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‘It’s Intoxicating’: 39 Tony-Nominated Artists on Why They Act

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What attracts an actor to the stage? There’s the desire to be seen, sure, and a passion for storytelling. For some it feels like a calling; a compulsion for others. A way to connect, or feel. In preparation for this year’s Tony Awards, which take place on June 11, we asked Tony-nominated artists to think about why they do what they do. And, as we’ve done since 2018 (with a break due to the pandemic), we’ve taken their photos.

‘Death of a Salesman’

“I once had a desire to become a lawyer. I once had a desire to become an architect. I had a desire to become a painter. But then I realized I could be all those things as an actor. An actor can explore all the human desire there is. — Wendell Pierce

‘a dollhouse’

“A thousand people, in a room, quiet, sometimes the quietest room I’ve ever been in, and we have a real experience with each other, audience and artists. It’s magic. Nothing beats it.” — Arian Moayed

“When I was 7, my grandmother took me to see a production of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ in Sacramento. I was a bit of a restless kid, so she tried to find me an outlet. And then the play started, and there was this little girl on stage narrating, and it was just this aha moment of like, ‘Oh, this is what I am.’” —Jessica Chastain

“Everyone always said that theater was incomparable, like there was nothing to compare it to, and I never understood what they meant. When you’re in a room with so many people all experiencing something at the same time, the energy is exhilarating and that was one of the greatest joys of this experience. It’s intoxicating.” — Jodie Comer

‘Top Dog/Under Dog’

“As an actor, as a performer, when you do what you’re trying to do, you don’t forget.” — Yahya Abdul Mateen II

“I always grew up telling stories, in a family where it was an important tradition. Passing that on is an opportunity for me to tell the important stories and the stories that mean the most to me, namely stories from the African diaspora.” — Corey Hawkins

“GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR”

“Why am I trading? Because I love it. Because I don’t have to be myself.” — Sean Hayes

“I grew up as an only child with a single mother. The way I got attention was being loud with my voice. — Micaela Diamond

“I can’t remember a time before I did this. This is where I found a lot of my identity, from when I was about five. It is the only place where I felt completely comfortable and open to the world and to other people.” —Ben Platt

Ohio State Murders

“It’s all I’ve ever done.” —Audra McDonald

‘Some love it when it’s hot’

“I started acting initially so that my mother would love me.” — Christian Borle

“This is my ministry. This is how I make a difference in the world.” — J. Harrison Ghee

“I feel like I’ve been called to perform. I could do it – I shouldn’t say this – but I could do it for free. It makes me happy.” —NaTasha Yvette Williams

“In second grade I wrote my own version of ‘Star Wars’, called ‘Stupid Wars’. I wrote, directed and starred in it, and have been doing so ever since.” —Kevin Del Aguila

“Who else is so lucky that they can spend time watching someone’s actions and deciphering them through emotion? Who is lucky enough to explore themselves so deeply? — Colton Ryan

‘Cost of Living’

“Many of my characters are survivors of capitalism, and how capitalism specifically oppresses women of color and black women. If we go into someone’s heart, people can be touched by it.” —Kara Young

“I act because I want to live. I act to live.” —David Zayas

“I’ve wanted to perform since I saw ‘Annie’ as a kid. I thought, ‘How are these kids doing this?’ I feel like it’s something that was born with me: a desire to be an artist, to be creative, to express myself. —Katy Sullivan

‘Deleted’

“The first people I loved were rodeo clowns because I grew up in the rodeo. I knew I wanted to be a rodeo clown more than anything in the world. And then my mother introduced me to musical theatre, and there was no going back. — Kevin Cahon

“It almost feels like jazz when I work with these actors, the way we bounce lines off each other. It’s so fluid.” — Nikki Crawford

“Sweeney Todd”

“Since I was a little person, I know that my life plan is to become a storyteller.” —Annaleigh Ashford

“For so many of us who have the bug, ‘Why are we doing this’ starts with ‘How did we feel when someone did it for us?’ Every time I step out of there, I want to make people feel like I was lucky enough to feel when I was in that audience. — Josh Groban

“I perform because I want to see a version of myself on stage. When you see a version of yourself on stage, you can’t help but change. You have to change.” —Ruthie Ann Miles

‘LEOPOLDSTADT’

“Why am I performing? To change people’s minds and open their hearts to new things, because that’s what theater did for me when I was growing up.” —Brandon Uranowitz

“A character is like another person. Once you know what this person is like, you become attached to them. There’s something so beautiful about having another person to guide you through a journey. -Justin Cooley

“I feel like God blessed me with a gift, and it’s my responsibility to take care of it and pay it forward and be an agent of healing in the world.” —Victoria Clark

“I grew up in a trailer in the Midwest and we didn’t have much. So I played in the mirror a lot as a kid. I went to my room and did scenes with myself. I would imagine I was in movies. I had a very intense fantasy life.” — Bonnie Milligan

“The Sign in the Window by Sidney Brustein”

“I was a dancer first. I was also a jock at the same time – I played soccer very seriously. To this day, I think a big part of building character for me is thinking about how they move, how they stand, how their body works in space. Miriam Silverman

“Ain’t Mo”

“I believe that stories heal. I believe stories reveal the truth about what is, and what could be, and what once was.” -Crystal Lucas Perry

“When I perform, I come closest to God and closest to humanity.” — Jordan E. Cooper

‘Between Riverside and Crazy’

“I act because I love poetry, and I discovered that there was a profession where you have to speak poetry, you have to speak beautiful language about what it’s like to be human.” —Stephen McKinley Henderson

‘IN THE WOODS’

“It started when I was a kid, when I realized acting was something that gave me purpose. It made me feel confident and enabled me to find my voice in the world.” —Brian d’Arcy James

“I wrote songs when I was six, sang in choirs and did community theater in my formative years. It was a sense of belonging. I was a bit of an outcast at school and that’s why I felt most myself on stage.” – Sara Bareilles

“I come from a long line of theater and film actors, and it’s in my blood naturally. Telling stories and transforming into other people is the best thing in the world.” — Julia Lester

‘& Juliet’

“I have a little girl of 3. She likes to go to the theatre, and I actually see what I do through a completely different lens. Everything is so new to her and so fresh, and she’s in this place of complete curiosity and discovery, and I remember how I felt when I first started this. —Betsy Wolfe

“My sister and I made up plays and invited our parents to watch them in our shared room. We made up songs and stuff. We were probably 5, 6 years old.” —Lorna Courtney

“I think it’s one of the greatest pranks ever played on humanity, that grown adults get in touch with their inner child and pretend for other grown adults. Why would I ever want to work in an office?” — Jordan Donica

‘Summer, 1976’

“I perform to talk to people. Performance to me is ultimately an extension of that. That’s why we keep coming back.” —Jessica Hecht

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