>> from our studios in new york city, this is "charlie rose." charlie: his role in 12 years a slave and academy award nomination in 2014 for best actor. the stars in the post-apocalyptic drama z for zachariah. here is a clip of the film.

in >> i haven't seen anyone alive for over a year. they told us you can't leave the valley. as long as we stay here, we would be protected. [screaming] get out of there! you need to get out of the water, please. the water is contaminated. >> there's got to be an exclamation. >> is just crazy that it still here. >> ran out of gas. >> we can get it to work manually. >> it works! are you thinking long-term for us? >> it's ok.

[dog barking] i mean you no harm, man. my name's caleb. >> hey! no, it's all right. >> that could be anybody for all we know. because we have faith. was the plan? i've seen the way you look at each other. it you need to figure it out. >> jealousy doesn't suit you. >> i love you.

charlie: welcome. ejiofor: good to see you. charlie: tell me who john loomis is. ejiofor: a scientist who works in one of the bits, in the trailer there. you see him in this hazmat suit. it's one of the things he's been working on is a prototype. he's been working on it ever since the nuclear event. it killed him. he's trying to survive.

he has his wagon and he's moving around from place to base. he comes across a valley that is fertile and luscious. it has been untouched because of the geographical components. and the wind patterns have allowed it to be free of nuclear fallout. they are the only two people left. he's a very heady guy. leading with his head, he decides he's not going to rush into a relationship with her and try to establish this kind of friendship. the last thing he wants to do is get into a bad relationship with the last woman on earth. charlie: and how has the apocalypse changed him? ejiofor: i think there is an element of ptsd. there are issues that he had before. the things that he has seen and the things that he has done is the kind of strong wife we were

working with. all three of us, when these people have interpersonal relationships, they start to dramatically escalate. all of these elements of character. charlie: after the success of "12 years a slave," did you try to be careful about what you are doing or did you look for good projects? nothing had changed other than you were better-known? >> i think that is what happened. i was constantly in the search for interesting projects. there was a lot to do with, a lot to bring. charlie: did you see more? ejiofor: yes and no.

more projects, but the specifics -- charlie: not many good projects? ejiofor: the requirements that i have are complex. they are hard to explain. charlie: why are they hard to explain? ejiofor: they are slightly, in a sense, abstract. it's a feeling or a tone. something that might appeal to me might seem a strange choice. charlie: as opposed to the agent standpoint. ejiofor: any combination. charlie: and it's a feeling. ejiofor: it is a pull towards. something you have to say in. that you are intrigued by. a color or tone. in the end, that is something that is important. charlie: i would think that is easy in 12 years a slave. easy. something you might want to do. what is it here?

ejiofor: a number of things. i have been interested into handers and three handers. they are quite rare. but they are interesting. to separate everything else away and see the kind of interpersonal dramatic relationships. a very small number of people can create the same tensions and dramatic tensions. there are no archetypal characters in this. there is no real sort of bad guy in the sense. if they are in between. charlie: things like jealousy and the like are as prevalent with three as it is with 6 million. ejiofor: and that was the real distinction for me. something i found was really important in this film. it distinction between two people and three is massive.

with two people, everything else falls apart. it's sort of like they have differences, in terms of their faith. loomis is atheist. anne is not. it becomes irrelevant. it has no political weight in their relationship. charlie: does he see her from the beginning as someone he falls in love with or as someone he's obligated to have a relationship with because of his commitment to the rest of the world? ejiofor: he sees that she is a beautiful girl. it's not possible for him to take away this sense of fear of moving into a relationship sort of headlong. it can have serious implications and problems if it goes wrong. her attractiveness is irrelevant. they need to find a way to understand in the capacity of a friend before taking that into any kind of romance or any kind of other realm. charlie: is this a modern-day

biblical tale? ejiofor: it is like adamant eve, but for real. the actual underlying complications within this kind of construct. the beautiful countryside of new zealand. you are trying to organize a relationship. it has that kind of external pressure. it has serious ramifications. every thought process, every word out of your mouth has to be weighed because you don't want to send the wrong signals. so there are all of these choices. they are pressured. she is much younger and he is introducing technological things back into the universe. there is something paternalistic about their relationship.

for all of those reasons, he is taking it very easy. all of which turns out to be a terrible idea because he's not the last man on earth. he's the second to last man on earth. when caleb arrives. he is an alpha male as well. it completely destroys all of these best laid lands -- plans. charlie: which makes an interesting film. ejiofor: absolutely. it becomes a question of jealousies, and how do you silently fight this kind of situation? you do it through manipulation if you can.

you do it by trying to outmaneuver the other guy. you do it through every kind of means that you have in your disposal. he finds himself, equally, a minority. which is irrelevant if it is the two of them. but racially and in terms of religion, he is minoritized which creates a system of self-consciousness. charlie: how has he changed by the end of the film? ejiofor: all the way through the film, the distinction between who loomis believes he is and who he actually is gets increasingly wider.

as he is having to justify all of these decisions and actions that lead him down a path. if you talk to him at the beginning of the film or even the beginning of the nuclear event, where he ends up is not a place you would think is conceivable for him. he is a moral human being. a man of reason. within a certain sequence of circumstances, he is forcing himself to justify, more and more, the unethical and immoral acts. charlie: where are your stage ambitions? ejiofor: i am on stage the national theater. they are doing "every man." i have a brief break. it then i come back and finish my show. i'm almost at the end of it and it has been an extraordinary time. it is a 15th century morality play up aided by caroline duffy and directed by the new artistic director of the national theater.

it has been an incredible process. and i think, for me, an exceptional show. charlie: how are you growing as an actor other than you growing as a human being? ejiofor: that's an interesting question. i feel like it happens concurrently. i definitely feel like doing a play like "every man," and trying to get into the moral and ethical complexities of this time, and what a morality play

means for us now -- environmental concerns and our self-centeredness as well. it is something that i feel like, by the end the play, it is something that has made me, in some ways, a better person. it is a great gift. charlie: it has influenced the humanity of you. ejiofor: that's not something i necessarily look for. but that it is something that is happening is very deeply gratifying. making films like these, zechariah, and the plays like every man, to flesh out the nuances of it makes me a better actor. that is always going to be the goal. to keep on improving my work to the point that i am satisfied. charlie: who has had the most influence on you as a director? ejiofor: in theater? in theater, i would say that i had the extraordinary opportunity to work with michael greenwich a few times. i worked with him before doing -- i've always had a remarkable time working with him. for me, he has a great way of speaking to actors and of guiding a piece. charlie: do you know what that

is or do you just know it happens? ejiofor: i think it starts with a great overview of the piece. and a very watchful eye. and the skill is to be able to niger production and niger performance very gently along a certain way which opens up the actors for the audience. that whole kind of area. he is somebody that understands that is what the audience is looking for. every man was, for me, just over five weeks. the company was rehearsing for longer. i was making a film so i came into it. charlie: when does that come out? ejiofor: this year. november.

charlie: what is the satisfaction of acting for you? ejiofor: i think there is something about it which is, to me, and artform. this is something that i wanted to get to the root of. it is always a form of self expression. i can express myself artistically. and never having to do it as myself was a great advantage. if you are painting or singing, dancing even, you are so much more exposed. musicians are so exposed. poets are exposed. writers, obviously. you can kind of be concealed.

i imagine it would have been writing. i have a very deep connection to literature from when i was growing up. and in some form, i would have moved into part of that. the thing about reading plays, i decided that i wanted to see what the structure and the form were meant to be shown. i went to -- i got the bug. charlie: if you had had -- i thought this -- instruction. the more you understand the construct of the play, the more you understand what goes into it. i think, the more you appreciate it. the more you know about art, the more you appreciate the artist.

it doesn't mean you can't enjoy it and you can't enjoy it on some level of spontaneity, but the more you can find, connecting with how it affects your life were finding parallels -- at the same time, the more you know about what goes into, and how difficult it is, does it make it good? ejiofor: that is very true. i went to see, recently, a play at the -- for othello. and having such an intimate knowledge of the play, a word for word knowledge, it is always great for me to see that play and see what choices people are making. to see what they are doing. how they are doing it.

how it affects the rest of the play and the audience. where they've hit with the humor, where they lost it. it's a fascinating thing to do. charlie: we both talked about being in london and seeing benedict cumberbatch and hamlet. but because of the number of years i've been on the air with this program, 25 years, we've had a remarkable group of actors that have acted has hamlet -- as hamlet. it has been a defining experience for them. to take those different performances. you understand a bit about the craft of acting and playwriting. if you can take a play and see it done in so many different ways, all true to the text, but at the same time, understanding the creative imagination that goes into -- ejiofor: especially hamlet. charlie: most of all, hamlet.

ejiofor: it is difficult. it is so well known. it is hard to, kind of -- it is surprising. i saw hamlet, and outdoor hamlet that was an amateur production in oxford. the production was actually rained off because they could not do the last fight scene. it was too slippery and too dangerous. i remember halfway through, for the first time, i caught the emotional wind of hamlet. it really shocked me. i had been familiar with it for years. charlie: how many times have you done it? ejiofor: never done it. charlie: never once? ejiofor: i have been asked to do it on different occasions. charlie: why had he said no? ejiofor: because i do not know that i fully understand hamlet in theater, is my admission. and because of that, i never really found myself totally capable of being inside the play.

charlie: what is it you not understand? ejiofor: their dynamic. their relationship. charlie: unless you understand that, you don't think you could. ejiofor: it has made it hard for me to understand the dynamics. suicide, the relationship. how he treats her. i have read extensively about it. i have never been able to sit with it the way i have been able to sit with other -- charlie: there are people here that really don't do shakespeare that are very good actors. bill nighy. he has no interest in shakespeare. i can't imagine you won't do hamlet.

you can have a life without it, obviously. i'm not saying you have to do it to be happy or fulfilled. but you are so good -- ejiofor: i would love to find a way of really connecting. i haven't yet. but the penny might well drop. i have read it through and have been really happy. and reaching a certain point. what is this? ejiofor: let's take -- charlie: let's take the film role. see for zachariah. did you have to understand him? did you have to see and understand the relationship he had? ejiofor: i think you have to understand and imagine yourself there. there is a lot of work to do once that happens. there are a lot of dynamics and nuances to flesh out. but of all the basic dynamics in place, if i get it, i can get on the train, at least.

charlie: what is the worst decision you have ever made? ejiofor: the worst career decision i have made. charlie: either by omission or commission. ejiofor: i suppose, in the end, there are a number of different pathways. charlie: and you can't really tell if you took this you might not have seen this. ejiofor: i mean, the clearest indication of that was, for me, a decision i don't think was a bad decision but -- it did not seem like a decision that would likely have a good and. that was after i did amistad. i was young. i decided not to stay in hollywood. the theater career. at that point, i assumed i would be doing theater. i didn't envision possibly having a film career.

even though i had just worked with spielberg -- [laughter] it struck me that was a mistake. i started to try to do films and do films in los angeles. i don't know. i think my decision to go back to london also influenced my -- and to go back to the theater is why i met bill nighy, and i met others and did things. there is no part of it that is cut and dry. there are so many different little avenues. i could drive myself out. ejiofor: it's been great having -- charlie: it's been great having you here. ejiofor: it's been a pleasure. charlie: the movie premieres in theaters on friday, august 28 and v.o.d. eq for being here -- thank you

for being here. ♪

charlie: alta chi know is here and is an oscar, tony, and emmy award-winning actor. it was once said of him, some actors lay characters. alta chino becomes them. here is a look -- al pacino

becomes them. here's a look at some of them. >> i love you. i was going to go out and score for you. in >> the reality is, we just -- i don't care if i am in trouble or who gets it anymore. if we have to go to outside agencies -- where are we going to go? where am i going to go? i know it was you, fredo. you broke my heart. you broke my heart. get back there, man. he wants to kill me so bad, he can taste it. attica! attica! you want to play rough? ok.

you say hello to my little friend! you want to learn the first rule you would know if you ever's and today in your life -- spent a day in your life. never open your mouth until you know what the shot is. there is a time i have seen boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off. but there is nothing like the site of an amputated spirit. there is no prosthetic for that. if it's between you and some poor bastard whose wife you are going to turn into a widow, rather, you are going down. this guy is the top scientist. he is a corporate officer.

this guy is the ultimate insider. he's got something to say, i want him on 60 minutes. charlie: what do you think about >> it baffles me. you spend your life just moving on. it is one of the perks, but also, the issues you have when you are with a group of people in a company. you know we all sort of feel that way. actors are transient. charlie: someone once said actors are gypsies. al: they are. they have that in their spirit. i havelook at things done before, there is a distance you have, and you look at it and say it is all part of, if you

want to call it developmental. . remember kazan they had a special meeting for that. he got up on the stage and said, wow, how am i still walking around? ?ow did this happen i remember once they did one for me, actually, and i went up there and thought, there is no .ehab charlie: the question posed in john lennon's letter to danny collins, stay true to yourself. you stay true to yourself, for the most part, haven't you? pacino: i guess so. here and there. off. feared off -- veered i don't think of myself as that at all. being true to myself. i can feel when i'm not. i can feel when i've gone off the track.

charlie: in your personal life or the performance? pacino: both. more in the performance than personal life. personal life is a bit too random for me. the way i am playing characters who have lived these lives and stuff, and gone through the accessibility of things in our life and world. charlie: it's a bit like people readay you shouldn't tolstoy until you're 30. until you understand it. >> you should not do hamlet until you are at least 40. except you've got to do hamlet earlier because you won't do it if you wait. you know it's impossible. the best thing is to get in there. i didn't do it. i never felt i was right for hamlet. i loved the play. probably my favorite play of all shakespeare. charlie: you never did it.

pacino: i never did it. i never feel like i existed in that play. like when i get older, i will understand it more. there is a question of understanding it as an audience and understanding it as an artist. that is the separation. charlie: it was hamlet and somebody you had to do a rating of. -- reading of. al: it was strasburg. i was afraid to do anything. i was very young. them,around and watched and then i would go home. throughout my life i had -- charlie: you are almost a teenager, where you? al: early 20's. i thought, gee, i have these great eugene o'neill monologues .n me

and i had the wonderful -- what a peasant slave am i. i had them committed to my mind. i went for the first time. i was sitting there for six months. finally, i got up the nerve to sign up. lee strasburg looks at the paper and says -- i love he was be a -- he was able to pronounce my name. al pacino. most people said "pakeeny." he said, al pacino? what's this? "hamlet," and "the iceman cometh." he said, ok, you know, we take all kinds in here. [laughter] so i got up there and i did a ferocious peasant. and i went wild with the eugene o'neil -- and i was really giving it the old gung ho. stepping on the gas and stuff. it was a really that good.

-- wasn't really that good. it was over and he was looking at me and the audience got kind of teary about it. it had a lot of commitment and energy. he said, listen, al, here is what i would like you to do immediately. this was the genius with him. he said, i want you to do i want you to do hamlet as hickey from "teh iceman cometh" and hickey as hamlet. [laughter] out: -- al: i immediately went into it. he was very happy about that. i did not pause. i just switched it. charlie: you had the character of hamlet and the text of hickey. al: yes. and the text of hamlet and -- charlie: and hickey as the presence he had. al: i learned more that day than i had in my entire life. charlie: and how have you managed to be a star to this day not playing character roles as much as you are playing stars? you are the center of these two films.

al: again, i am going by what i am feeling. you know, some movies i have made that aren't character driven, different characters i play, i don't know. i find it, it's always a mystery to me. a mystery that i'm here talking to you and that i'm still doing this thing. i started early, too, as an actor. i was seen in new york in a play for which i got an award for that year. it was faye dunaway who saw me in this and told the great producer marty bergman. i made movies with him. but that play, there was

something in that play that hits real hard. it is a beautiful play. john lasalle was in it, too. and i had been acting maybe 10 years before that. i was quite young, my mid-20's. it just started to sail all along. i did feel, oddly enough when i talk about it, that i went from this explorer in my work in a way, experimenting and trying to learn more about the classics and myself. i got a lot of joy out of that. i was at a place in the actor's gallery down in soho, which no one could even find in those days. and then, to finally be lauded in a way, suddenly, everything upped the stakes. the star thing came in. the title came in.

somehow, i was trying to preserve something i thought i iderstood earlier on, because found myself in another world. which i liked. i thought it was a good thing. i still think it was a good thing. it was a lucky thing. things happen that way sometimes. there was a -- maybe something happened that was somewhat new, a new kind of person that wasn't comparable to other things people are seeing. came out of the 1960's, came out of this time in america where people like me were given an opportunity or whatever. i don't know. it was a combination of things. i remember one time, i did a scene one time, charlie, we had this scene in the studio. i will never forget this because

i saw him on his deathbed, and i said to him, charlie, remember the time when they were doing this big thing and i was one of the seams in the school and every teacher brought their student that they wanted to show how they were doing there. i went into this thing and i did this scene. i said, remember when i came to see you, charlie, grabbed me and just said, good stuff. good stuff. and the teacher got up. and went crazy against me. they thought it was the worst. it was like, who do you think you are? luther adler? you come up here, you do this. i was just sitting here thinking, what is this about? i told charlie in the hospital, in the hospital, do you remember that time? he said, yeah. i said, what was that? why was he doing that? why did he get so upset?

he said he saw a new time, a new era. i thought that, in some way, i think it's very dramatic to hear that when charlie says, i don't know if it true. -- if it is true, but i do know it was interesting because that was happening. it happens today, too. something comes along and you get used to it. in the old days, actors had to pronounce things a certain way and be a certain height to be seen in the audience. i don't mean to compare myself to people. i was always reading books about actors. and edwin came at a time when he came from a whole other climate. a whole other world.

when he went on the stage, it was new. i think there was something about the roles i played in this situation and the times we are in that connected, and i got lucky. it's been the same all my life. i know you've heard it a lot, everybody says it, but it's true. it's all about timing. i have seen people do such great stuff i wish i could do, but at the same time, i remember this how -- al,to me, you're doing so well. a few years into it. what is it? why you? why not me? all this stuff, you wanted it. i said, you want it, i think i

had to have it. charlie: oh, wow. pacino: had to have it. in a way, that is an interesting distinction. one doesn't know. i'm just mouthing now, because i don't know. charlie: you had to have it. al: i had to have it, and believe it or not, i knew at some point -- i never thought it would turn into this naturally. but i knew it was my time. that i would be seen in some way. and enough had happened this part in this play -- you know, i went up to boston and i did two or three plays. i went to do a part in a play. they'll want to me to do it, they said you are going to be great for this part. i thought, yeah, maybe i will be, but i got up and did it and it was not good at all.

as a matter of fact, i remember i was in the dressing room. somebody came down. i heard it on the speaker. my entrance was coming up. and this guy in the dressing room was really excited by this review of the play we were doing. i said, what is that? he tried to cover it. i thought, why is he covering it? i said, can i see that, john? he said, yeah, here. he pushed it over to me. i looked at it and it was a great review. this person, that person, how great. with one exception. [laughter] it was al pacino in the role, it was terrible. i read that, and as i was reading it, my cue came on and i had to go on stage. so i had to perform after reading that in the play he was criticizing. but i laughed. i think at a certain time, the ability to look at something like that and laugh, it might have helped me a little bit. i don't know. it hurt.

another part that i did not want to do i was ok in. so, it's always the question of, what do we do? you walk along the street, you see a certain tree. you either take a picture or you get the canvas out or you hate it. -- paint it. don't trys, if you it, you are not going to know. what happens is if you start to censor yourself, i think when you start to censor yourself a gets a little -- because we don't know. charlie: thank you for coming. a great pleasure. al: great talking to you, charlie. charlie: thank you. ♪

♪ charlie: helen mirren is here and she is an academy award-winning actor. in 2003, she became a dame of the british empire. she stars on broadway as the queen. the play is called an audience. it is a private conversation queen elizabeth had with her prime ministers over the last 60 years. the associated press calls it a touching portrait of power and majesty. >> did you ever thought you would -- you never thought you would be prime minister, did you. >> goodness, no. no, no. there is a photograph of me taken outside downing street at age eight, which some people interpreted as such. but no, there was never any

scheme or plan. half the children where i grew up never had any boots nor shoes to their feet. they wore gloves because gloves lasted longer. as children, we never had any dreams or hoax the on survival. -- beyond survival. i nearly died of typhoid. and now i'm here, drinking tea with the queen of england. be verywilson must proud. >> oh, no, she is furious. doesn't care for the limelight or the thrust of westminster. certainly doesn't care for our new home. living in the office, she calls it. mirren: i will let you know my husband feels the same way about this place. we all do, actually. >> no. mirren: yes. >> water? charlie: when peter morgan calls you up.

peter, who you know. mirren: he didn't call me. he e-mailed me. he said, i've written a play and i would like you to look at it. it's about the queen. i e-mailed back a two-word e-mail -- "you bastard." i knew he knew. in the end, i would have to do it. i was so cross. charlie: you said no, and then you said yes. didn't you, basically you saw them in a room, the writer and director -- mirren: i saw stephen doldry, one of the greatest directors in european theater. i saw bob crowley. in of the top five designers european theater. i saw robert foxe. one of the greatest producers. i said, don't be ridiculous. you are going to walk away from this? you will never get to do this

again. this is incredible. charlie: is it easy or more difficult -- and you knew peter from their previous -- mirren: of course, from the film. charlie: is it easy to play her on film or on stage? or does it not matter? mirren: it does matter, but this was very different. the first time i had done it or anybody had done it on that scale. so, the implications of it were terrifying, how it might be perceived and what flak we might receive. the second time we know those things are accepted and we know about. maybe, in a way, in the film, it would be a different animal. because on the stage i go backwards and forwards in age, and that is tough and a difficult challenge.

the essence of the queen may be harder on film, because it is closer and you have to have that look. charlie: let's talk about with the play is about. mirren: every tuesday, the queen meets with the prime minister for 20 minutes, no longer, just to know what is going on politically. but neither the queen nor the prime ministers ever talk about what they talked about. and there is no one else in the room. and it is not bugged. charlie: we think. helen mirren: it is completely and utterly private and is one of the few places that either of them can feel utterly secure. charlie: so peter had to imagine. mirren: peter imagines everything.

but the only thing the prime ministers have said is that they felt they could say things to the queen that they could not say to anyone else because she is in a position of knowledge. but at the same time, she's got to keep her mouth shut. they felt free with her, and in a way, for some of them it became kind of a shrink. charlie: you see her going from churchill to cameron. church hill, she was what? 26? churchill was a friend of the royal family. mirren: absolutely. and through the war and everything. you must've been very present. charlie: and counseled her when she made a decision? helen: absolutely. charlie: her attitude had to be a certain sense of awe. mirren: yes. she was the queen. yes, of course. that early scene where she is young and does not know what she's doing, and he is training her up, if you like. i love that scene.

charlie: when you look at the career you have had, would you have had it any different? would you have liked more earlier? mirren: yes. i unfortunately hit -- you really want to talk about me, charlie. charlie: i do, very much so. mirren: do you? charlie: yes. as much as you may not want to. mirren: anyway, when i was in my golden era between 27 and 37, which is a great era in anyone's life, male or female. you are at the top of your game and beginning to be wiser. it was a very bad time for british film. terrible time. "confessions of a window cleaner," just awful. there was no real british film industry it -- at that time. it wasn't until i came to america -- prime suspect. charlie: it was huge in london, something like 14 million

viewers in london, prime suspect. mirren: i had done a lot of very good tv at that point. charlie: so you would like to have had more film roles early? you could be, essentially, notwithstanding however old you are -- you work all the time. mirren: yes, i do. charlie: you are in the prime of your career. mirren: i don't know. it has been quite a long time. i have gone between tv and theater. charlie: you can be prime for a long time. but it is good as it has been. is it not? mirren: absolutely. definitely. i have to say, to be starring on broadway is fabulous. charlie: how is it? what's good about it? mirren: that thing about seeing your name in lights. it's pathetic, but it's great. and all the people. "talent mehran," above the title. mirren: --

mirren, above the title. did you say your greatest guru was francis bacon? mirren: yes. charlie: how did he influence you? mirren: he was a great painter. obviously. there is a book called "interviews with francis bacon." and he put forth the concept time, i had not thought of the tension between inspiration and technique. and the way accident is very important in art. but you can only achieve accident in a full way after you have fully mastered technique. in other words, it's true. children under the age of seven, every single one of them is a genius painter because it is totally instinctive.

but you can't be painting like a seven-year-old when you're 14. you have to move forward, and then you go for this painful process of learning technique. you have lost all instinct and inspiration. you are just learning how to draw a foot. and then you get through that. and you can allow accident to -- accidents to happen. you are open to accident. you have all the technique. you have all that -- so deep within you, you don't even have to think about it. it has to become thoughtless, the technique. and then you can allow inspiration to come back. charlie: thank you for coming. mirren: thank you, charlie. thank you very much, as usual. brilliant. ♪

♪ announcer: "brilliant ideas" powered by hyundai motor. narrator: the contemporary art world is vibrant and booming as never before. it's a 21st century phenomenon, a global industry in its own right. "brilliant ideas" looks at the artists at the heart of this, artists with a unique power to astonish, challenge, and surprise. in this program, new york painter francesco clemente. ♪