Tonys Best Leading Actor in a Play, Bryan Cranston

Tell me how special this means to you

It's special because I don't focus on it. That's why it's special

If I was thinking of what should I do that will maybe give me a nomination

you're fooling yourself. And I don't know any serious actor who does that

It's all about, I love that character. I love that story. And maybe there's a new twist on it

Look at Oklahoma. What they've done, it's like, oh, nice. Put it on

It's here. Hadestown. Ain't too proud. I mean, it's like we have, and we are inundated with phenomenal production

A show like Cher, just thoroughly enjoyable. And then the straight plays, trying to tell something that's important

provocative, cautionary tale perhaps. Certainly network seemed that way to me and so that what we wanted to present This show is so much more than what on the page especially for now with the media and everything else

I mean, it must have been so great to tell this story to young kids that came to your show, too

I mean, when you look out in that audience. Every night when I go out to sign autographs and take pictures, I always ask

whose first play is this? Whose first play? because it's important that we infuse Broadway with fresh blood

We want to hook these kids. I want to see that glare in their eyes when they come up and go

this is my first play. I can't believe what I saw. And I want to go, come back

You know, almost like Missouri, come back to us. Come back to us. And not just Broadway

It's a great place. But anywhere. Tell interesting stories and tell them well, anywhere. It's important

What I love about you, you always come back to the theater

You always come back and it's never anything easy. It always in some of the greatest work you done on stage It huge right I seem to be really attracted to damaged characters I relate to them to tell the truth There been so many things in your life that you go through

and I think if young men or women can get that sense and go

he was insecure at one time he he had self-doubts at one time uh i did too or i have them now

maybe i will overcome them and do what i want to do and i'm telling you you can

stick to your passion and your love and don't give up i want to ask you about mentorship who

was the earliest mentor in your life that said you can do this brian Gosh

I think You know it's funny because There was a Early acting teacher

A brilliant comedy Improv teacher Named Harvey Lembeck And I remember one time him telling me Because I was just I was young i was in my early 20s and trying things and he said you got it you got it you just need to work on it and pull

it out and no one had ever said that to me before and i was like wow that's nice okay thank you harvey

it's always that first person that gives you that extra boost that you're like yeah

I can do this. Yeah. And when you're talking about mentorship, I think it's not an obligation to me

but I feel a desire to reach out to the next generation of kids

and help them to try to avoid the pitfalls. They're going to have their own hurdles no matter what

but if they can avoid the obvious bad moves, and one of them is to ask if they want to be a professional performer

are you in love? You've got to be in love. You've got to be dedicated to this as a relationship

and that is the only thing that will weather the storm