My time at home during COVID-19 brought me many things, but one of my favorites is the Sunset Drive Podcast. I honestly don’t remember how I initially found this podcast, , but it has brought me so much joy.
The host, Anthony Smith, is actually a talented graphic designer who has worked with YouTube, NBC, Claudia Sulewski and FINNEAS, Colleen Ballinger/Miranda Sings, Lilly Singh and more. I didn’t realize it when I started listening to his podcast, but I was already very familiar with his design work.
As mentioned in the podcast description, at 20 years old with a background in acting and the entertainment industry, Anthony wanted to create a space that is all about “stripping down the formality of a typical interview and having a casual 3 sided conversation stimulating late-night drive quality heart to hearts.” That’s exactly what the Sunset Drive Podcast is like and what makes it so special — it feels like a group of friends talking.
While Anthony will ask questions about the guests’ current projects, he doesn’t like to dwell on that subject; he’s much more interested in getting to the core of who they are as a person and showing their heart and personality. Anthony will even do “After Dark” episodes which have less of an interview format — they feature multiple guests and have all the fun and chaos of a late-night kiki with friends.
So far, Anthony has done a leg on Julie and the Phantoms, interviewing cast members from the Netflix show. He even interviewed the show’s legendary Executive Producer, Kenny Ortega. Anthony has also done episodes with Disney Channel stars like Bradley Steven Perry and Meg Donnelly. However, what I may be most excited about is the upcoming leg for High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, premiering this month. Not only will he be talking to the stars of the show, but he will also be donating part of the proceeds from those episodes to the Actors Fund.
With episodes ranging from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours, I absolutely recommend listening to this podcast. It’s perfect any time of day, especially when traveling, doing chores or going on a walk.
Check out Sunset Drive Podcast on their website, Apple Music and Spotify. If you want to see the actual video footage from the interviews you can find the episodes on YouTube.