How a Small Town Aussie Became Hollywood's Most Unlikely A-List Interviewer — Brad Blanks

How do you break into media with no experience and no contacts? I sat down with radio personality and celebrity interviewer Brad Blanks, who grew up in small-town Cobram and left accounting for one of New York's biggest morning radio shows.

One cold call, with his accent turned up for a voicemail that opened with Steve Irwin's voice, got him a meeting at WPLJ, and he walked out as their Sydney Olympics correspondent on $50 a call. We get into the Elmo triathlon through New Jersey, the French's mustard stunt, the two-week hotel deal that lasted six years, his insult match with Ricky Gervais, and how he got into Elton John's Oscars party by walking in behind Prince.

He shares what makes a good sidekick, how to interview strangers on the street, and why your best stories come from spots you have to fight your way out of.