Times Insider delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how news, features and opinion come together at The New York Times. In this piece, Philip Galanes talks with Times Insider about his Oval Office experience with President Obama and the actor Bryan Cranston for a recent Styles section feature, Table for Three.
Q. How did you pull this off?
A. The White House started it — with a complimentary email after our Table for Three with Nancy Pelosi and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a couple of years ago. I’ve been like an annoying gnat ever since buzzing around the heads of the poor White House communications team, pitching, pitching, pitching. …
Q. What was Bryan Cranston doing at the table?
A. The idea came from the White House, once they were on board.
After my editor, Stuart Emmrich, and I saw a screening of his upcoming film “All the Way,” with Bryan as L.B.J., we were sold. Two presidents for the price of one!
Q. So how exactly do you bone up for an Oval Office meeting with these two?
A. I started with Mr. Obama’s memoir, “Dreams From My Father,” which I recommend highly. It led me pretty directly to the emotional spine of our discussion: two fatherless boys — Bryan and Mr. Obama — searching for their identity in the world; the fathers they became; and the work they do. (And I rewatched more than a few episodes of “Breaking Bad” with Bryan Cranston.)
Q. “Right now, I’m sweating.” Those are the first words you say to the president. Planned or spontaneously uttered?
A. Utterly spontaneous. I’m usually a little nervous before Table for Three meetings; they’re like blind dates (with the matchmaker in tow). But when Mr. Obama led Bryan and me into the Oval Office: Hello, jitters! I realized this must be a daily experience for the president. So I asked him about it.
Q. You asked a lot about pop culture (Jimmy Kimmel, Aretha Franklin, YouTube). Had you decided to steer clear of politics?
A. I was more interested in exploring the human connection between Bryan and the president and their shared experience in the world. And for all of us today, that involves pop culture. But we talked politics, too — especially the landscape of intransigence that Mr. Obama encountered, which contrasts sharply with the wheeling-and-dealing give-and-take of L.B.J.’s era.
Q. What kind of cookies did Obama offer and did either you or Mr. Cranston accept?
A. The cookies looked delicious. I think they were chocolate chip. But, to my everlasting regret, I didn’t eat one (or tuck one into my bag for later). Neither did Bryan. But even so, the mere presence of food and drink, and sitting around a dining table, encourages a kind of intimacy that we often experience over meals.
Q. Were there any ground rules as to what you could talk about?
A. None. In fact, I was impressed by the openness of the president’s office.
Q. What was the most surprising thing about your conversation?
A. That after we established ourselves as boys from the ’60s and ’70s, who watched sitcom reruns after school and did our homework before dinner — with Top 40 radio and more TV for dessert — I wasn’t nervous anymore. And Bryan and Mr. Obama seemed warmed up, too.
Q. It didn’t by any chance feel odd to be in the White House chit-chatting with the president about the first lady’s “great legs” or to be telling the president you’re gay?
A. I think sharing (or shamelessness, depending on your viewpoint) may be part of the job description for everyone involved. My editors and I want to look more closely at people whose accomplishments we admire through a human lens. In this instance, I was interested in talking about how their emotional lives as boys affected the men they became.
Q. How much editing went on here?
A. Very little. They were both incredibly articulate. It was more a matter of thinning the length of responses than leaving sections out.
Q. You start the piece with mention of a tour the president provided for you and Mr. Cranston. What were the coolest, most surprising things you saw as you toured the office?
A. I loved seeing the pen the president used to sign the oath of office — nice pen! And the bright red boxing gloves that Muhammad Ali sent him as a gift. But my strongest visual memory is the family photographs that Mr. Obama has on his desk in the Oval Office and on the sideboard in the private dining room. They were something real (and human) to grab onto in a room that’s pretty surreal.
Q. Early in the conversation, the president says, “Actually I’m very easygoing.” What do you think? Did he seem that way to you?
Not only is the president easy to talk with, but I think, in retrospect, he takes responsibility for making folks comfortable.. Bryan wasn’t nervous. (I asked him in the waiting room.) But I was. And I think Mr. Obama continued his tour until he saw that I was ready to go. That’s a good guy — and a kind one.
Q. Anything you want to say about how this particular Table for Three fits within your larger oeuvre of sit-downs?
A. The president is a big “get.” But the whole Table for Three series is a privilege to work on. Bringing together remarkable people from different arenas — politics, acting, music, writing, sports — and talking with them about their experiences in the world is an amazing opportunity. Just listening to Gloria Steinem swap stories with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or Kerry Washington with Cicely Tyson — or Billie Jean King or Elton John or President Carter — is an honor. But honestly, I’m not sure where we go from here. Does anyone have the pope’s email?
Q. Did you hear from either the president or Mr. Cranston since you met?
A. Both Bryan and the president’s communications chief wrote me thank you notes — which happens occasionally (but seems odd here). Shouldn’t I be thanking them?
Q. Who was the first person you called after you left the Oval Office and what did you say?
A. My boyfriend. (Duh!) I suggested a strong drink.
