Este Haim & Darren Criss interview Lance Bass and more celebs on ‘That Thing I Do’
Friends-turned-podcast-hosts Darren Criss and Este Haim have a riotous rapport and share way more than their backgrounds in performance, music, theater, and love of pop culture. They also flex their gifts of gab and cover just about everything on their podcast, “That Thing I Do.”
Since June 2021, we’ve been graced with new, weekly episodes featuring a fabulous lineup of successful guests who love to share and take a deep dive into “that thing” they do. The hosts call upon fellow creatives to ask about the choices they’ve made in their careers. So far, Este and Darren have been joined by the likes of Maya Rudolph, Carly Rae Jepsen, Thundercat, and Lance Bass, just to name a few.
Darren is an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor and musician whose resume runs across the stage and silver screen. On a recent episode, Darren was elated to dish on his new EP, Masquerade. A consistent thread running through the series is Darren and Este’s conversations about the creative process when writing music and sharing all art forms.
Este is the bassist and one-third of the Grammy-nominated band, HAIM. Her sisters and bandmates, Danielle and Alana Haim, appeared on one of the show’s first episodes for “HAIM time.”
During quarantine, Darren and Este would often FaceTime, and they realized their convos were brimming with sheer fun and unbridled enthusiasm. After ending the calls, Este would wish they had recorded their conversations. The podcast idea was born! At first, Darren was reluctant to join the droves of Hollywood stars/podcasters. But Este was convincing, and Darren agreed. They complement each other impeccably and have a blast on the podcast. And they’re learning so much about each other.
Este and Darren gushed over Lance Bass and *NSYNC during his interview. The show’s title comes from Tom Hanks’ ’90s film about a pop boy band, “That Thing You Do,” which holds significance for Este, Darren, and many of their guests. When Lance Bass appeared on the podcast, he also expressed his love for the film. Lance said the movie was super special for he and the *NSYNC dudes because it was released at the same time the band was jumpstarting its career. *NSYNC saw it together in an Orlando theater. Lance said the movie predicted everything *NSYNC was about to do. Each band member found themselves relating to the film’s characters, especially when they were living in Germany later on and played their own instruments on stage before segueing into the traditional song/dance boy band format we’re familiar with today.
Lance is clearing out his storage unit with touring memorabilia and promised to send Este a goodie box. Este enjoys collecting cool bric-a-brac. Lance’s collection of rad stuff extends beyond his boy band life to cool space gear, pics, and his husband’s beautifully created art collection, as Darren admired during their remote video call. Did you know Lance wanted to become an astronaut before *NSYNC? Yep! It’s okay to cue in “Space Cowboys (Yippie-Yi-Yay)”. In addition to Lance’s skillset and background, Lance has a great eye. He also wrote the treatments for *NSYNC’s music videos.
In their interview with Carly Rae Jepsen, she discusses her beginnings with performance, going to music school, through auditioning for Canadian Idol, up to her pop stardom. Carly and the hosts bond over their 3-ring circus-like experiences of touring, which all look forward to doing post-quarantine. For Carly’s “Now That I Found You” music video, she wanted to try something different creatively, so she decided to feature the Instagram-famous cat, Shrampton, as she sings to her feline-filled home in the video.
Before interviewing Evan Rachel Wood, Darren and Este marvel about certain parallels in life and how frequently they cross paths with mutual friends at times they least expect. Both befriended Evan years before they met each other. Darren had no idea they already had a history of friendship. Este and Evan are both Valley Girls from California.
Darren compares Este’s friendship with Evan to his recurring meetings with an old acquaintance, Joseph Cross. Darren segues into dishing on his first-ever auditions. When trying out for the Jack Frost movie, a film about a father who is reincarnated as a snowman to interact with his son, Darren met Joseph. They saw each other at auditions here and there. Later on, Darren’s brother was Joseph’s college classmate. Joseph went on to star in Ryan Murphy’s first movie. Darren also says he has a related story regarding his love of the film, Rushmore, the band Phantom Planet, and filmmaker Wes Anderson, that is so lengthy, he’ll save it for an upcoming episode. Can’t wait!
Audacy’s Cadence13 original, “That Thing I Do,” is a blast to listen to! Tune in for new, weekly episodes.
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