Jim Parsons Says Working With Jessica Lange is "Life Changing" | THR Video - video Dailymotion

The Hollywood Reporter

Jim Parsons shares how special the Tony Awards are to him while talking to THR on the red carpet. Plus, he talks working with Jessica Lange, calling it "life changing."

Transcript

00:00We, oh my gosh, we're coordinated.

00:02We're dating now.

00:03We came here tonight together.

00:05This is our wedding, actually.

00:07Listen, congratulations, this is your first Tony nomination.

00:10Yes, it is.

00:11What are the emotions going through your head right now?

00:13Oh my goodness.

00:14Well, the emotions kind of started the moment the nominations came out.

00:17Like, I kind of wasn't prepared for it, but theater's been my heart and soul.

00:21That's the first thing I ever did as an actor, and it's just very special.

00:26Theater itself is close to my heart.

00:28And if you are fortunate enough to be in the New York theater scene,

00:31Broadway and even off-Broadway, you feel how small it is.

00:36And you feel it when you're here.

00:37Everybody knows each other.

00:39It's unlike any other industry event that I've ever been to.

00:44And working with the one and only Jessica Lange,

00:46what was that experience like for you?

00:50I don't want to sound overly bold and say life-changing, but life-changing.

00:55I mean, you cannot act with somebody like Jessica Lange for months on end

01:00and not be affected by it.

01:02And I can be specific.

01:03She is so playful.

01:06And I don't mean like a prankster or something,

01:07but I mean like in the most dramatic of moments that she nails,

01:12she's still being so playful.

01:14And it's a lack of preciousness and just so much imagination.

01:19That's what it is.

01:20She even says that.

01:21She goes, I think imagination is the most important thing for an actor.

01:23And you can feel that coming off of her.

01:24She is instantly in whatever the moment is with you.

01:27And she's also, little known secret, an easy laugher on stage.

01:33She's so present.

01:35That's what I think it is.

01:36She is so present with everybody.

01:38If anything goes wrong, it cracks her up.

01:41And it is the funnest thing to be on stage and watch her laugh at something.

01:45She keeps acting, but she is like, Jessica broke.

01:49She's just laughing in my face.

01:51Was there any funny mishap or something that particularly happened

01:54that made you all kind of break character?

01:56One night, I'm sitting at her feet in a chair she's in,

02:00and I came up and I hit the ottoman stool.

02:04And there were these fries or whatever that had been brought out,

02:07and they flew all over.

02:09And she just cackled.

02:11And Celia hadn't been looking.

02:13She was studying something else.

02:14And then she saw Jessica looking at her and crying.

02:16She was laughing.

02:17What the hell happened?

02:20But I stayed in character, Ms. Lange.

02:23And I carried on through the scene, and we got past it.

02:27It's such a joy.

02:29I love it.

02:30I'm so happy that you've been having such a joyful experience with this.

02:32I also wanted to ask, I know that a lot of young performers

02:35and artists that are watching tonight,

02:37what advice would you have for them about building a career on stage?

02:41Well, to work at any opportunity you can.

02:47I still feel this very strong.

02:49When I was first starting, and I was a student, and I was very young,

02:53as soon as I committed to saying yes to as many opportunities as I could

02:58and performing in as many venues as I could,

03:01like small rooms, a garage, outdoors, whatever it was,

03:05that's how I learned the best, was just on the fly.

03:08You just had to get it done.

03:09You had to get it done.

03:11And eventually, you can get choosier, perhaps, or whatever,

03:14but there's nothing to be substituted for the experience of being on stage

03:18in whatever that stage is, live in front of people,

03:22and having to make it work right then.

03:24Because there's no editor, and there's no cut.

03:26It's just going on, and then it's over.

03:29Thank you so much for your words.

03:31Thank you.

03:32Good luck tonight.

Jim Parsons Says Working With Jessica Lange is "Life Changing" | THR Video

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