Peter Dinklage on Cyrano, and Life After “Thrones”
About this episode
<p><span>In the classic play “Cyrano de Bergerac,” a romantic with an exceptionally large and ugly nose pines after an unattainable woman. “As a person who looks like me, whenever I would watch a version of ‘Cyrano,’ I would just think, ‘That’s an actor in a fake nose,’ ” says Peter Dinklage. Dinklage, who has dwarfism, plays the character in a New Group adaptation by his wife, Erica Schmidt, with music by the National. But Dinklage avoids wearing a prosthetic, and he tells </span><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/michael-schulman"><span>Michael Schulman</span></a><span><span> </span>that the nose isn’t really the point. The play is about “everyone’s capacity to not feel worthy of love.” To “Game of Thrones” fans who were devastated by the show’s ending, Dinklage has only tough love to offer. “</span><span>They didn’t want it to end so a lot of people got angry. This happens.” He is not distraught about Daenerys, who turned out to be quite a brutal ruler. “Monsters are created. We vote them into office. . . . Maybe [fans] should have waited for the series finale before you get that tattoo, or name your golden retriever Daenerys. I can’t help you.” Plus, e<span>very year, countless poor spellers accidentally address their Santa letters to Satan. Satan—played by Kathleen Turner—always replies.</span></span></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>
Listen to this episode in English to learn English
Podcast episodes are one of the highest-density ways to absorb English at native pace. Peter Dinklage on Cyrano, and Life After “Thrones” from The New Yorker Radio Hour gives you natural dialogue, unscripted speech, and vocabulary that actually appears in real conversations.
In the Clue app, every word in the transcript is tappable. Tap an unknown word, see the translation in your language instantly, and keep listening without breaking flow.
Episodes to Learn English
- The Sounds of Summer, with Fred Armisen Jul 7, 2026
- Alicia Keys’s New York Musical Goes on National Tour Jul 3, 2026
- From The Political Scene: Donald Trump’s Dangerous Politicization of America’s Spy Agencies Jun 30, 2026
- America at 250: A View from Britain, with “The Rest Is History” Jun 26, 2026
- From Critics at Large: Steve Spielberg's Blockbusters Jun 23, 2026
- Hillary Clinton on How Donald Trump Lost the Iran War Jun 18, 2026
- The Sports Journalist Pablo Torre Has a Pulitzer, but Still Feels Like the “Turd” in the Pool Jun 16, 2026
- Rachel Goldberg-Polin on Losing a Son in Gaza Jun 12, 2026
- Seeing the Dark Side of the Moon on NASA’s Artemis II Mission Jun 9, 2026
- Jack Schlossberg, the Kennedy Running for Congress in New York Jun 5, 2026
- Bonus: David Remnick Takes Calls on the Midterms and the Media Jun 4, 2026
- Colson Whitehead on His Harlem Trilogy Jun 2, 2026
- Dan Osborn, the Independent Senate Candidate Who Could Tip Nebraska May 29, 2026
- A FEMA Insider Says Morale Has Never Been Lower at the Embattled Agency May 26, 2026
- The U.F.C. President, Dana White, on Donald Trump: “He’s Not a Racist” May 22, 2026
- America at 250: A View from the Streets May 19, 2026
- The History Wars and America at 250, with the Historian Jill Lepore May 15, 2026
- Growing Up with a Mother in Prison May 12, 2026
- Barack Obama in the Trump Era May 8, 2026
- The N.B.A. Legend Steve Kerr May 5, 2026
- How a Trump-Endorsed Republican Could Become California’s Next Governor May 1, 2026
- “Fat Swim” and Literature’s Fatphobia Problem Apr 28, 2026
- Why Senator Rand Paul Voted to Limit Donald Trump’s War Powers Apr 24, 2026
- Patrick Radden Keefe on “London Falling,” His Book About a Teen-Ager’s Mysterious Life and Death Apr 21, 2026
- A Genocide Scholar Asks “What Went Wrong” in Israel Apr 17, 2026
- Anna Wintour as Vogue Icon Apr 14, 2026
- Sam Altman’s Trust Issues at OpenAI Apr 10, 2026
- Pick Three: Spring Sports News Apr 7, 2026
- How Donald Trump’s War on Iran Helps Vladimir Putin’s War on Ukraine Apr 3, 2026
- A Former Federal Prosecutor on Why He Quit Donald Trump’s Department of Justice Mar 31, 2026