Hey, guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast.

My thanks, as always, for clicking and listening along.

Got a great conversation for you today with an Academy Award winner.

Her name is Renee Zellweger.

She is out with the fourth, perhaps final. We get into that conversation

of the Bridget Jones movies that have helped to define her career and have been such hits.

Based on the novels by a British author named Helen Fielding, the first movie came out in 2001.

It's been almost 25 years, believe it or not, since they

launched these movies. There was some talk, as you'll hear Renee say. At the beginning,

why is our beloved British character being played by a Texan? She got through that once the

movie came out and said, oh, right, she's great. She's perfect for it.

People love this character. They love the books. They love Renee. And there's a good reason it's been going on now for four movies and almost 25 years. Just so much fun to talk to,

smart, funny, a sweetheart from Katie, Texas is Renee Zellweger. It's about 30 miles west of Houston.

Picture Texas Friday Night Lights, there it is. Great high school football team.

She was a cheerleader. She was an athlete. Interesting, though, her parents are immigrants from

Europe. So they didn't quite get all the Friday Night Lights, Texas of it all, but she was right in the

middle of it. When she went to the University of Texas, is when she really got interested in and

hooked on films and filmmaking. One of her earliest movies was in 1995. In one of the updates,

very small budget of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror classic, she co-starred with another young Texan named Matthew McConaughey.

So that's 1995.

Imagine this.

The next year.

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