List of Playboy interviews
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:List of Playboy interviews}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
The Playboy interview became a regular feature of the magazine in 1962 and set a high standard for periodical journalism.{{Cite web |last=Giles |first=Matt |date=2017-09-29 |title=The Genius of the Playboy Interview |url=http://longreads.com/2017/09/29/the-genius-of-the-playboy-interview/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Longreads}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-01-19 |title=Playboy's Iconic Interviews Come Roaring Back to Life |url=https://lamag.com/podcasts/playboys-iconic-interviews-come-roaring-back-to-life |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=LAmag - Culture, Food, Fashion, News & Los Angeles}} AP News called the feature "models of the art form", stating that "Playboy{{'s}} long and searching conservations are remarkable for the people who spoke to the magazine and for what they said." Booklist called the Playboy interview "the gold standard for in-depth discussion with leading cultural figures".{{Cite book |url=http://www.booklistonline.com/The-Playboy-Interviews-The-Directors-Stephen-Randall/pid=1751591 |title=Playboy Interviews: The Directors, edited by Stephen Randall {{!}} Booklist Online}}{{Cite web |title=Reviews - The Playboy Interviews: The Directors |url=https://www.darkhorse.com/Reviews/352/The-Playboy-Interviews-The-Directors |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Dark Horse Comics}}
The conversations with artists, athletes, business leaders, and political figures have been referenced by mainstream publications such as AP News, Billboard, CNN, Los Angeles Times, The Paris Review, Slate, Time, Variety, Vice, and The Washington Post as a benchmark for in-depth interviews. Publishers Weekly commented on the feature's ability to go further than a normal magazine interview: "Since the interviews have no length restriction, interviewers are able to probe deep into their subjects and allow them to ramble expansively."{{Cite web |date= |title=The Playboy Interviews - The Directors (Review) |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781595820280 |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Publishers Weekly}}
The Los Angeles Times described the subjects as coming from "all across the cultural spectrum: entertainment, politics, literature", calling them "open-ended, sprawling, a kind of 'Charlie Rose Show' of the printed page",{{Cite web |last= |date=2012-09-06 |title=Revisiting classic Playboy interviews with e-books |url=https://www.latimes.com/books/la-xpm-2012-sep-06-la-jc-the-reading-life-return-of-the-playboy-interview-20120906-story.html |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Los Angeles Times}} and Playboy{{'s}} format served as inspiration for Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner when he designed his own magazine's approach to interviews.{{Cite web |date=2017-09-30 |title=Playboy's interviews were models of the art form |url=https://apnews.com/article/015e60476cf44d06a6a5ec721102388d |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=AP News}}
The Playboy interview with candidate Jimmy Carter is regarded by many to have influenced the 1976 presidential election,{{Cite web |date=2023-04-16 |title=Jimmy Carter and Playboy: How 'the weirdo factor' rocked '76 |url=https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-carter-playboy-lust-adultery-45523cf7e2eb38a784fc999974ba9ac7 |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=AP News}} and the interview with John Lennon before his death (later published as a standalone book) is referenced in several retrospective articles by other media.{{Cite web |last=Oyler |first=Lauren |date=2015-09-10 |title=You Don't Have to 'Imagine' John Lennon Beat Women and Children—It's Just a Fact |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/you-dont-have-to-imagine-john-lennon-beat-women-and-childrenits-just-a-fact/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Vice}}{{Cite web |last=Oppelaar |first=Justin |date=2002-12-19 |title=McCartney on feud with Yoko: Let it be |url=https://variety.com/2002/music/markets-festivals/mccartney-on-feud-with-yoko-let-it-be-1117877682/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Variety}} Playboy{{'s}} interview with pop singer Azealia Banks caused controversy for her open criticism of the American public.{{Cite web |last=Leopold |first=Todd |date=2015-03-17 |title=Azealia Banks: 'I hate everything about this country' |url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/03/17/entertainment/feat-azealia-banks-playboy/index.html |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=CNN}}{{Cite web |last=Toppa |first=Sabrina |date=2015-03-18 |title=Azealia Banks: "I Hate Everything About This Country" |url=https://time.com/3748554/azealia-banks-playboy-interview/ |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=Time}}
Selected interviews have been published as mass-market collections, including The Playboy Interview (1981){{Cite book |title=The Playboy interview |date=1981 |publisher=Playboy Press |isbn=978-0-87223-644-8 |editor-last=Golson |editor-first=G. B. |edition= |location=New York}} and The Playboy Interview Volume II (1983).{{Cite book |title=The Playboy Interview Volume II |publisher=Perigee Books |year=1983 |isbn=9780399507694 |editor-last=Golson |editor-first=G. B.}} In 1992, a large-format book The Playboy Interview: The Best Of Three Decades 1962-1992, was released with a foreword by CBS journalist Mike Wallace.{{Cite book |last=Wallace |first=Mike (foreword) |title=The Playboy Interview: The Best of 3 Decades 1962-1992 |publisher=Playboy Enterprises |year=1992 |isbn=9780872239081}}
Dark Horse published five collections of the interviews from 2006 to 2008: "The Comedians", "Movers and Shakers" (business), "The Directors", "Larger Than Life" (high-profile celebrities), and "They Played The Game" (sports).{{Cite web |title=Playboy interview collections by Dark Horse Comics |url=https://www.darkhorse.com/Search/playboy |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Dark Horse Comics}} In a review of this series, the Directors Guild of America said, "The Playboy face-to-face encounter is remarkable", and "the lengthy, in-depth interviews are well researched and more penetrating than standard-issue media chatter."{{Cite web |title=The Playboy Interviews: The Directors - Stephen Randall & the editors of Playboy |url=https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/0604-Winter2006-07/Books-The-Playboy-Interviews |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=www.dga.org}}
The following people have been featured in Playboy magazine as the subject of the full-length interview or the 20Q (Twenty Questions) section.
1960–1969
1970–1979
1980–1989
1990–1999
2000–2009
| class="wikitable"
! ! !January !February !March !April !May !June !July !August !September !October !November !December |
| rowspan="2" |2000
!Interview |Hugh Hefner |Jeff Bezos{{Cite web |title=One of Amazon's biggest challenges in its early days was solved by an obscure book about lichen {{!}} Business Insider India |url=https://www.businessinsider.in/one-of-amazons-biggest-challenges-in-its-early-days-was-solved-by-an-obscure-book-about-lichen/articleshow/63860057.cms |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Business Insider}} |Ben Stiller |
|---|
| 20Q |
| rowspan="2" |2001
!Interview |Cast of The West Wing |
| 20Q |
| rowspan="2" |2002
!Interview |
| 20Q |
| rowspan="2" |2003
!Interview |Halle Berry |
| 20Q
|Nicolas Cage |
| rowspan="2" |2004
!Interview |Donald Trump |
| 20Q
|Dustin Hoffman |
| rowspan="2" |2005
!Interview |
| 20Q
|Al Pacino |
| rowspan="2" |2006
!Interview |
| 20Q
|Samuel L. Jackson |
| rowspan="2" |2007
!Interview |Bill Maher |Robert Redford |
| 20Q |
| rowspan="2" |2008
!Interview |Ben Stiller |
| 20Q |
| rowspan="2" |2009
!Interview |Hugh Laurie | colspan="2" |Alec Baldwin |
| 20Q
|Marston and Cooper Hefner | colspan="2" |Judd Apatow |
2010–2025
| class="wikitable"
! ! !January !February !March !April !May !June !July !August !September !October !November !December |
| rowspan="2" |2010
!Interview | colspan="2" |Sean Combs |John Mayer{{Cite magazine |last=Herrera |first=Monica |date=2010-02-10 |title=John Mayer's Sexually, Racially Charged Playboy Interview Sparks Outrage |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/john-mayers-sexually-racially-charged-playboy-interview-sparks-outrage-959433/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |magazine=Billboard}} |Robert Downey Jr. |Conan O'Brien |
|---|
| 20Q
| colspan="2" |Guy Fieri |William Shatner |
| rowspan="2" |2011
!Interview |Barney Frank |Paul Rudd |Craig Ferguson |
| 20Q
|Seth Green |
| rowspan="2" |2012
!Interview | colspan="2" |Chris Wallace |Tom Cruise | colspan="2" |Charlie Sheen |Stephen Colbert{{Cite web |last=Zakarin |first=Jordan |date=2012-10-23 |title=Stephen Colbert's 'Playboy' Interview: Super PAC, Family and Jon Stewart |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/stephen-colberts-playboy-interview-super-381970/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=The Hollywood Reporter}} |Quentin Tarantino |
| 20Q
| colspan="2" |Nick Offerman | colspan="2" |Andy Samberg |
| rowspan="2" |2013
!Interview | colspan="2" |Matt Damon |Jimmy Kimmel | colspan="2" |Sean Hannity |Samuel L. Jackson |
| 20Q
| colspan="2" |Scott Speedman |Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes | colspan="2" |Armie Hammer |
| rowspan="2" |2014
!Interview | colspan="2" |Ben Affleck | colspan="2" |Gary Oldman{{Cite web |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=2014-06-24 |title=Gary Oldman Blasts Hollywood Politics, Defends Mel Gibson and Alec Baldwin |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/gary-oldman-blasts-liberal-hollywood-defends-mel-gibson-and-alec-baldwin-1201243936/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Variety}} |James Spader |
| 20Q
| colspan="2" |Patton Oswalt | colspan="2" |Marc Maron |
| rowspan="2" |2015
!Interview | colspan="2" |Dan Savage |Bill Maher | colspan="2" |Jeremy Renner{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Jeremy Renner Opens Up About Divorce and Sexual Preference Rumors |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/jeremy-renner-talks-sexual-preference-divorce/story?id=32127630 |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=ABC News}} |Bryan Cranston |
| 20Q
| colspan="2" |Nick Kroll | colspan="2" |Lizzy Caplan |Jeff Garlin |Daniel Radcliffe |Billy Eichner |
| rowspan="2" |2016
!Interview | colspan="2" |Ron Howard |Rachel Maddow |Don Cheadle |Ray Kurzweil |Trevor Noah | colspan="2" |Ta-Nehisi Coates |Andy Samberg |Jason Dill |Michael Hayden |Billy Bob Thornton |
| 20Q
| colspan="2" | | | | | | colspan="2" | | | | | |
| rowspan="2" |2017
!Interview | colspan="2" |Matthew McConaughey | colspan="2" |Scarlett Johansson | colspan="2" |Ezra Klein | colspan="2" |Christopher Nolan | colspan="2" |Patton Oswalt | colspan="2" |Chelsea Handler |
| 20Q
| colspan="2" | | colspan="2" | | colspan="2" | | colspan="2" | | colspan="2" |Halsey | colspan="2" | |
| rowspan="2" |2018
!Interview | colspan="2" |Christie Hefner | colspan="2" |John Krasinski | colspan="2" |Cecile Richards | colspan="2" |Kathy Griffin | colspan="2" |Michael Shannon | colspan="2" |Tucker Carlson |
| 20Q
| colspan="2" |Cillian Murphy | colspan="2" |Jesse Plemons | colspan="2" |Jim Jefferies | colspan="2" |Lakeith Stanfield | colspan="2" |Sofia Boutella | colspan="2" |Charlie Cox |
| rowspan="2" |2019
!Interview | colspan="3" |Sam Harris | colspan="3" |Seth Ambramson | colspan="3" |Tarana Burke | colspan="3" |Jeremy O. Harris |
| 20Q
| colspan="3" | | colspan="3" | | colspan="3" | | colspan="3" | |
| rowspan="2" |2020
!Interview | colspan="3" |Christiane Amanpour | colspan="3" |Jameela Jamil | colspan="6" |-- |
| 20Q
| colspan="3" | | colspan="3" | | colspan="6" | |
| rowspan="2" |2025
!Interview | colspan="12" |Nikki Glaser |
| 20Q
| colspan="12" | |