DENNIS ANYONE? with Dennis Hensley
"A podcast about making things up and making things happen." L.A.-based writer-performer Dennis Hensley believes that art and creativity make the world go around and make life worth living. Each week, he interviews a different creative person each about what they do, why they do it, and how they manage the ups and downs of a creative life. Some guests are famous, some are less so...all are what Dennis describes as "beautiful strugglers." Past guests have included authors, actors, photographers, musicians, screenwriters, acrobats and one visual artist who makes cartoons centered around dead houseflies.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 63 minutes
- Episodes
- 601
- Years Active
- 2009 - 2025
Author Stephanie Elizondo Griest (Art Above Everything): "When Everything Is Impossible, Anything Is Possible"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by author Stephanie Elizondo Griest to discuss her latest book Art Above Everything: One Woman's Global Exploration of the Joys and Torments of a Creative Life, which is so …
Dennis Hensley's Happy & Gay: Carrie'd Away (by the Finale of And Just Like That...)
This week, Dennis shares his thoughts on the finale of And Just Like That...and also sharing quotes from an interview he did with Carrie Bradshaw herself Sarah Jessica Parker for British Premier maga…
Cinecon 61 Producer Bryan Cooper: "We're Getting a Stretch Limo for Mamie Van Doren"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Bryan Cooper who is one of the producers of Cinecon 61, a Labor Day weekend film festival in Los Angeles dedicated to rarely-seen classic films and the people who love th…
Actor/Author Jeff Hiller (Actress of a Certain Age): "This Poor Delusional Middle-Aged Queen"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor Jeff Hiller to discuss his new memoir Actress of a Certain Age as well as his recent Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for the HBO series Somebo…
XanaCrew Six-Pack: "We Feel Like Our Whole Lives Have Been Leading to This Moment"
On the eve of Xanadu's 45th Anniversary, Dennis is joined by six of his fellow Xanadu superfans--the XanaCrew--to preview the events they have organized for this coming weekend in Los Angeles. The ev…
Happy & Gay Bonus Episode: I Am Here To Make Friends
In this episode, Dennis describes reuniting with his former cruise ship dancing colleague Monica who he hasn't seen in 35 years, sings the praises of the HBO Max movie Mountaintop, the classic rom-co…
The Crazy Kids Behind XANADU: THE MUSICAL at The Wisteria Theater play You Don't Know My Life!
There's a new theater company that opened about a mile from Dennis's home in North Hollywood called The Wisteria Theater and it's a magical place. The show that's currently running there is Xanadu: T…
Ellen Geer (Co-Director of Strife):"You Can Make Cities Out Of Mud"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor-director-producer Ellen Geer who is the Producing Artistic Director of one of Dennis's favorite spots in Los Angeles, The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topange …
Queer Authors Panel at Pride Live Hollywood
A few weeks back, Dennis was invited to moderate a Queer Authors Panel at the first-ever Pride Live Hollywood festival. The panel was so fun, interesting and, in a few instances, downright dishy, tha…
Filmmaker-Performer Juan Pablo Di Pace (Before We Forget): "It's A Russian Doll Kind of Movie"
Dennis is joined via Zoom from Los Angeles by Juan Pablo Di Pace, the writer, co-director and star of the new film Before We Forget. The film is about an Argentinian film director in his 40s named Ma…
Writer-Director-Actor Leah McKendrick (Scrambled): "If Nothing Is Real, You Have To Be The Real Thing"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by his dance class friend and rising star, writer-director-actor Leah McKendrick to talk about her breakout comedy from last year Scrambled as well as this month's reboot of…
Filmmaker Fernando Andrès & Actor-Producer Jacob Roberts (Rent Free): "Film Is My Religion"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by two of the men behind his favorite indie of the year so far Rent Free, co-writer and director Fernando Andrès and actor-producer Jacob Roberts. The film is about two quee…
Author & Photographer Frankie Frankeny (Love: The Heroic Stories of Marriage Equality): "We Need To Go From Fear To Fierce"
Just as we're hitting the 10th Anniversary of Federal Marriage Equality in the US, Dennis is joined via Zoom by Frankie Frankeny, the driving creative force behind the gorgeous and comprehensive new …
Documentary subject Kellie Maloney (Knockout Blonde): "I’ve Mixed The Good Of Frank With The Good Of Kellie And Became A Much Better Person"
Dennis is joined via Zoom from Portugal by former U.K. boxing manager Kellie Maloney to discuss the new documentary about Kellie's life and transition Knockout Blonde: The Kellie Maloney Story. The f…
Broadway producer and author Jeffrey Seller (Theater Kid): "Write That Letter & Make That Call"
In this special Tonys week episode, Dennis is joined via Zoom by Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller to discuss his book Theater Kid: A Broadway Memoir, which documents his journey from a childhood of f…
Frank DeCaro & Jim Colucci (co-programmers of Pride Live!Hollywood): "You Know What Sparks Joy? Clutter!"
Dennis is joined by his friends and past podcast guests Frank DeCaro and Jim Colucci to talk about a brand new arts festival they are co-programming. It's called Pride Live! Hollywood and it takes pl…
Playwright Tom Jacobson (Tasty Little Rabbit): "There Are So Many Stories Out There Waiting To Be Found"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by playwright Tom Jacobson whose latest play Tasty Little Rabbit is currently showing at the Moving Arts Theatre in Los Angeles. The play tells the true story of a 1936 Fasc…
Actor Kasey Mahaffy (A Man of No Importance): "We Need You To Be More Grounded"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by actor Kasey Mahaffy who is currently starring as Alfie Byrne, a Dublin bus driver who directs community theater at night, in the musical A Man of No Importance at A Noise…
Filmmaker Lovell Holder & Writer-Performer Roger Q. Mason ("Lavender Men"}: "Mother’s Got Her Flashlight On All The Time"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by Director Lovell Holder & Writer-Performer Roger Q. Mason, the duo behind the provocative and beautifully-crafted new film Lavender Men, which is based on Mason's hit stag…
Writer-Director Sarah Kambe Holland (Egghead & Twinkie): "I Know There's Somebody Who Needs This Movie"
Dennis is joined via Zoom by filmmaker Sarah Kambe Holland whose new film Egghead and Twinkie flips the gay guy-straight girl trope on its head with the story of a gay girl-straight boy friendship th…