Happy Birthday, Bobby Cannavale! A Tony Nomination Is the Best Gift for the Motherf**ker Star

The morning the Tony nominations are announced, phones start ringing off the hook for the happy few who get nods. As usual, Broadway.com is among the callers offering congratulations and getting responses. Here are the first reactions from 2011 Tony nominees. Congrats to all!

Bobby Cannavale
Nominated for Best Actor in a Play, The Motherf**ker With the Hat

“I feel like I’m the luckiest guy in the world today. It’s my birthday, and two days ago was my son’s birthday, so it’s been a really marvelous week for me. I’m proud of the play, my movie [Win Win] is doing great, and my son is 16 years old! Sutton [Foster] and I thought the nominations would be at nine o’clock, so we set the alarm. She woke me up and said, ‘Congratulations!’ We giggled a little, made ourselves some coffee, raised a glass and started returning phone calls from our loved ones. I’m so happy for [playwright] Stephen Guirgis. I’ve seen every one of his plays, and this is my favorite. I couldn’t be prouder of our entire ensemble. All I ever wanted was a career in the theater—I never cared about movies or television. It’s one of the reasons I never left New York City. I grew up wanting to go to the Tonys because I always watched them and they looked like so much more fun than any of the other awards. I never dreamed that I’d be able to make it on Broadway, and to get nominated for a Tony is just a dream come true. I’m really proud to be a stage actor.”