DAVID BYRNE'S WILD WILD LIFE

THE FORMER TALKING HEADS FRONTMAN REFLECTS ON A CAREER OF PUSHING BOUNDARIES AND FINDING FULFILLMENT IN FAMILY

- RACHEL DESANTIS 

He built his career on big ideas-but when it comes to finding joy now, at 71, David Byrne's scale is a bit less grand. "Happiness comes from really small things," says the Grammy-winning musician. "Last night there was a very large Filipino community group who came to Here Lies Love, and they reacted to things that nobody else even noticed in the songs. That made me very happy." Here Lies Love-Byrne and Fatboy Slim's disco opera about former Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos that opened on Broadway in July-is just the latest out-of-the-box project for Byrne, the Scottish-born and Baltimore-bred rocker who first found fame as the frontman of seminal new wave band Talking Heads, responsible for hits like "Burning Down the House" and "Psycho Killer."

In the group Byrne earned acclaim for his unusual lyrics and eccentric stage presence. But in the 30-plus years since they disbanded he has established a prolific solo career spanning music, theater, film and more. After turning his album American Utopia into an acclaimed Broadway show in 2019, he took home a Tony for the project in 2021. And in January-36 years after winning an Oscar for scoring The Last Emperor-he received his second Academy Awards nod, for Best Original Song for "This Is a Life" from Everything Everywhere All at Once. "As a younger person, I could never have conceived that I'd be doing the things I'm doing now," says Byrne, who's dad to daughter Malu, 34, a jewelry designer (with ex-wife Adelle Lutz, a costume designer). "Not everything succeeds. But you've got to try." Here Byrne breaks down what he's learned about fame, family and staying passionate.