The Graham Norton Show

Bruce Springsteen says how frightened he was on his first trip to London, Robert De Niro talks about Donald Trump, Sienna Miller talks about playing her first solo lead role, Paul Rudd reveals two rather awkward moments with Jennifer Aniston and James Blunt performs live in the studio.

Robert De Niro, talking about his new film The Irishman, and working with Al Pacino, says: "When Marty [Martin Scorsese] and I read the book, we thought Al would be great and then it was a lot of toing and froing and a matter of waiting for everyone to be able to do it."

Asked about Joe Pesci coming out of retirement to star alongside him, Robert says, "I don't know about that, but he wasn't doing anything at the time, and I said, 'Who knows if we'll ever have the chance to do this again. We won't, so come on, let's just do it.' There was a lot of talking, but he loves Marty and I think he loves me, so he said, 'Let me do it.'"

Talking about the on-going appeal of gangster, mafia and mobster themed movies, he says, "I guess it's because they defy the law, yet have their own laws, structure and culture. There's more honour. Especially with The Godfather at the time of the Vietnam War. The idea of respect and knowing right from wrong (amongst the gangsters) was more than we were seeing from our leaders, we were not being told the truth about what was really going on.

"Today, we have a weird twisted president who thinks he's a gangster, who's not even a very good gangster. Gangsters have honour, you shake a hand and they have your word and you have theirs and that's it. But with this guy, it's not the case."

Sienna Miller, talking about her new film American Woman, says: "It occurred to me as I was filming that I had never been on my own in a lead role before. I had an amazing cast supporting me but for the first time I didn't have a man to lean on."

Asked about playing a character much older than her own years in The Loudest Voice, she says of her prosthetic-clad self, "I used to take 'her' for walks and into bars. I walked down the street with my quite young-looking boyfriend and asked him to kiss me passionately in front of a crowd of tourists. They were horrified at the sight of this young boy kissing his nana!"

Paul Rudd, talking about his new Netflix series Living With Yourself, and how he kept the premise of the story clear in his head while playing both main characters, he says, "I really got into playing two different people but it was nuanced, not all Jekyll and Hyde, it was about the hair, the physicality and posture..." Stopping himself mid-sentence, he says, "I cannot believe I am talking about how to act in front of Robert De Niro. I feel like a high-school science student talking about black holes sitting next to Stephen Hawking!"

Asked about Friends, which is celebrating 25 years, he says, "It was an incredible thing to be part of and the whole experience, but seems a bit surreal and a bit of a blur in my memory. The show was a phenomenon and I was in the very last episode, which made no sense to me whatsoever. I was on the sound stage and Jennifer Aniston was crying and I thought, 'I'm not supposed to be here, so to break the ice I went over and said, 'Well, we did it, what a ride.' The joke inevitably fell flat!"

Revealing another awkward moment with her, he says, "I was on the set for my first episode and Jennifer was on a segway because she had broken her toe, and everyone was marvelling at it. Matt LeBlanc asked to have a go and immediately knew how to do it. I then asked to try it too. I spun round and rolled it right over Jennifer's foot! The producers look of panic was if to say, 'Is it too late to fire him? Has his character been established yet?' I felt awful. Such an inauspicious start."

Bruce Springsteen, making his first ever UK chat show appearance, joins Graham for a chat. Talking about his new film Western Stars, he says, "I wasn't going to tour, so I had to think of something else. It's a meditation on men and women and love. There's a lot of me philosophising, doing my best to figure out how I got where I am. I just had my 70th birthday and it's a bit of a summing up of all the things I have been writing about for a long time, the questions I have been asking myself and the conversations I have been having with my audience for quite a few years."

Asked why his concerts are often so long, he says, "I don't like to do it, I aim for three hours, but sometimes we go longer. With Patty [his wife] in the band, it's the only four hours I actually get to be the boss! Music has such an impact my life and I am there for single night with my audience who may only see me once in a lifetime. You have a moment to make an impact. You can move people and change lives if you bring enough commitment. We have that opportunity every night and I have never taken it for granted. This is my moment and you don't know what tomorrow brings."

Talking about his first ever performance in UK, he says, "I was 25 and very frightened and nervous to come to London. We'd barely been out of the state, so it was intimidating. We played great, but the pressure was horrible."

James Blunt performs Cold live in the studio before joining Graham for a chat about his new album, his tour and some rather disastrous crowd surfing moments.