From Smooching Andrew Garfield to Wearing Chicken Poop: 70 Juicy Tidbits About the 2012 Tony Nominees
Before Broadway’s brightest stars take the stage at Beacon Theatre on June 10 for this year's Tony Awards, Broadway.com is looking back at the many fun facts and shocking secrets we've learned about the eclectic group of nominated actors. From secret superhero crushes to obsessions with drag queens and childhood pageant experiences, this year's Tony contenders offered up plenty of dishy tidbits. Brush up on your insider trivia by checking out the juiciest info about the nominees.
Just as quirky but twice as funny as the character she plays in Once, Cristin Milioti opened up about her love of RuPaul’s Drag Race, how she initially missed the big news of her Tony nod, her Kit Kat Club dreams and how she will forever be a "Tony Danza"-nominated actress.
What can we say about Jeremy Jordan that the fansies haven't already tweeted, GIF-ed and gushed about? The Newsies hunk let Broadway.com in on his secrets, including the story of his proposal to fiancée Ashley Spencer, his naked time in Bonnie & Clyde, his pre-Tony dreams and his experience in child pageants.
In Death of a Salesman, Linda Emond moved us with her emotional turn Willy Loman's distraught wife, but we got an eyebrow-raising surprise when she told us watching Deadliest Catch has taught her the ocean is one “scary motherf**ker."
Speaking of scary, truth be told, we were frightened by Porgy and Bess villian Phillip Boykin's performance, but offstage he's shown himself to be a dress-up-playing, joke-telling, mama-loving teddy bear.
We don’t want to make it into a story, but it seems Nina Arianda yearns to star in a Broadway musical. From loving tutus to memorizing Les Miz, Arianda’s been dropping hints to Broadway.com all season.
We can always count on Laura Osnes to make us smile. It’s no surprise this first-time Tony nominee (and total sweetheart) dreams of playing Belle, bakes cupcakes for her dog and wears show T-shirts to bed.
Don’t Dress For Dinner’s Spencer Kayden isn't afraid to expose her quirks —including her love of beauty products that “contain no poop," her tendencies toward “onstage jackassery,” naughty cross-stitching skills and revealing the secret to making it in musicals when you don’t consider yourself a singer.
Josh Young’s illness plagued preview period in Jesus Christ Superstar may have been “devastating,” but boy was his return worth the wait! From competitive squash to performing high on more than life, this Mandy Patinkin fan now has a permanent place in our hearts.
Jeremy Shamos may bear the brunt of jokes in Clybourne Park, but offstage he’s the one leading the laughs. Who can forget Shamos’ hilarious faux romantic moment with Andrew Garfield, his daughter's whoopee cushion antics or his very wet pre-Tony ritual?
One of the best parts about awards season is getting to know newbie nominees, like Once’s Elizabeth A. Davis. Did you know this former beauty queen’s neighbor delivered the big Tony news or that seeing Sutton Foster in Thoroughly Modern Millie nearly crashed her own Broadway dreams?
Ghost standout Da’Vine Joy Randolph has reclaimed the word diva, so step aside and recognize! We adore this nominee because she has no shame about beating out 40 year-olds, prepping for her close-up, loving Audra or serving Tony-worthy red-carpet realness.
Though she’s almost unrecognizable in Other Desert Cities, Judith Light’s heart always shines through, especially when she remembers her recently deceased father, talks of her adoration for her manager or defends her troubled character.
If you enjoy an actor who is as funny offstage as he is onstage, then One Man, Two Guvnors’ Tom Edden is your man. This British import has been clowning around, drinking it up and causing a stir all over Manhattan, and we love it!
Despite soaring in Peter and the Starcatcher, Celia Keenan-Bolger is one of Broadway’s most down-to-earth stars. We can't help but smile when she gets giddily goofy backstage or at awards ceremonies, and it's hard not to tear up when she discusses her love for her hubby and the loss of her mother.
Waking up to shirtless Once heartthrob Steve Kazee is a great way to start out any day, and what's possibly even better is watching him perform a private backstage concert, dish about his little superstitions and his cheating past.
Michael Cerveris takes his job seriously, and we respect that. For proof that this Tony winner is a total professional, take a look at his detailed prep for Evita and his wise words about his lengthy career.
With the many celebrities backstage at End of the Rainbow, Tracie Bennett has lifted her glass with Oscar, Tony and Emmy winners, but fans did a double-take when Bennett told Broadway.com who she really would like to share a cocktail with: ferocious New York Times critic Ben Brantley!
Yes, Condola Rashad is a Tony nominee with a Tony-winning mom, but deep down this first-time nominee is a hardcore Wicked fangirl who is not afraid to be starstruck. Awesome!
Emmy winner, Cynthia Nixon almost lost us when she admitted she doesn't own a TV, but she won us back immediately when she revealed her love of Annie and Shakespeare in the Park.
James Corden seems like the kind of actor you’d want to share a pint with at your local pub. The One Man, Two Guvnors headliner could school us on how a Tony nominee should act, and can rehash some pretty wild stories about his swingin’ Broadway debut.
Jan Maxwell is not afraid to starve for her art, and we say, whatever works! Maxwell dropped nearly 20 pounds for her Tony-nominated role in Follies, but what we really loved about her Phyllis was not a fit physique; it was her fierceness.
Kelli O’Hara may hate watching herself on video, but we can’t get enough of the four-time nominee! Kelli, we demand that you watch yourself with Broadway.com funny lady Susan Blackwell, you won’t be disappointed!
It’s refreshing when the most prestigious actors take themselves the least seriously. Audra McDonald may very well win a fifth Tony Award on Sunday, but that doesn’t stop her from singing the SpongeBob Squarepants theme on Susan Blackwell’s lap, cursing at Starlight Express or getting super silly with co-star Norm Lewis.
From his over-the-top reactions to absurd Tony prep, it would be easy to write Christian Borle off as a total goofball, but when he compliments his ex-wife Sutton Foster or shares his love of his hometown, you see there’s so much more to this Tony-nominated actor.