Jon Stewart’s Daily Show has been filled with memorable moments. The moments of Zen, the segments, the monologues, the breaks in character — it’s hard to separate all of these moments from how Stewart handled them.
Alex Abad-Santos is a senior correspondent who explains what society obsesses over, from Marvel and movies to fitness and skin care. He came to Vox in 2014. Prior to that, he worked at The Atlantic.
The show’s interviews, for better or worse, are the same way.
Stewart has a style that makes interviews feel more like friends hanging out, instead of a platform for actors and guests to talk about their latest projects, movies, and books. That can be great (the better friends Stewart is with someone, the more entertaining the interviews are), but sometimes these segments can feel skippable.
In an 2013 interview to promote The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which would go on to be the highest-grossing movie that year, Jennifer Lawrence called him on it — Stewart tried to skirt around talking about the film, instead talking about her haircut and how she looks like Helen Mirren.
“I don’t prepare for these things very well,” Stewart admitted to her.
“That’s actually what your producers and everyone involved in the show tell everyone,” Lawrence said (in a kind way). “They’re like, ‘He’s not really gonna know a lot about the movie or a lot about you.’”
And in typical Stewart (and Lawrence) style, the exchange is totally endearing.
