Jeff Daniels on the Tonys and acting on stage vs. film

Jeff Daniels was nominated for Leading Acting in a Play (God of Carnage) in last nights Tony Awards.

Although he didn’t win (that went to Geoffrey Rush), I’m sure it was still an honor just to be nominated. Right? Hello?

From freep.com:
Q: Were you nervous last night?
A: The nervousness and stress was leading up to the nomination. The stress of opening night and the critics and when is the New York Times there. That was a lot more stressful than now. Now you just feel great because you’ve been invited to the big dance.

Q: “God of Carnage” is full of actors recognized most for their work in other mediums. As an ensemble, how do you approach the stage?

A: You’ve got four actors up there who are of film. We all know how to do it onstage, whether it’s projection, the vocal work and all that stuff. There is stagecraft in a Broadway house, but we’re film actors. That means we talk to each other and listen to each other.

There is very little presentational acting going on, and I think Broadway has a weakness for that, where during the big speech, the person turns and delivers it to the balcony, and everyone else listens to the back of their head. We’ve been directed away from that, so it drags the audience onstage.