Matilda's Gabriel Ebert on Back-to-School Jeans Shopping, Being a Bookworm and His Burrito Addiction

As kids all over America head back to school, Broadway.com decided to ask our favorite Broadway stars to look back at their own years in the classroom—and share a school picture! Tony winner Gabriel Ebert who is delighting audiences as the nutty and nefarious Mr. Wormwood in the smash Tony-nominated musical Matilda, explains why he should have stretched more and why his science classroom was scary.

Who was your favorite teacher and why?
Ms. Hann...because she was my drama teacher. I didn't have much passion for many of the other classes because they required serious work, which, as a young boy, I had no interest in doing. I did love English class because, don't tell Harry Wormwood, I was a real bookworm.

What advice would you give to your school-age self?
Start stretching now! Because soon enough you'll want to do all sorts of things that time and personal evolution have made extremely difficult. Also, take piano lessons.

In school you would have been named “most likely to…”
I'd like to say succeed, but it's probably more like most likely to become a clown. Luckily in this business, those can go hand-in-hand.

What’s your favorite back-to-school item?
New jeans probably. I go through about one pair a year, and then they become shorts for the following summer. I always loved a new pair of jeans. You could get away without washing them for such a long time.

What class did you dread and why?
Science. I couldn't suss any of it out. Also, my teacher had two huge pythons, which lurked ominously in their enormous glass cage just daring you to do poorly in class. Those who didn't pass...were never heard from again!

In which extracurricular activities did you participate?
All of the plays, of course. I also played tennis and a good deal of hackey-sack. My real talent was for eating my weight in Chipotle burritos.

Describe your school-age self in three words.
Committed Jew Fro.