5 Tips for Celebrity Interview Success

I’ll never forget the day I interviewed Patrick Dempsey. I’ve always been a fan of his, and seeing him soar to fandom thanks to Grey’s Anatomy was the icing on the cake. I couldn’t believe I was going to speak to him!

I knew I had to curb my inner fangirl. After all, professionalism first.

Since then, I’ve had more opportunities to interview celebs; some I’ve been huge fans of, others I didn’t know of until I received the assignment.

I’m getting better at the interview process and have learned from my experiences.

1. Ask ahead about what not to ask.Sometimes I am covering one aspect of the celebrity’s life, but the publication I’m writing for wants me to ask about other things. Be sure to ask the PR person if there are topics to stay away from — the PR person will likely tell you what to avoid right off the bat anyway.
2. It’s okay to mention you’re a fan. But you don’t have to do it directly. If you are a fan, it can be helpful to let the celebrity know you’ve followed their work on a show and it may put them at ease to reference a character. I don’t always say that I am a fan in the beginning of the interview, but I don’t think it makes a difference unless you’re on a tight timeline. Be short and sweet if you feel it necessary to bring up your devotion, but don’t overdo it. They want to know they’re talking with an objective source, not just another person hanging on their every word.
3. You’ll probably be on the clock, and overheard.Most celeb interviews I’ve done over the phone have at least one other press person on the line. The interviews are also extremely brief; as in, the PR person tells me I’ll only have about 10 minutes. In that case, I had to get down to the details ASAP, so I didn’t waste time buttering the person up. I think they respect us and our publications more when we’re strictly professional.
4. You can break the ice, but you don’t have to.Even if you don’t mention that you’re a fan, or don’t have that to use to break the ice, there are other ways. But don’t waste half your time trying to warm up to the celeb; chances are the celebrity has done dozens of interviews just like yours. They’re used to reciting the same answers (especially when talking about some sort of press campaign) so they’ll want to dive right in. On the plus side, when you do that, you may have more time to establish trust and dig deeper. Remember, you’re probably not doing anything investigative during the interview process, so you likely can’t go that deep anyway.
5. Write things down.In addition to recording your interview, be sure to write down your questions. Nothing sucks more than clamming up if you’re nervous in general or anxious to be in the presence of someone you admire. Your questions will remind you to stay professional and keep you on point.

Once you have done some celebrity interviews, it does get easier. I’m not at the point where I’m doing sit-down exclusives — I probably still couldn’t, especially with “McDreamy” — but I’m certainly more prepared.

 

Kristen Fischer is a copywriter and journalist living at the Jersey Shore. She worked as a reporter and copyeditor for Gannett before launching her full-time freelance business in 2005. Her work has been published in Parents, New Jersey Monthly, Prevention, Woman’s Day, SheKnows, and Healthline.