John Lithgow tackles American politics with poetry in his new book Dumpty: The Age of Trump in Verse

John Lithgow is one of those actors who shifts seamlessly between radically different characters. Some of his best-known roles include Winston Churchill on The Crown, a murderous psychopath on Dexter and an arrogant alien in 3rd Rock from the Sun.

Now, he's about to take another left turn in the movie Bombshell, in which he plays Roger Ailes, the Fox News CEO who had several sexual harassment allegations levelled against him. Lithgow has also just written a new book, a collection of satirical poems about contemporary American politics, called Dumpty: The Age of Trump in Verse.

He joined q guest host Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe from Los Angeles to talk about these two new projects.

Lithgow's new book, Dumpty: The Age of Trump in Verse, is out now. His film Bombshell comes out this December.

Download our podcast or click the 'Listen' link near the top of this page to hear the full conversation with John Lithgow.

— Produced by ​Chris Trowbridge