Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine

Hosted by actress Ilana Levine
  • 4.8 (485)
  • Performing Arts
  • Updated Weekly

With her unique style of hosting, Ilana Levine gives her listeners up close and personal access to today's biggest stars from Broadway, Film and Television. Her intimate and revealing conversations with Tony Award, Academy Award, Grammy Award and Emmy Award winners gives listeners the feeling they are part of a conversation between old friends. Guests include Julianne Moore, Matthew Broderick, Isabelle Huppert, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ben Platt, Uma Thurman, Matt Bomer, Aasif Mandvi, Octavia Spencer, Edie Falco, Allison Janney, Beanie Feldstein, John Slattery, Judith Light, Molly Ringwald, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Chenoweth, Anthony Rapp, Jason Alexander, Tony Shalhoub, Griffin Dunne, Kaskade, Laura Linney and many more. New episodes are released on Mondays.

  1. 1h ago

    Episode 525 - Orfeh

    Orfeh is a Tony and Grammy Award-nominated New Yorker. Last summer she completed a run in her West End debut in “Burlesque The Musical” as Tess. On Broadway, she is best known for originating the role of Paulette in “Legally Blonde: The Musical” (Tony nomination) and was most recently seen as Mama Morton in “Chicago.” Other NY stage credits include Kit De Luca in “Pretty Woman: The Musical,” Janis Joplin in “Love, Janis” and Annette in “Saturday Night Fever.” TV appearances include roles on “Law & Order: SVU” and “Sex and the City,” among others. As a producer, she is Tony-nominated for this season's "The Lost Boys" on Broadway. A singer, songwriter and recording artist, Orfeh and her band have performed everywhere from Jazz at Lincoln Center to Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London. Upcoming projects include Heidi in the Heidi Fleiss musical "Little Black Book." She began her music career as a teen, when she landed on the Billboard charts with her album “Or-N-More.” Her latest singles “Live My Life” and “Back In Love Again” are available on all streaming platforms. Instagram: @orfeh, tiktok: @offical_orfeh Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  2. 6d ago

    Episode 524 - Joe Tippett

    Joe Tippett is an actor who starred as John Ross in the Emmy Award winning series Mare of Easttown. Joe starred in Airline Highway and Waitress on Broadway, and  recurs as Hal Jackson on The Morning Show for AppleTV+. In this conversation Joe talks about how he made the transition from jock to actor, how he approaches characters who may not always make the most "likable" choices and  with honesty and humility he recounts his sobriety story along with  his love and admiration for his extraordinary wife, Sarah Bareilles.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  3. Aug 31

    Episode 523 - Frankie Grande

    Frankie Grande is a true multihyphenate: a singer, songwriter, actor, Broadway performer and producer, television personality, digital creator, philanthropist, and activist whose career has taken him from Broadway stages to reality television, film, music, and beyond. A lifelong performer, Frankie has appeared on Broadway in beloved productions including Mamma Mia! and Rock of Ages, and he is currently starring in the Broadway production of Titanique, playing Victor Garber and Luigi. His work in theater extends behind the scenes as well: he has produced acclaimed Broadway productions including Hamlet, La Bête, and Born Yesterday. Frankie became known to millions of television viewers when he competed on Big Brother 16, and he later appeared on Celebrity Big Brother UK and Big Brother Reindeer Games. He has also appeared on television in Henry Danger and Danger Force as the unforgettable villain Frankini, and his screen work includes films such as Spree, Summoning Sylvia, and Henry Danger: The Movie.   Frankie’s creative life has entered an exciting new era with his music. Signed to Casablanca/Republic Records, he released his debut album, Hotel Rock Bottom, bringing together infectious pop music with deeply personal storytelling. The project reflects a more vulnerable side of Frankie and the journey that has brought him to where he is today. His recent releases include the Pride anthem “I Drove All Night.”  Frankie is also a passionate advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and has devoted significant energy to philanthropy and arts education. He is a founding member of Broadway in South Africa and has worked with buildOn, supporting communities and educational initiatives around the world.  In 2026, Frankie added another deeply personal accomplishment to his extraordinary résumé with the release of his memoir, Supergay! A Memoir. The book explores his journey through identity, coming out, addiction, recovery, sobriety, family, and ultimately learning to embrace himself fully. Frankie has spoken openly about rebuilding his life after addiction and about the joy and gratitude he feels for the second chance his recovery has given him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  4. Aug 24

    Episode 522 - Zach Heinzerling

    Zach Heinzerling is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director based in New York City. He began his career at HBO working on four consecutive Emmy Award-winning documentaries and the Emmy Award-winning series “24/7” as a Field Producer and Cinematographer. In 2012, he left HBO to complete his feature debut, the multi-award-winning film, “Cutie and the Boxer”, which he both directed and shot. “Cutie and the Boxer” was nominated for the 2014 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film also won a 2015 Emmy Award for Best Feature Documentary. In 2015 he was enlisted by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter to direct the five-part web series “Self-Titled” for her album, “Beyoncé.” In 2019 he directed an episode of “Dirty Money” for Netflix. In 2021, he directed the critically acclaimed 6-part series “McCartney 3,2,1” starring Sir Paul McCartney and Rick Rubin for Hulu. Salon called it “quite simply, the most engaging documentary ever made about the songwriting exploits of popular music’s most successful composer.” His latest docu series entitled “Rafa” is a four part show for  HBO  that follows Nadal through his final professional season. He is also the director of  “Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult of Sarah Lawrence”  which the The New Yorker calls “a remarkable work, advancing the prestige true-crime genre’s slow but steady reorientation toward centering victims,” while Variety raved “…with a startling rawness and directness, Heinzerling’s work makes a case for itself as an unusually sensitive and strong outing in its genre.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  5. Aug 17

    Episode 521 - Paulina Alexis

    Paulina Alexis is an award-winning Indigenous Canadian actress and a proud member of the Stoney tribe of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation in Alberta. She first gained recognition for her performances in Beans, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Bones of Crows, before earning widespread acclaim for her breakout role as Willie Jack in the FX series Reservation Dogs. Her work on the series earned her a Critics’ Choice Television Award nomination, while the ensemble received multiple honors for its groundbreaking representation and storytelling. Alexis has become known for bringing authenticity, humor, and emotional depth to her performances, while helping expand opportunities for Indigenous talent on screen. Most recently, Alexis stars as Zoey Bear Child in the new USA Network mystery drama Anna Pigeon, based on Nevada Barr’s bestselling novel series. The series premiered August 7, 2026, and follows national park ranger Anna Pigeon as she investigates crimes across some of America’s most remote and breathtaking landscapes. Alexis’s character, Zoey, is a young ranger who looks to Anna as a mentor as she finds her footing in the park service. In addition to acting, Alexis continues to champion Indigenous representation and storytelling, bringing her distinctive voice and perspective to every project she takes on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  6. Aug 10

    Episode 520 - Ben Wang

    Ben Wang is best known for the titular role for Sony Pictures’ “Karate Kid: Legends” where he was selected from a worldwide search of over 10,000 actors. He stars opposite David Jonnson and Cooper Hoffman in the Lionsgate’s thriller “The Long Walk,” based on the Stephen King novel and directed by Francis Lawrence (“The Hunger Games.”) Ben was also the lead of the Disney+ series “American Born Chinese,” based on Gene Yang’s graphic novel, where he played opposite Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. And Ben will rejoin Francis Lawrence as Wyatt Callow in the upcoming Lionsgate blockbuster “The Hunger Games: The Sunrise on Reaping.” Wang recently wrapped lead roles in two independent features. First is the coming of age film “Brian,” directed by Will Ropp and produced by Seth Meyers where he plays the titular role opposite William H. Macy, Randall Park, and Edi Patterson. The second film is David Wain’s R-rated “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass,” written by Wain and Ken Marino, where he plays opposite Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm, and John Slattery. Previously, Wang was part of the ensemble in the musical “Mean Girls” for Paramount Pictures, and he co-starred in the coming-of-age feature film “Chang Can Dunk” for Disney+. He is a graduate of the NYU Tisch theater program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  7. Aug 3

    Episode 519 - Betty Buckley

    Betty Buckley is a legendary, multi-award-winning actress/singer whose career spans theater, film, television and concert halls around the world. She is a 2012 Theatre Hall of Fame inductee and the 2017 recipient of  the Julie Harris Awards from The Actor’s Fund for Artistic Achievement and received The Lifetime Achievement Award from The American Songbook Association in 2023. She won a Tony Award for her performance as Grizabella, the Glamour Cat, in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats and received her second Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a musical for her performance as Hesione in Triumph of Love. She received an Olivier Award nomination for her critically acclaimed interpretation of Norma Desmond in the London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, which she repeated to more rave reviews on Broadway. Ms. Buckley is featured in the film By Design, written and directed by Amanda Kramer, and it made its debut at The Sundance Film Festival in January 2025. She is also featured in the film Eternity for A24 Studios, starring Miles Teller and Elizabeth Olsen, released in November 2025. In March 2024, she co-starred in Imaginary for Blumhouse Productions and released by Lionsgate. She co-starred with James McAvoy in the M. Night Shyamalan hit film Split, one of the top international box office hits of 2017. She received a Saturn Award Nomination for Best Featured Actress for her work in the film. Her other films include her debut in Brian de Palma’s screen version of Stephen King’s Carrie, Bruce Beresford’s Tender Mercies, Roman Polanski’s Frantic, Woody Allen’s Another Woman, Lawrence Kasdan’s  Wyatt Earp and M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening. In 2024, The Mayfly, an animated short film written, produced and narrated by Ms. Buckley played the film festival circuit and won several awards, including Best of Festival, Best Director and Best 2D Character Based Animation at The Los Angeles Animation Festival. The film also won Best Animation at The Lady Filmmakers Festival in Los Angeles. A love letter to New York City and music, The Mayfly is a lyrical tale that was inspired by a true event at the Café Carlyle, with a score composed by seven-time GRAMMY® nominee Christian Jacob. Her other Broadway credits include 1776, Pippin, Song and Dance, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Carrie. She headlined the first National Tour of the new Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! in 2018/2019. Off-Broadway credits include the world premiere of Horton Foote’s The Old Friends, for which she received  a Drama Desk Nomination in 2014, White Lies, Lincoln Center’s Elegies, the original NYSF production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Eros Trilogy, Juno’s Swans. Getting My Act Together and Taking It On  The Road. Regional credits include The Perfectionist, Gypsy, The Threepenny Opera, Camino Real, Buffalo  Gal, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Old Friends at Houston’s Alley Theatre and Grey Gardens at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, NY and The Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles in 2016 for which she received an Ovation Award Nomination. In London, she starred in Promises, Promises for which she was nominated for An Evening Standard Award and in the 2013 British premiere of Dear World. On television, Buckley had a recurring role on Law & Order SVU for NBC. She co-starred in the third season  of AMC’s hit series Preacher and has guest starred on the Fox/Warner Bros. TV shows: The Cleaning Lady, The CW hit Supergirl, the NBC Series Chicago Med and ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars. For HBO, she has appeared on Getting On, The Leftovers, The Pacific and for three seasons had a recurring role on OZ. She  starred as Abby Bradford in the hit series Eight is Enough. For more information, visit www.bettybuckley.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  8. Jul 27

    Episode 518 - Claybourne Elder

    Claybourne Elder is a Grammy, SAG, Drama Desk, and Lucille Lortel nominee. He played John Adams on HBO’s hit series “The Gilded Age” and was most recently seen on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning revival of Company, starring Patti LuPone. He is known for his performances on Broadway in Bonnie and Clyde, Sunday in the Park with George, Torch Song, and Sondheim on Sondheim at the Hollywood Bowl. Other New York performances include Hollis in Sondheim’s Road Show, Strike Up the Band at Carnegie Hall, Do I Hear a Waltz? at New York City Center, and Allegro at Classic Stage Company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See All (542)

Hosts & Guests

4.8
out of 5
485 Ratings

About

With her unique style of hosting, Ilana Levine gives her listeners up close and personal access to today's biggest stars from Broadway, Film and Television. Her intimate and revealing conversations with Tony Award, Academy Award, Grammy Award and Emmy Award winners gives listeners the feeling they are part of a conversation between old friends. Guests include Julianne Moore, Matthew Broderick, Isabelle Huppert, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ben Platt, Uma Thurman, Matt Bomer, Aasif Mandvi, Octavia Spencer, Edie Falco, Allison Janney, Beanie Feldstein, John Slattery, Judith Light, Molly Ringwald, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Chenoweth, Anthony Rapp, Jason Alexander, Tony Shalhoub, Griffin Dunne, Kaskade, Laura Linney and many more. New episodes are released on Mondays.

Information

You Might Also Like