Flashdance leading man Michael Nouri sits down with Steve Kmetko for a wide-ranging, funny, and unexpectedly emotional conversation about his decades in Hollywood — from Goodbye, Columbus and Flashdance to Broadway, Victor/Victoria, Yellowstone, and beyond.
Michael looks back on the night the acting bug bit him in a high school Gilbert & Sullivan production, his early stage days with legends like Julie Harris, and bombing his very first movie line opposite Ali MacGraw in Goodbye, Columbus. He talks about trying to dodge the Vietnam draft, enlisting, and then being honorably discharged because the Army literally couldn’t find boots big enough for his size-16 feet.
Of course, he dives into Flashdance: the terrible reviews, the electric audience reaction, that rare standing ovation in Westwood, working with director Adrian Lyne, producers Simpson & Bruckheimer, and co-star Jennifer Beals (plus their canine scene partner, Grunt). He explains how the massive success of the film didn’t translate into the career momentum he’d hoped for, the movie with William Friedkin that fell apart, and how he ended up in Bay City Blues alongside a then-unknown Sharon Stone instead.
Michael also shares powerful stories from touring South Pacific right after 9/11 — including emotional nightly renditions of “God Bless America” with audiences arm-in-arm — and the chance encounter with Blake Edwards that led to him starring opposite Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria, complete with a custom song by Henry Mancini. He reflects on aging in Hollywood, evolving from leading man to dads, granddads, and senators, still auditioning for filmmakers like Bradley Cooper, and staying grateful that the phone keeps ringing.
Along the way, he remembers working with Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham, Glenn Close, Naomi Watts, Kelly Reilly, and even Anna Nicole Smith, plus the life lesson he learned the hard way trying to approach Luciano Pavarotti backstage. He also opens up about political anxiety, the emotional toll of the news cycle, the importance of community, and why he now protects his peace by switching from cable news to TCM.
And yes, we meet Charlie, his “heart on four legs,” and hear how daily meditation keeps him grounded after more than five decades in the business.
If you love Flashdance, classic Hollywood stories, Broadway memories, and honest talk about surviving and adapting in this business, this episode is a gem. Show Credits
Host/Producer: Steve Kmetko
All things technical: Justin Zangerle
Executive Producer: Jim Lichtenstein
Music by: Brian Sanyshyn
Transcription: Mushtaq Hussain
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