What Makes Night Music's Alexander Hanson Feel at Home on Broadway?

Alexander Hanson is a regular on stage and screen in the U.K., but the charming British star of Broadway’s A Little Night Music is a newcomer to the New York stage. The versatile actor, who has appeared in everything from We Will Rock You to The Sound of Music (now that’s range!) in London, has settled into a long run at the Walter Kerr Theatre. He’s clearly enjoying his role as Fredrik Egerman opposite stage icon Bernadette Peters (who replaced recent Tony winner Catherine Zeta-Jones). “Bernadette Peters is just across the corridor, which is thrilling because she’s a darling,” he beams from his dressing room. We checked in with the actor to find out how he has feathered his home (very far) away from home.

Photo by Jenny Anderson for Broadway.com


“This book is called A Hundred Years of Twickenham. I’m a huge Rugby Union fan, which is a bit like American football—but tougher. The home of Rugby Union is in Twickenham—just outside London in the suburbs, where I live. I’m mad for it. The trouble with being an actor and being in the theater is that you always miss the games. When I’m feeling lost and low, I just flick through and remind myself that there is life at the end of the tunnel, and I will go to another rugby match.”


“Here’s a collage of photos of my gorgeous family: my wife [actress Samantha Bond, well known as Miss Moneypenny from James Bond films], my daughter Molly and my son is Tom. Molly is 18, Tom is 17 going on 52. He’s a honey.”


“This is present from the producers, a cartoon picture of the main characters of A Little Night Music. I’ve been ‘round to famous actors houses in the U.K. and they’ve been immortalized with cartoon pictures, which they have framed in their toilets and stuff like that, and now I’ve got my own! I’m thrilled about it.”


“Here’s a couple of Tiffany glasses, which I got on the first night of A Little Night Music here in New York from my wife [Samantha Bond], and of course they’ve got hearts. I will drink anything out of those—water, Gatorade, Champagne—to remind myself of her.”


“That’s my iPod. I like to come into the theater quite early—about an hour and a half before the show. Because I’m so young, I have to put gray in my hair, and it’s nice to have some sound. There’s an eclectic mix of jazz and blues on it. I love having music just to chill to and also to rev me up a bit.”