Jane Lynch Talks Broadway, the “Mistake” of Moving to New York When She Was a Young Actress and the Advice Harrison Ford Gave Her

Five years ago Jane Lynch was best known for her hilarious appearances in Christopher Guest‘s ensemble mockumentaries and doing abbreviated runs on soon-to-be-canceled television series.  Though she was a familiar face, she never seemed to reach her potential.  Then came Glee and her career-changing starring role as Sue Sylvester… and Lynch’s world has never been the same since. 

Now she is fulfilling one of her longtime dreams starring in Broadway’s Annie as Miss Hannigan.  She gave a lengthy interview with The Star about how she got here and how she doesn’t really care where she ends up going.

Despite Miss Hannigan being a nasty character, Lynch admits that she’s really enjoying her Broadway turn.  She says, “I’m having a blast.  She’s an amazing character. She hates what she is, but she’s got enough energy to try and get past that. But don’t get the wrong idea. Once I’m doing a part, I just show up every day, put on the clothes and do my thing.” Read more

John Krasinski on Adding Writing, Directing & Producing to His Resume: “All these other avenues have been fascinating roads to go down but, for sure, acting is the most fun”

It’s incredibly hard for actors on a long-running television series to find success in other roles — mainly because audiences want to keep seeing them as the character that the actor became famous for in the first place.  As a result, it’s likely John Krasinski will have a difficult time being seen as anyone else as the affable Jim from The Office for the next few years… at least!  Yahoo! News spoke with Krasinski about his upcoming work and whether his decision to move into behind-the-scenes roles means we’ve seen the last of him on camera.

Krasinski’s first post-Office releases were a small role in the revival of Arrested Development and voiceover work for the Disney/Pixar movie Monsters University.  Krasinski points out that he enjoyed both, saying, “It was fun to do both those roles but they were small, fun roles … For me it was just supporting two things I love so much.  I think Arrested Development is one of the best shows ever on television, so I was just honored to be a part of that in any way. And it is exactly the same with Monsters University. Not only am I a fan, but my nieces and nephews are bigger fans than I am, so it is the first time in my career that I reached hero status in their eyes.” Read more

Henry Cavill on Handling His “Super” Fame: “There’s no knowing what it’s going to feel like and how it’s going to affect my life” (video)

Henry Cavill was certainly a known actor before he was cast as Superman in Man of Steel, but there is something about playing one of the world’s most famous and beloved fictional characters that pushes “known actor” to international superstar.  Cavill spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about his expectations for how his life might change now that everyone and their mother has seen him wearing that S-shield.

When asked if he has a plan for coping with the fame, he responds, “I don’t know if you can be ready for that, to be honest.  There’s no knowing what it’s going to feel like and how it’s going to affect my life.  Going to Starbucks is now a thing of the past.”

However, he adds, “I think what I’m going to do is just enjoy the journey, ride the wave, and if the punches come, roll with them.” Read more

Amy Acker on ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ and Joss Whedon’s Backyard Shakespeare Readings

The latest adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing actually came about years ago when Amy Acker auditioned for Angel.

“[Joss Whedon] wrote a scene that was in iambic pentameter, that Alexis [Denisof] and J. August Richards were basically cast under a spell that made them fall in love with whichever woman they were looking at, and I came up to them,” she recalled in an interview with Vulture.  “I think Joss had seen on my resume that I had done Shakespeare before, and then he wrote that scene, and then in my first couple of weeks on Angel, he asked if I wanted to come do one of the Shakespeare readings at his house.  So we’ve kind of had a Shakespeare connection from the beginning.” Read more

Linda Cardellini on Her Audition for ‘Mad Men’ and Her “Objective” When Seeking Roles

Linda Cardellini wasn’t expecting to get the role of Sylvia Rosen on AMC’s Mad Men.

“I had to audition, and Matt Weiner [the Mad Men creator and show runner] was in the room,” she recalled in an interview with The New York Times.  “I had just had a baby and it was the first time I had really contemplated coming back to work.  I wasn’t even sleeping through the night with my baby yet, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to retain the information or know the lines.  I was very lucky to get the part.”

It’s not like Cardellini had much background upon which she could build her character.  The show is notorious for being tight-lipped about plot points.  “You know nothing about what it is you’re doing when you come in,” she said.  “The character’s name was Sylvia, but I did not know it was Don [that she was interacting with] at that point.  I’ve never worked in that way, and it kept me in the moment.  You can’t play the end of your arc, because you don’t know it yet.” Read more

Kit Harington on ‘Game of Thrones’, Growing as a Person and Filming His First Love Scene

It’s hard to believe that the man we’ve come to love as Jon Snow on HBO’s Game of Thrones had never acted onscreen before landing the role.  But it’s true that Kit Harington had only appeared onstage before he joined the hugely successful series.

“By the time it goes the distance, it will be years and years,” he mused in an interview with The Los Angeles Times.  “It will be most of my 20s, really.  You look at it in those terms, and that’s a big portion of my life that I’m dedicating to this show.  So I’ve got to love it.”

Harington is coming to terms with playing a character that audiences will follow over the course of many years.  “What it really is, is playing the journey into being a man,” he said.  “Playing it while I’m going through that myself is kind of a bizarre thing for me—developing a character while going through my 20s and making my own mistakes while Jon was making his in completely different worlds.  So each year, I return to him hopefully having grown up a bit as a person, to bring that into him.” Read more

Mara Wilson on Being a Child Star and What Happens When “You Lose That Praise”

Mara Wilson is happy to prove that not all child stars end up like Amanda Bynes or Lindsay Lohan.  Wilson, who starred in Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda back in the 90s, is actually a successful writer and playwright.  But she understands why most child stars have problems.

Wilson, who calls herself a ‘recovering child actor,’ remembers how hard it was to grow out of that cute phase.  “You lose that praise.  You lose what you had,” she said in an interview with NPR.  “And you are so used to it; it’s almost like a drug.  And all of a sudden it’s like withdrawal.  You just go off of it, and you feel very rejected.”

The 25-year-old started acting as more of a hobby than a career choice.  “I tried to take it seriously when I was on set and tried to be professional—as professional as a 6-year-old can be,” she said.  “But I don’t think I really wanted to be an actor.  When people asked me what I was going to do when I grow up, I always said, ‘I’m going to be a writer.  I’m going to write screenplays.  I’m going to write books.  I’m going to write plays.  That’s what I’m going to do.’” Read more

Nathan Lane Says He’s Finished with Musicals: “Perhaps if some tremendous thing came along, but I would really think twice about it”

It’s hard to think of any actor who has been more associated with Broadway in the last twenty-five years than Nathan Lane.  The two-time Tony Award winner has rarely been off the New York stage during that time and he currently stars in The Nance, a play about a New York burlesque theater actor in the 1930s.  Though he is probably best known for musicals — especially The Producers, one of the biggest hits in Broadway history — Lane made a few surprising revelations to The Los Angeles Times about his future on the stage.

He admits that he sometimes feels typecast after his role in The Producers — not by casting agents, but by audiences.  He explains, “Everyone should have that kind of success in their lives, but there was a backlash.  They want you to continue doing what they just loved you in. When I did Butley after The Producers, people were shocked that I was using a British accent even though I had made my debut in an old [Noel] Coward play.”  He says that people who loved The Producers would even turn on it later, saying, “You’d hear, ‘Oh, it wasn’t that good.’ It was like they had awakened with a very expensive hooker and were ashamed that they had given away so much.” Read more

Michael Shannon on Why He Doesn’t Consider General Zod a Villain and If He’ll Ever Do Comedy

I’m no casting agent, but I have pegged Michael Shannon for a super-villain role for years.  Still, I never thought Shannon — who has never really appeared in any blockbuster — would ever be tapped to star in such a role.  However, people all over the world who have never seen the Oscar-nominated actor act will see Shannon star as General Zod in Man of Steel, and he spoke to The Los Angeles Times about the role and if he ever lightens up.

Though General Zod is clearly the supervillain of Man of Steel, Shannon insists that he doesn’t see his character as evil.  He explains, “I don’t consider him a bad guy. He’s a general just trying to do his job. Ask any general what their purpose in life is and it’s to defend whatever people they happened to be aligned with. He’s aligned with Krypton. It’s his mission, plain and simple.” Read more

Jonah Hill Insists He’s a Serious Actor, So Stop Asking Him About Bodily Functions

It’s official: Jonah Hill is a serious actor.  Sure, he might be co-starring in This Is The End and is likely returning for a sequel for 21 Jump Street, but in an interview with Rolling Stone Hill refuses to speak about his more famous filthy comedies and only wants to speak about his transition from comedian to serious actor in films like Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street.

Want proof?

When asked about how he managed to shed so many pounds from his once-chubby frame? He answers, “My workout routine is of little relevance.”

When asked about passing gas? He answers, “I’m not answering that dumb question! I’m not that kind of person! Being in a funny movie doesn’t make me have to answer dumb questions. It has nothing to do with who I am.” Read more

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