Cush Jumbo on Talking with Her Mates in Her New Podcast

Cush Jumbo, who starred in The Good Wife, its spin-off The Good Fight, and most recently Criminal Record, tackles a completely different role in her new podcast Origins with Cush Jumbo: She plays herself. But it’s not as unlikely a career turn as one might think. “I’m a bit of a weird fish,” she says with a laugh. “Even before I was acting I was writing, directing stuff. I make things. I tend to get ideas about stuff, and then they kind of weirdly fall into place.”

In the podcast, which premiered September 3, Jumbo sits down with her friends to talk about three stories that made them who they are. In her premiere episode, she chatted with Anna Wintour, the famed editor-in-chief of Vogue and inspiration for the 2006 movie Devil Wears Prada. Wintour talks with Jumbo about her father, children, and life as an editorial assistant. Wintour confesses she was a terrible assistant who couldn’t type. It is a decidedly different Anna Wintour than the one that exists in our collective pop-culture psyche. 

“I’m very, very nosy, very chatty,” Jumbo says. “I’ve often been told by many, many people that I get things out of people. They’re always like I can’t believe I told you this. That always happens to me. I’m one of seven children. I feel quite open. They’re just magnetized towards me and spill their guts.” Below Jumbo talks with Telly Visions about the podcast and what listeners might expect throughout the first season.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Telly Visions: How did this all start?

Cush Jumbo: I realized quite a lot of our in-depth conversations are on the side of a set or on the red carpet for minutes. You have all these close friendships but only see each other for, like, two seconds every year. And you run into each other, and because you don’t have much time, you do this kind of, “How are you? “I’m fine.” “I got divorced.” “So did I.” “Bye.” Things like that.

Then I started thinking about how many interesting conversations I had during the strike year because we actually got time to talk to each other, and, I thought, I wanted to record some of these. 

TV: How would you describe the podcast?

CJ: These are different sides to people that people don’t know. The episodes are useful and inspirational. There’s getting rid of the separation between the celebrity and the human being. I like that a lot. I don’t really like the mystique. We are not mysterious. We just have a different job. 

TV: How did you pick your guests?

CJ: So far, for the first season, [all my guests are people] I have a close relationship with. I live on both sides of the Atlantic, and I’ve done various weird and wonderful jobs, so I know many wonderful people. I made a list of all the people I felt you guys thought you knew, but you don’t really know why they were interesting and what I thought was interesting.

TV: How did you pitch the podcast to your guests?

CJ: It’s based on three origin stories, but I’m not doing a career trajectory podcast. I don’t want to know when you got famous. That’s not what I’m after. What I want to know is what stuff you never get asked about in interviews and you don’t feel comfortable talking about that you would like to talk about with me or your friend. Let's see what kind of comes out. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. This is not a gotcha. That’s not why I'm here. Because that has happened to me, it’s a weird, wonderful situation where they feel comfortable, and they get to talk about things they wouldn’t necessarily talk about because they’re not selling anything. 

TV: And how do your guests come up with the origin stories they want to share?

CJ: I tell them it would be great if it was from three different parts of their lives. Then they decide, and they send the stories. I read them and think about how they relate to what I know about them and other questions I would like to ask, and then we just do it.

TV: You seem to record the podcast in many locations, including New York and London. 

CJ: I’m in New York quite often. A lot of people I interview are a bit like me. They jump backward and forwards. My job is everywhere. I’m about to start Macbeth with David Tennant next week and I'm sure there will be a couple of interviews in a dressing room, you just do what you can.

TV: How many episodes will there be this season, and can you tease some of your guests?

CJ: There will be 48 episodes. We had Michael Kors, which was amazing. Harlan Coben, who I stayed close with from Netflix [Jumbo starred in the 2021 Netflix series Stay Close], Kate Nash, Poppy Delevingn, David Schwimmer, Peter Capaldi, Juliana Margulies, Michelle Visage, Armistead Maupin... lots of people.

TV: What has surprised you the most about doing the podcast?

CJ: I got real joy out of listening, and I knew that about myself because, in theater mainly, over 50% of the job is listening, and I know I enjoy that, but you’re always in a constant process with acting. It was wonderful to sit in silence with someone and watch them think what they want to say next. It is also a real privilege for them to talk about a story they haven’t shared before and maybe get a bit emotional about it, and you’ve slightly caused that. But it's a privilege to sit and listen to that and be there for somebody. Being an actor, particularly in the selling bits of it, you're on, on, on. It’s quite nice to be in a space where you’re not immediately "on" all the time. I realize I don’t get to live in that zone very much, and I've loved that. It felt like I got to do loads of dates with my mates.

TV: Did it give you a new perspective now that you are the interviewer, not the interviewee?

CJ: Personally, when I go into an interview, I know that the person talking just wants to make the best piece they can. It’s unfortunate that sometimes you go in with a positive attitude, but the person interviewing you is out to get you for some reason or make a point by doing something that has a long-lasting impact on you. I think that’s why some artists shut down.

I’ve always had great respect for [my guests who are] doing the interview. I know what it’s like to be them and how to really reassure them that this is just a fun chat.

TV: Switching topics, last month, AppleTV+ announced a second season of Criminal Record, the series you star in with Peter Capaldi. The first season ended with a shaky alliance between your character and Capaldi’s. What can you tell us about the show’s second season?

CJ: We start filming in January, and we are very excited. The shaky alliance will continue, and it may have a few more potholes that we didn’t know were coming.

A new episode of Origins with Cush Jumbo is released every Tuesday.