Tony Nominee André De Shields on Doing What He Was Meant to Do & 'Making a Contract' with the Audience in Hadestown

André De Shields has over a dozen Broadway credits to his name and is currently giving a Tony-nominated performance of Hermes in Anaïs Mitchell's Hadestown. De Shields' recent nomination is his third, having previously received nods in 1997 for Play On! and in 2001 for The Full Monty. "I'm proud of the sustainability in the longevity I've been able to achieve," De Shields said to Beth Stevens in a recent interview on Broadway.com's #LiveAtFive. "So, in experiences such as Hadestown, I'm working with my grandchildren. I'm being received as an emerging talent. I have a future in this industry."

Playing Hermes, the messenger god, means that De Shields commands the stage and addresses the audience in a way unlike the others in Hadestown; it's a job that he takes very seriously. "I'm making a contract with the audience who we hope come with no expectations," De Shields said. "We begin with a mysterious handsome black man in a silver sharkskin suit and you might be thinking, 'Is this the man my mother warned me about?' There's a moment when I gesture to the audience to say, 'Welcome to our journey. Join us and we will challenge you, we might change you, but we won't harm you.' Once that's established the audience screams with joy and we go on this rollercoaster ride. I got the levers in my hands. It's a joy and it's a privilege to be the one to tell this story."

De Shields has never questioned his calling, and like Persophene in 'Our Lady of the Underground,' he thanks the stars. "I gaze at the stars because the stars gaze at me and and tell me all of the information that's available," he said. "Because of the karmic debt I owe my mother and father, I've never doubted what my purpose is on this planet. My mother wanted to be a dancer, but she wasn't allowed by her parents, and my father revealed he had always wanted to be a singer. I figure those deferred dreams had to be released into my X and Y chromosomes. That's why I'm confident that I'm doing what I am meant to do."

In the wake of the recent news that a The Full Monty industry reading occurred, we asked De Shields about memories of the show and reuniting with the original cast. "We've all talked about it," De Shields said about getting the company back together, "we just need somebody to grab onto that handle and say, 'Hey, That's a great idea!'"

Be sure to catch De Shields in Hadestown, now playing at the Walter Kerr Theatre.

Watch the full #LiveAtFive episode below!