21 things we learned from Louis Theroux's Reddit AMA

Last night, ahead of the US release of his big screen documentary My Scientology Movie, Louis Theroux decided to field questions from fans in the form of a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything). He talked about the movie, but also his wider career. Here’s what we learned:

1. His on-screen persona is kind of a character

2. He’s too scared to do a documentary on ISIS

3. He had a complicated “friendship” with Jimmy Savile

4. And there’s “probably a lot” the public don’t know about Savile that would still surprise us

5. He regrets the relationship they had and found filming the follow-up documentary extremely stressful

6. He enjoys the cult following he’s recently amassed

7. He keeps in contact with ‘too many’ of the people he’s done documentaries about

8. He’s a very non-confrontational person

9. His scariest ever moment was auditioning for a Norwegian cruiseliner

10. He’s a big fan of true crime documentaries

11. The Church of Scientology are still sending him “scary” legal letters

12. And he’s pretty certain they were reading the AMA

13. While filming My Scientology Movie, he was most surprised by how they treat former members

14. They treat journalists the same way they treat perverts

15. He’s a big fan of the @NoContextLouis Twitter account

16. Louis’ subjects are sometimes able to change his mind on things

17. His team sometimes have to drag him back when he goes in too deep

18. He’s drawn more to serious stories as he gets older

19. He’s considered going into fiction

20. He doesn’t believe in punching neo-Nazis

21. He’s a big hip-hop and R’n’B fan, and would like to make a documentary on R. Kelly