Jeffrey Wright, Cillian Murphy, American Fiction, Oppenheimer Revisited, The Zone of Interest in & Argylle

It’s a bumper week for (lauded) guests! Simon chats to Jeffrey Wright about his Oscar-nominated role in ‘American Fiction’, which tells the story of a Black novelist, frustrated with the establishment that profits from Black entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes, who uses a pen name to write an outlandish Black book of his own, only to find himself at the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain; and both Simon and Mark talk to Cillian Murphy about his Oscar-nominated turn as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s eponymous biopic.   Mark gives his thoughts on ‘American Fiction’, along with reviewing Jonathan Glazer’s historical drama ‘The Zone of Interest’, which follows the commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, as they strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp; and ‘Argylle’, a star-studded spy action-comedy about a reclusive author who writes best-selling espionage novels about a secret agent on a mission to unravel a global spy syndicate only to find that the plots of her books are starting to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organisation.   A very glitzy week for you!  Time Codes (relevant only for the Vanguard - who are also ad-free!):  08:15 The Zone of Interest review  22:13 Box Office Top 10  31:29 Jeffrey Wright interview  45:47 American Fiction review  53:41 Laughter Lift  55:44 Cillian Murphy interview  01:07:52 Argylle review  You can contact the show by emailing [e-mail] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo   EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!  A Sony Music Entertainment production.     Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts    To advertise on this show contact: [e-mail]  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices