ANDY DRACHENBERG: This is your fifth time on Broadway. What keeps bringing you back?
JOHN STAMOS: I thought it’d be easier, but it’s all actually harder! Physically, it’s not quite as demanding. But mentally, for some reason, it’s more demanding. Some of the differences that I’ve discovered this time around are that when you’re doing a musical, everything is sort of on the beat. And I mean everything: you step on this beat, you set the pencil holder down on this measure, and you have two measures to get this out… With this show, the tempo or the rhythm, when compared to a musical, can be different every time. And it is. James Earl Jones and John Larroquette are hands down the most live actors I’ve ever worked with. You really have to be on your toes because they are as good as it gets. They’re always exploring their characters – exploring new ways to say the lines and new ways to play the scenes – you really have to be ready because it can be a slippery field out there!
AD:You’re also no stranger to stepping into a role previously played by another actor. Has that transition gotten any easier for you over the years?
JS: No. A lot of the work is done for you, so that can be good if you have to jump into something… But then again, that can sometimes go against you as far as you may be playing it differently than the person before you. I don’t know what the stigmatism of that is anymore, though. For instance, in this particular show, wild horses couldn’t have kept me away from taking this role after another actor. What I’ve gotten out of this is way more than saying I was the first guy to do this. Some of it is easier because it’s been tried and proven. In this particular case, I’ve really respected what Eric [McCormack, who originated Stamos’ role in this revival production] did because I know what kind of actor he is. He works very hard. And I told him, “I’m stealing some of your stuff because it’s great!”
AD:What was your entry point in grasping the character of Joe Cantwell?
JS: It’s always different on these things. I remember my entry point for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying for instance was the physicality of the guy (Mr. Stamos took over the lead role of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1995-1996 Broadway revival) – I never really played a quirky or nerdy type of guy when I started acting. And that was the case with The Best Man as well. I started off with the public Cantwell, who is the guy in the press conference with a unique physicality, such as his hand movements. He’s focused on how he wants to be seen publicly. Certainly the accent really dictated a lot of how I would say the lines. I think Gore wrote him as a southern politician, specifically in the rhythm of the way he speaks. Getting into that was the way I started. The big hurdle was being able to go on stage for two and a half hours and be rather unlikeable. I know I’ve played unlikeable characters in TV movies and quick scenes here and there, but never for this amount of time, and certainly not in front of an audience. It took me a long time to figure out that muscle, or that movement, or that energy of being brave enough to have the audience not like me. Once I got a hold of that, then I just started leaning into it. That’s been the revelation for me on this one. And it’s the hardest part. It’s exhausting and it’s heartbreaking to know that people are not liking me. But I know that I’m doing my job in servicing the play and playing Cantwell correctly.
AD:What has become your favorite moment on stage every night?
JS: I have so many. This is about the happiest and greatest I’ve felt doing any work in my 30 year career. I’m buzzing on a level that I haven’t felt in a long time. But my favorite moment is probably at the end of the first act when I look into those big, baby blue eyes of James Earl. I challenge him to just try anything and he looks back at me and says, “Well now, you’re in for an ugly fight.” I love locking into his eyes in that moment. The chess game of a negotiation that I get to play with Bill Russell (played by John Larroquette) in the third act is great as well.
AD:Earlier this week, you wrote on Twitter that doing this play has made you more interesting. What led you to write that?
JS: To be honest with you, it was sort of a joke. It has made me a more interesting person just because I’ve never dug this deep for this amount of time. I did a movie for Lifetime about the Kissel brothers. He was a despicable liar and a cheater. Just a horrible guy. I did it for three weeks, and then I was done with it. But I’ve been living with Cantwell for a long time. I also Tweeted that because I decided to take on learning more about Gore Vidal by reading all of his works. But what I was meaning by that was I found a quote by Gore that basically stated the less money you make, the more interesting you are. I was sort of making a joke that I’m working in the theatre for less money, so I’ve become more interesting.
AD:What’s up next for you after this production closes on September 9?
JS: I’m going back to Los Angeles and I’ll probably dig back into some television. I’d like to find a good show that can utilize all the stuff that I’ve learned from theatre. Every time I come to New York to do theater, I sort of get recharged and re-excited about acting. Hopefully I can put what I’ve learned from this show into whatever my next project is. Certainly it will be a more layered, deeper character because of this show.
AD:Rumor has it that you’re producing an upcoming project with The Beach Boys. Can you reveal any details about it?
JS: There’s not much to share. It’s still in development. It’s sort of just a big musical that I’m doing with a few of the producers of “Smash.” They’re big Broadway, movie, and television producers. We’re doing a teenage love story that uses the Beach Boys music to tell the couple’s story.
AD:You’ve made yourself very accessible through social media platforms. Do you have any stories that convinced you to be so active in this medium?
JS: I think I’ve always been accessible to everybody, not just fans. I get inspired and fueled by it. I learn things from these interactions. There are so many times that people will come up and say, “Ten years ago, you said hi to me and I never forgot it.” To back up, one of the first celebrities I met was Henry Winkler. He was so good to me and so kind. He said something inspiring. I said, “It’s nice to meet you,” and he said, “No, it’s nice to meet you.” I never forgot that. I’ve always tried to be good to people like that. There was a kid who I think came from Holland. She had some sort of handicap; I don’t remember what it was exactly. She was excited to meet me. She came by the stage door to say hi. I guess she had watched “Full House.” I asked, “Do you guys want to come see the show?” And she said, “Well we don’t have any tickets.” So I bought them a couple of tickets. She wrote the most beautiful blog about it. It was interesting because she barely spoke English, but she wrote just the most lovely, insightful blog about the show and meeting me. It’s not hard. It’s an extra minute here or two minutes there where you can make someone’s day or make someone’s week.
JOHN STAMOS (Senator Joseph Cantwell) an Emmy nominated actor and producer, continues to enjoy a wide variety of roles on film, television and the stage. On Broadway, he has had tremendous success, starring in Bye Bye Birdie and the Tony Award-winning Nine. Last summer, he starred in the Tony Award-winning musical, Hairspray, with Harvey Fierstein and Marissa Jaret Winokur at the Hollywood Bowl. He made his Broadway debut in 1995’s How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and in 2002, he starred as the Emcee in Cabaret. As a producer, Stamos is currently in development with Twentieth Century Fox and Neil Meron & Craig Zadan for a feature musical set to the songs of The Beach Boys. Additional producing credits include the ABC miniseries The Beach Boys: An American Family, which earned him an Emmy nomination as producer, and the highly rated CBS telefilm Martin & Lewis. From 2005-2009, he starred in NBC’s Emmy Award-winning drama series “ER,” and was also seen in the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun for ABC. Stamos’ career has spanned over 25 years, beginning with the hit soap “General Hospital” in which he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy. He later starred in one of the most iconic family television programs playing Uncle Jesse on the popular ABC series “Full House.” He has also displayed his musical talents over the past 25 years while touring with The Beach Boys.