From Jamie Lee Curtis to Jodi Foster, Amanda Keller has interviewed some of the world’s most talked about celebrities on the hit WSFM101.7 FM show Jonesy & Amanda.
And while the presenter admits chatting to Hollywood royalty is exhilarating, drawing information out of some can be unbelievably difficult.
“The hardest people to interview are often actors who come out for movies,” she told Pete Timbs on the WHO’s popular podcast Who Are You.
“Harrison Ford was so bored that he brought a book into the interview! Or Tobey Maguire from Spider-Man. I could pretend to be Spider- Man and give a better interview. I know that sometimes they are shy, but how hard is it to talk up a good movie?”
Despite the challenges that come with chatting to A-listers, Keller, who also hosts the hit TV show The Living Room, says what frustrates her most is when stars favour television interviews over radio.
“I get annoyed when people don’t give radio its due. They will go on a television show and chat, chat, chat,” Keller, 56, says. “We have more listeners often than those television shows have viewers and yet they won’t make the same effort with us.
“I don’t think they appreciate the reach that a three-minute interview on radio can do.”
Despite her love of radio, the mum- of-two – who was honoured with the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2016 – recently signed on to host the Network 10 series Dancing with the Stars alongside Grant Denyer.
“I run everything past the family at home before I say yes to things,” she says, speaking of her husband
Harley Oliver and sons Liam and Jack. “And I couldn’t say no to that. I am nervous and overly excited about that and doing live TV.
“The family has accepted that there will be one night a week I won’t be home, but they like that I like my job.”
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
