TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie was shocked to learn that actress Kerry Washington had to audition for Gwyneth Paltrow as part of a high school production.
Kerry stopped by the show on Thursday to discuss a variety of topics.
Today’s Savannah Guthrie sat down with actress Kerry Washington for an interviewNBCThe pair chatted about a variety of topics, including Kerry attending the same high school as Gwyneth PaltrowNBC
Kerry and Savannah discussed the show UnPrisoned as well as some of its themes, the memoir she’s been working on, and going to school with Gwyneth Paltrow.
Savannah was especially interested in Kerry’s interactions with Gwyneth.
She chirped: “I never knew that you and Gwyneth Paltrow went to the same high school!”
“We did!” Kerry exclaimed as her eyes grew wide and she smiled.
Savannah asked: “Now, were you classmates?”
Kerry replied “No, it was not at the same time. In fact, we did one production together, because she was a senior when I was in middle school. But the middle school girls were allowed to audition to play the fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Savannah listened intently as Kerry continued.
“She was Queen Titania,” Kerry recalled of Gwyneth.
Savannah asked, animatedly, “So do you remember her?”
Kerry responded: “I totally remember her! I had to audition for her also for the a capella group, because right before she graduated, she got to decide who was gonna be the freshmen members of the group.”
Savannah could barely contain herself: “Oh my God!”
The pair continued their chat about Kerry’s high school days.
SAVVY HOST
Meanwhile, Savannah had a playful interaction with Idris Elba when he appeared on Today.
The presenter teased, “we have to stop meeting like this!” after the British actor joked that he’s always in New York.
Idris, 50, appeared on Today on Wednesday to promote his new movie, Luther: The Fallen Sun.
Savannah interviewed the star, kicking things off by asking: “So what’s going on with life? How are the kids? How is everybody?”
Idris replied: “It’s been a busy time, I was just here [in New York].”
Savannah, 51, exclaimed: “I know!”
Idris asked her playfully: “Aren’t you sick of me yet?”
The host joked back, laughing: “We have to stop meeting like this! People will talk!”
The Luther star burst out laughing and replied: “I know.”
This isn’t the first time Savannah has shown off her playful side on Today.
Back in January, she lusted over how “handsome” the actor Kevin Costner is.
Savannah made her feelings clear about Kevin when Carson Daly presented a segment on the actor celebrating his 68th birthday.
Kevin wrote on Instagram to mark his big day: “Don’t believe what they say about getting older.
“Each passing year is a gift, and it gets better and better with time.”
Carson, Savannah, and their co-hosts Craig Melvin, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker all agreed with Kevin’s sentiments.
Savannah then added: “And he’s so handsome, too. You’re all thinking it.”
Carson was quick to agree, “Yes he is,” and Craig chipped in: “Of course he is. He is dreamy.”
Al rounded things off with an, “Mhmmm,” in agreement.
Earlier that month, she admitted to having a “crush” on Yellowstone actor Luke Grimes while interviewing him.
When Craig surprised Savannah by bringing out Luke, prompting her to hide her face and shriek: “Oh my God!”
She then admitted: “Got a huge crush on you!”
“Okay bye,” she added as she ran away from him, hiding behind Dylan Dreyer.
Not letting Savannah off the hook for her flirty behavior, Dylan said: “I’ve never seen you blush like that.”
Savannah admitted: “I know because I do have a big crush on Kayce from Yellowstone, or whatever your real name is. Hi, Luke Grimes!”
She then added: “I came over here to keep the creep entity away from him.”
ON-AIR OOPS
Previously, Savannah stumbled over her words during an interview with a famous pilot.
The cringey live blunder happened toward the beginning of Tuesday’s show.
Savannah interviewed the famous pilot, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, about the rise of aviation incidents.
She and Hoda Kotb reported on the problem with NBC’s Tom Costello at first.
After his three-minute explanation, the screen went back to Savannah.
“Alright, Tom. Thank you. That sets us up for more perspective on the state of airline surf-take, sur, safety,” she stumbled.
“We turn now to a man who knows a lot about it.”
The Today host appeared nervous during the interview as she stumbled over questions throughout it.
“We just laid out all of those incidents. They’re not related, they’re um,” the 51-year-old paused.
“-But, do you see a thread? Do you see a thread that concerns you?” she finally got out.
The mother of two seemed to become more confident throughout the interview and then the conversation flowed more naturally.
Sully was the pilot who led a flight full of passengers to safety when the plane lost both engines and he decided to land in the freezing Hudson river in 2009.
Kerry said the pair weren’t in the same grade but did put on a school production togetherNBCSavannah was more than impressed to hear that the pair had interactedNBCKerry added that she also auditioned for Gwyneth as part of the high school a capella groupNBC
