Hunter Parrish Talks Broadway’s ‘Godspell’: “I have grown to love myself more, 100% by doing this show”

Breaking away from his usual role as the pot dealing criminal Silas Botwin in Showtime’s Weeds, actor Hunter Parrish has been working on the musical Godspell, and surprisingly playing the role of Jesus. 

Now twenty-four years old, Parrish had a few laughs recently in an interview with the NY Post, where he talks about his religion, return to Broadway and how making a goofball of himself in the theater production has made him grow and accomplish his life long dream, even if he questions his talents at improv.

“I’m not very good at improv, and I hadn’t exercised that muscle ever. This is the most goofy I’ve ever been in public, which I love. I have grown to love myself more, 100 percent by doing this show. And that single-handedly has been the greatest thing about this experience — actually learning to love the real me.”

Being  a Christian and portraying the shady character role of Silas, Parish confessed that he has been persecuted for his beliefs, but thrives on the contradiction.  “I think we as Americans are persecuted for our beliefs often by other Americans. You know, I can’t be a pot-dealing kid on a show about marijuana and be a Christian. That doesn’t make sense to people. I find it exciting, that’s why I do it. I love that dichotomy.” 

While most would assume Parrish has had his fair share of pot, the Weeds actor, who isn’t anything like his alter ego, explains that it’s just not his thing.  “It was shortly after I did Spring Awakening.  I moved home, and I was in a really weird place. A very dark place for about a year. It was post- Spring Awakening, which was an amazing experience for me but a very heavy one given the content of the show. That was my dream since I was 6 years old, to be on Broadway. To have that experience at 21, and then suddenly you have everything you thought you wanted, then what do you do? It was a spiritual journey for me. But it started with me having this “f — k it” attitude, there are no rules. I let myself go a little bit, but in that I grew up. So I don’t regret anything.”