need to speak about it more, his foray into fragrance with his own perfume brand, Jack and shares some hilarious stories from his career INCLUDING FROM SPICE WORLD THE MOVIE. SCREAMS!!!
What I really took away from this conversation was just how powerful talking about our struggles can be, so I hope this encourages you to open up about your life, your experiences, your pains and losses because we are all the better for doing so.
If you loved listening to our great chat as much as I did, please get in touch, I always love hearing from you. You can find me across social media @joshsmithhosts and I can’t wait to share next week’s episode with you too. See you then, Josh xx
P.S. In this episode you will have heard me talk about my book, ‘Great Chat: Seven Lessons for Better Conversation, Deeper Connections and Improved Wellbeing’ which is out now! You can get your copy here https://geni.us/GreatChat and I really hope it inspires you to start using conversation as a self help practice, empowers you to be a better communicator and helps you build the connections you are deserving of.
P.P.S. This episode is sponsored by Bicester Village which I am so excited about as it’s one of my favourite go-to day trips for great chats and great bonding time with my loved ones - especially during the holiday season! If you need a little retail therapy with a pal, Bicester Village is home to more than 150 fashion and lifestyle boutiques, renowned restaurants and five star service - and we all deserve a bit of five star service don’t we - AND it’s so festive there at the moment!! Luxury also doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag, as Bicester Village offers up to 40% off the original retail prices ALL YEAR ROUND. Race you there? It’s only an hour from London Marylebone station if you are based in London!
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53:16
Ep 125: Will Ferrell & Harper Steele
I am so excited for you to listen to this week’s incredible guests, Will Ferrell and Harper Steele.
You will of course know Will for his movies, ‘Anchorman’, ‘Elf’, ‘Zoolander’, ‘Blades of Glory’, ‘Step Brothers’ and ‘Barbie’ - to name just a few! But this might be the first time you have heard of Will’s long-term comedy writing partner, Harper Steele.
Will and Harper met on the set at ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1995, when Will got his big break and Harper was in the writers room. Fast forward 30 years and after collaborating on so many comedy sketches and movies including ‘Eurovision’, their friendship entered a new chapter when Harper sent Will an email saying she was coming out as transgender.
After years of being each other’s allies - including joint early failures at SNL - Will came up with the idea of filming ‘Will and Harper’, a Netflix documentary movie which follows them going on a road trip across the USA to talk about Harper’s experiences, and see how Harper now navigates the former bro-heavy environments she used to love, as transgender woman. The movie is incredibly funny, moving, and essential viewing for everyone, so please watch it during the holidays with your family for some much needed education on the trans lived experience.
Today their road trip rolls into London, and we talk about the power of vocal allyship (and finally we have found a male ally willing to speak up!), how Harper became very aware of her safety for the first time, the universal nature of body image concerns, and the alarming anti-trans policies Donald Trump promises to impose in his second term as President.
This episode is a real testament to the power of friendship, and the true joy that can come from being your authentic self so I hope this chat encourages you, no matter how you identify, to live your life the way you want to and find the people who encourage you to live that life proudly! If anything in this episode resonates with you, as always I would love to hear from you, you can get in touch across social media @joshsmithhosts - I always love talking to you. Love, Josh x
P.S. In this episode you will have heard me chatting about my book book ‘Great Chat: Seven Lessons for Better Conversation, Deeper Connections and Improved Wellbeing’ which is out now and you can get your hardback/ digital or audio book here: https://geni.us/GreatChat Whether you are already confident at chatting or are socially anxious this book really is for everyone and I hope it inspires you to turn even everyday conversation into a self development practice for your wellbeing and the good of those around you, too.
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35:38
Ep 124: Úrsula Corberó
‘Reign’ Season 10 really is serving you ICONS, and today we are joined by the Spanish superstar Úrsula Corberó.
Úrsula has been working in Spain since she was six years old in shows like the huge teen drama ‘Física o Química’, but in lockdown she shot to international fame when she played Tokyo in the Netflix drama, ‘Money Heist’. It blew up, becoming one of their biggest Netflix shows ever, and saw Úrsula gain 20 million Instagram followers overnight.
Now, Úrsula is ramping up the intensity again starring in Day of The Jackal which follows the Jackal, an elite sniper and assasin played by Eddie Redmayne and his wife Nuria, played by Úrsula, who slowly starts to discover his secret life. It’s SO GOOD and you can watch it on Sky TV and NOW.
I LOVED talking to Úrsula as she really says it as it is. We bonded over the exhaustion of being in our mid thirties, how over ‘growth’ we are, setting boundaries and she drops some game changing life advice I immediately started using, so hope it will be for you too!
Úrsula also tells me about how overwhelming overnight fame was, how being told to behave as a child actor kept her quiet into adulthood and how she now is done with behaving. YES BABE!
There are also some amazing words on why we need to stop saying we are lucky and lean into how deserving we are for our success and I really hope this episode inspires you to step into your power. If you do love the episode, get in touch and tell me all about it. You can find me across socials @joshsmithhhosts and don’t forget to come back for next week's episode where I will be chatting to the incredible Richard E. Grant! Love Josh xxx
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Hi babes! I’m Josh Smith and welcome to Reign! I am a journalist and presenter, and in each episode of my podcast, you’ll hear me sit down with some favourite familiar faces to talk about the ways they have learnt to reign over their own lives.
I’m so lucky to have chatted to stars from the big and small screens, from sport to music and beyond, and in every conversation there’s one thing that is apparent: we will ALL have to deal with challenges at some point in our lives. The conversations we have on Reign show that we're all more similar than we are different, and what I love most is finding out how different people get through tough times, go on to turn negatives into positives, and share the lessons that we can all learn from! I also love a good giggle, and this podcast is full of them!
So thanks so much for being here, I am so happy to have you, and I hope you’re ready to feel uplifted, inspired, and you’re ready to make it Reign!
Love, Josh xx
Ireland