Jeff Daniels, God of Carnage: "I was watching the television. Then Marcia [Gay Harden] and Jim [Gandolfini] called, and I called Hope [Davis]. I'm going to tell Louis, the two-time, Tony-nominated driver. [Geoffrey Rush and Jeff Daniels share a driver.] It feels great. It's so out of your control, that you don't know how to think about it going in. So much depends on the show you're in and the role you have and this and that. But there's been such a tsunami of praise for God of Carnage from the critics to the reactions of people who come backstage. People you respect are saying some rather incredible things. You go into the Tonys, and you think maybe there's a chance. There are so many performances out there, none of which you have seen, because you're doing eight times a week… All four of us [his co-stars] have been around a long time, so we've been up and we've been down. We know to enjoy things where they're good. When it's good, enjoy the celebration, enjoy the party, all the things that go with it, because it isn't always like this. I'm just celebrating the fact that all four of us are in the Best Actor and Best Actress category in one play. That must be unusual."
Stephen Mangan, The Norman Conquests: "I found out from a text message a friend sent me saying, 'You've missed out on Leading Actress in a Musical.' I was asleep. I was woke up in a blur, didn't know where I was. There were dozens of messages on my machine. This is slightly unreal. I'm just excited for the whole company. Seven nominations. I think the person I'm most pleased for is Alan Ayckbourn, because you can't get that many nominations without the raw material being something special."
Brian d'Arcy James, Shrek: "I was sitting on my couch eating my oatmeal. I wanted to make that answer as exciting as possible. I'd just seen my daughter and wife off, so I had a moment to watch. I'm very excited. It's my second time being nominated. It does feel different. I have much more of a sense of appreciation, because I know how the stars have to align to make something like this happen, so I'm savoring it in a different way."
Janet McTeer
photo by Aubrey Reuben
Janet McTeer, Mary Stuart: "It's really great. Maria Tucci has this fabulous house in the country, and there are a bunch of us here. We were all out skinny-dipping in the pool."
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Marc Kudisch, 9 to 5: "Of course I'm excited, but I'm an old horse, man! I've been through it, which is not to say every time isn't a good time. But, you know: I know how this works. It's all good. I was on the couch with my girlfriend. She was like, 'Really? You really want to watch?' And I was like, 'I will or I will not be nominated. There's no middle ground in this. I want to know. I just would like to know.' You just want to know what the lay of the land is. I watched and she followed suit… The fact that we get to do what we do; the fact that I've been fortunate for how many years now, that I've been in God-knows-how-many show—because this is great right now. But this will be done soon, and the show goes on. The eight shows of the week go on."
Christopher Sieber, Shrek The Musical (from his car): "I'm on my way to the city. I was in my car when my agent called me at 8:40 AM. It's raining, it's a miserable-looking day, but it's turning out good for me. I had to pull over, because I was shaking a bit, and the visibility is not great. I had to pull over and take a breath, and then I thought, 'Okay, this is good. This is good. This is a great thing.' So, it's a beautiful morning, even though it's raining and it's overcast and the traffic's terrible. It's a beautiful day."
Gavin Creel
photo by Aubrey Reuben
Gavin Creel, Hair: "I was in bed. I didn't have a very good night sleep. I tried having my dog sleep outside last night for the first night, and he decided to wake me up at 6 AM, and 6:30 and 7. So, I finally gave him a bone and told him to shut up… It didn't feel different until you just asked if it felt different the second time around. 'Oh, it's happened twice!' The cool thing is, I was fortunate enough to get a job in London for two years at Mary Poppins. You know, out of sight, out of mind—you kind of leave the city and people forget about you. It's just nice to be embraced, to be welcomed into a show, and have that show be a hit, and then to get this is just icing on the cake."
John Glover, Waiting for Godot: "I woke up because I knew the nominations were going to be announced this morning, and I didn't know when and I couldn't sleep anymore. I didn't know where it was on the TV. The phone rang a little after 8:30 and it was Todd [Haimes] from the Roundabout saying congratulations. I got nominated and received a Tony for Love! Valour! Compassion!, also with Nathan Lane. It feels good. I remember it felt good before. I guess I'm older and wise now, so I'm more mature about my excitement." (Laughs)
Hunter Bell
photo by Aubrey Reuben
Hunter Bell, [title of show]: (talking from California) "We just wanted to fly out here for the announcement, just to seem glamorous and bi-coastal. I'm in a Prius, in a pool. We got up. I'm out here with Jeff [Bowen], working on a project. We totally woke up. Hell, yeah, we woke up. I am proud to represent [tos]. It's mixed emotions. I love my collaborators, and am super excited for my nod of recognition. I would love to have seen Jeff's score recognized. But we're small and scrappy and a dream come true. There is that feeling of, 'I'll represent the team. Absolutely.'"
Paul Ritter, The Norman Conquests: "I was stomping around in my dressing gown. I was awake. I'm a relatively early riser, especially if we haven't got a show the previous evening. I was up and about. I wasn't watching it on the television. I was on the net having a look at the Apple store. I'm going home on Sunday, and I have a boy at home and he wants an iPod. I was looking up iPods. If you're in New York, they want quality New York presents when you go home. Then Aaron at the press office gave me a call. To get seven nominations is the stuff of dreams. We're all delighted. Amanda Root, my stage wife and fellow nominee, lives just upstairs from me. About three quarters of an hour later, she banged excitedly on her floor."
