Entertainment Interview

This interview is from September 2009 and shows Jonathon Ross interviewing actor Verne Troyer on 'Friday Night with Jonathon Ross'. The interview is an entertainment one, as it involves a celebrity while also being funny, relaxed and informal. The topics covered in the interview include Troyer's early life including his family, school and how he got into acting. These topics also cover the difficulties- and benefits - of his dwarfism. Another topic covered is the latest film that he has appeared in- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. People generally enjoy hearing what a celebrity has to say and what they think of certain elements in the world of show business. This interview helps people to learn more about Verne Troyer and his background as well as the aforementioned film that he was set to appear in. Verne Troyer is especially interesting as a guest on the show due to his dwarfism. I do not mean this in the sense that he is there to be made a spectacle of ,but rather for him to say about his life in movies as a person of his size.

The interview is conducted in a studio in front of an audience. Jonathon Ross is seated on a chair behind a desk while Troyer is sat on a 'booster' seat on a sofa to enable him to sit comfortably and be on level terms with Ross. The background is a patterned purple set design, which shows that this is an extremely informal interview and clearly isn't a hard news show, which would typically have a plain or skyline background. The two are respective of each other, shaking hands upon first meeting whilst also maintaining a non-hostile interview throughout. Their body language is generally relaxed throughout the interview and both often move their hands to add emphasis to their statements. Troyer seems a little nervous as at points he seems to fidget with his rings and moves in his seat a lot. However, I think this may be due to the fact he is on national television in front of millions of people and it is just general nerves rather than unease and awkwardness with the situation.

The interview itself kicks off with a a big joke alluding to Troyer's dwarfism. It isn't done mockingly but is in a light-hearted banter style. Jonathon Ross 'lets the audience in on a showbiz secret' - that Verne Troyer is actually normal sized and millions is spent on CGI to make him smaller. Talking to Troyer from his backstage room Ross says 'Isn't that right Verne?' in order to bring him into the conversation. Verne subsequently says 'sure...' in a sarcastic tone while nodding. He then makes his way to the stage, with the screens showing him to be made digitally larger to make him look like a normal sized person. This is quite humorous and just seeing him look like that it amusing and already puts the audience, interviewer and interviewee at ease. This instantly makes light out of Troyer's dwarfism and shows that both parties are not afraid to touch upon the subject, as it is clearly a large part of his acting career.

The very first question establishes what type of dwarf is, which will benefit the interview as it shows that the interviewee is willing to talk about his dwarfism. Also, it helps people to gain further knowledge about him as he is clearly different to other dwarfs (he confirms that he has a rare condition). Verne then says that he has the same condition as another actor, saying 'I don't know if you've heard of Billy Barty...?' to which Jonathon Ross replies 'yeah, yeah'. The way in which he says it doesn't really confirm that he knows but, it allows the conversation to continue flowing. Ross then goes onto to talk about his early show business career and learns of his early stunt double work. Ross then asks more about this, which shows that he is listening to Troyer and taking on board what is being said. Verne Troyer also makes a joke about how, like his average-sized siblings, his father would 'kick his ass'. He then recounts a story from school where someone called him a midget, which resulted in Troyer jumping up and punching him on the nose. Throughout the interview, Ross makes several remarks about Verne's dwarfism, saying that the town that he came from 'sounds small' and is 'fitting', whilst also stating that he is 'the least big person he has had on the show'. The jokes are light-hearted and in a non-hostile tone. Verne responds humorously to other comments as well saying things such as 'shit happens' and 'hell yeah'. The two maintain a very informal conversation throughout the interview.

Troyer generally talks about his life in the interview but, he also speaks for a short while (around 2 minutes) about a new film he is set to appear in: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. He talks about his role and the film but, also the death of Heath Ledger who appeared in the film. This part of the interview has a more darker side to it as Troyer discusses his friendship with Ledger and his personal sadness. Ross wraps up the part by definitively saying '...nice to be in the film with him and I think you were just terrific in the film'. The trailer is then shown (cut out of the video above). Following this part of the interview, the interview's subject moves onto Troyer's most famous role- Mini-Me in the Austin Powers franchise. A clip is shown and the two discuss his part within the movie.

Jonathon Ross uses many different types of questions throughout the interview, including open, closed and suggestive. A blend of different approaches to the interview means that the interviewer can obtain certain answers with the correct tone. "Is it true that I've heard your gonna start writing your life story?". Ross will have likely been told this beforehand or researched it himself, and by phrasing the question the way he did, it is prompting Troyer to talk more about it. Ross and Troyer maintain a healthy conversation throughout and keep up a good, light-hearted interview that is amusing and relaxed for both the audience and themselves. Ross concludes the interview in a good way by saying 'will you stick around for (band name)... to which Troyer says 'sure...'. Subsequently, a band begins to play.