Harry Potter and the Cursed Child's Nicholas Podany on 'Always Wanting to Be a Wizard' & More

It's difficult to find someone who doesn't know about Harry Potter. The cultural phenomenon made its way to the stage with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , which took home six Tony Awards, including Best Play in 2018. The second cast began their journey to Hogwarts in March 2019, and it has been a spel-binding experience for Nicholas Podany, who plays Albus Severus Potter. "I've been a fan of the books since I was six years old," Podany said in a recent interview on Broadway.com's #LiveAtFive. "I always wanted to be a wizard. When I was 11 years old, the seventh book was released. We read the epilogue, my mom said, 'You can play Albus in the movies.' And here we are."

Not only was Podany a self-proclaimed Potterhead growing up, but it is actually what made him want to become an actor in the first place. "My mom would read to me the books, and she's originally from England, so she would do all the accents," he said. "That's how I started learning dialects and is what got me into acting. She was doing these stories and I wanted to do that, too. I wasn't very good at sports and I had all this energy so my parents put me to acting."

Starting acting at such a young age means that Podany had some very interesting roles. "I had a very ambitious director who made us do Twelfth Night when we were in kindergarten," he said. "I was Duke Orsino and had a very high-pitched voice. I think that was my peak moment." These roles eventually led Podany to Juilliard; he graduated in 2018. "I really didn't even want to go to Juilliard," he said. "But during the audition process, I fell more and more in love with it and the teachers. It was the best four years."

While starring in any Broadway production is an incredible feat in itself, those in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child have a unique schedule in that they perform two completely different plays for Parts 1 and 2. "We're unlike other Broadway shows in that we're continuing the same narrative," Podany said. "You have to carry over the momentum from Part 1, but if that's all you're focused on you're absolutely wiped by the time it's Part 2. We have a tradition on Sunday, we order Chinese food and play Settlers of Catan."

As someone who grew up fascinated by all things Potter, Podany has his own personal approach to bringing the son of his favorite character to life. "I found during the audition and rehearsal process that Albus is often depicted as an angsty, angry, upset guy," he said. "I started looking more into his Weasley roots, especially into Ginny, who's one of my favorite characters. That's his mom, and although they don't have many interactions in the play, I think the silence between the two of them speaks miles more than the dialogue Harry and I have. Albus is an introvert born into an extroverted family. I love playing and learning more about him."

Be sure to catch Podany in Harry Potter in the Cursed Child, playing at the Lyric Theatre.

Watch the full #LiveAtFive episode below!