T.R. Knight on Tackling Mamet and Getting Back to His Life in the Theatre

Thanks to his endearing, Emmy-nominated performance as George O’Malley in the first five seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, T.R. Knight carries with him a reservoir of good will. Chatting with Broadway.com after rehearsal for his star turn in David Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre, Knight is greeted by a stranger as he walks down the street. His TV stardom has earned him above-the-title billing with Patrick Stewart on the marquee outside Broadway’s Schoenfeld Theatre, and Knight is clearly excited about being back onstage in New York for the first time in six years. With numerous theater credits in NYC and at the Guthrie Theater in his hometown of Minneapolis—plus a musical debut in Rob Ashford’s L.A. revival of Parade last fall—the boyishly handsome 37-year-old actor speaks with enthusiasm about his work onstage. But his answers become monosyllabic when talk turns to his 2009 departure from Grey’s Anatomy, a year after castmate Isaiah Washington’s ugly name-calling pushed Knight to publicly come out. “That’s in the past,” he says, making it obvious that he isn’t interested in revisiting his graceful handing of a difficult situation. “It’s a long time ago at this point.” So, we’ll stick to Broadway, Mamet and Knight’s return (for good, he says) to the Big Apple.

Welcome back to Broadway. How does it feel to see your name in enormous letters on the theater marquee?
We’ve been rehearsing elsewhere, so it hasn’t hit me yet. Clearly, mine should be about half the size of [Patrick Stewart], or a quarter. Maybe a sixteenth.

How did this production come together?
I had known [director] Neil Pepe for 12 years—and had known of the play for longer than that—and it was just one of those rare things where I got a call and didn’t have to audition. You count yourself grateful when that happens.

So, you didn’t even have to meet with David Mamet or Patrick Stewart?
No. They may be regretting that now [laughs].

Stop! In the past year, you’ve starred in a challenging musical [Parade, as accused murderer Leo Frank], and now you’re on Broadway with Patrick Stewart in a David Mamet two-hander. You obviously aren’t looking for easy assignments.
Easy? Who wants easy? [Laughs.] I like difficult. A challenge is much more exciting. I had never done Mamet before. This is one of those plays that you go, “I don’t know how this is going to work,” but you just dive in and trust that it’s going to come together.

What do you like about the play?
David Mamet’s writing is pretty spectacular, obviously. I like the honesty of it; I like how funny it is and how sad it is. He sends up the life of an actor so perfectly—[the play] really spotlights how ridiculous this life can be, which is fantastic because actors oftentimes take themselves too seriously. But it’s not only something actors can relate to; anyone who is thrown into close proximity with a co-worker [can identify]. It’s just excellent writing.

How has your working relationship with Patrick Stewart come together?
Very well. We didn’t know each other, and I think the fact that Patrick is English and I’m American adds another element to the [onstage] relationship. It’s about two people from completely different walks of life at different times in their lives. They’re at the end of their mentor-mentee relationship and John [Knight’s character] is moving on.

Both of you are using your natural speaking voices and accents?
Yes, except for some of the scenes when we’re both putting on other dialects to play characters within the play.

There’s even a surgery scene!
There is! [Laughs.] It’s an old timey surgery scene, though. It’s a scene from the 30s, kind of like Men in White, the play that they made into a movie with Clark Gable. [At this point, someone calls out to Knight on the street.] Hi, good to see you. Sorry, I’m just doing this [interview].

Was that a fan or a friend?
I didn’t know the person.

But everyone knows you!
And they’re very nice.

Has David Mamet been on the scene during rehearsals?
He was there for the first week, and it was beyond exciting to have him in the room. He’s made some additions—nothing drastic but expanding things within scenes. He’s back in L.A., but we still communicate with him regarding questions and changes. It’s been wonderful to have Neil, too.

Neil Pepe [artistic director of Atlantic Theater Company] knows as much about David Mamet as Mamet knows about himself.
There are few people who know him more! Neil has gone from his student to his collaborator for the last 20-odd years.

You sound happy about being back in New York.
I am so happy. I’ve actually moved back here, so to have these two things happening at the same time—the move back and this play—has been wonderful

Did you give up your home in L.A.?
I did. I’m subletting until I decide where [to live], but yeah, I’ve brought the furniture—the sofa and the bed and all! And I’m teaching the dogs how to be New York City dogs. I was here for six years before I went to Los Angeles, so this has always been my adopted home. It’s the place I feel most comfortable. They call people who love London Anglophiles and people who love France Francophiles. I’d be the New York version of that.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been seven years since you were on Broadway.
My last play here was Boy, off-Broadway [in 2004], right after we did the pilot for the television show. So it’s been a while. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long, but you walk down the streets of New York and see all the changes. The city didn’t stop when I left, which I thought was quite rude [laughs].

People know you from TV, but you’ve done so much theater, not only in New York but at the Guthrie [in Minneapolis], where you got your start.
It makes sense, because the audience is much wider for TV. I understand that. But yeah, I’ve been doing theater since I was five [as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol], and except for when I did the television show, it’s pretty much been a steady diet of theater.

You keep referring to Grey’s Anatomy as “the television show.” Do you tend to avoid saying the title?
No, I will! It’s just that I’m walking down the street, so it’s a little embarrassing.

No regrets about leaving Grey’s Anatomy?
No regrets at all. I had an amazing learning experience on that.

Do you still watch it?
Every once in a while I check in, but I don’t have cable. But I learned a lot, and it’s one of the things that have to do with me being in this [play], as well.

Any thoughts of going back to TV?
The medium doesn’t really matter to me. If I’m going to be picky—and you don’t really get that luxury as an actor—the medium isn’t as important as the people and the material. I just like being challenged, I like being a little scared, and I like pushing myself. So wherever that takes me, that’s what I would like to do.

We had heard you were coming back to Broadway last season in Lend Me a Tenor. What happened?
That was something that got leaked before things were finalized. You never know what’s going to happen with [a play] until your first day of rehearsal—and sometimes not even then. It’s a wonderful play, and I saw it; my friend Mary Catherine [Garrison] was in it, and I thought it was a wonderful production.

Did your experience with Parade in L.A. make you want to do another musical?
Oh my gosh, I don’t know. [Director/choreographer] Rob Ashford was so fantastic to work with, and [librettist] Alfred Uhry and [composer] Jason Robert Brown and all those experienced musical actors—it couldn’t have been a better experience. It was one of those times when you really feel like the ensemble is completely working; you didn’t have people just looking out for themselves. So I would do it again if I could have that experience, but singing in public was frightening, I have to say! Until the end [of the run] it was nerve-wracking, but I think conquering fear is always a good thing. I don’t know if I will get the opportunity to try it again, but Parade was incredible.

Do you have a favorite stage role?
There have been so many. The markers for me are what I’ve learned. Everything from my first professional musical, Parade…A Midsummer Night’s Dream [as Francis Flute] was amazing at the Guthrie, so was [the title role in] Amadeus…I learned so much in Noises Off on Broadway. The list of my favorite experiences would almost equal the list of plays I’ve been in. There are a few exceptions, but out politeness I’m not going to mention them. If you don’t have a few stinkers, you can’t appreciate the good ones.

Well, the Broadway community is happy to have you back.
I’m thrilled to be invited back. For an actor, a Mamet play is definitely on the list of things you hope to be a part of before it’s time to exit. I feel very lucky and grateful.

See T.R. Knight in A Life in the Theatre at the Schoenfeld Theatre.