André De Shields on Cats: The Jellicle Ball and His Fourth Tony Nomination: ‘I’m a Man of Destiny’

Tony winner André De Shields is back on Broadway as Old Deuteronomy in Cats: The Jellicle Ball, a ballroom-inspired reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s feline fantasia. For his performance as the benevolent overlord of the Jellicle crew, De Shields received his fourth Tony nomination.

De Shields says that The Jellicle Ball contains a call to action beneath its glittering surface. “We've been taught to feel sorry for ourselves," he told Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek. "We're taught that we can't solve any huge problem. We're taught that it's not our fault so therefore we can't do anything about it. And that's a lie. We can do something about it. We just have to not fear the people who have the ability to make the change.”

De Shields took home a Tony Award in 2019 for playing Hermes in Hadestown after decades of work on stage. Would De Shields’ younger self be gobsmacked by all that he’s accomplished? Puh-lease. “Nothing would blow my mind," he said. "I'm a man of destiny. I was a child of destiny and when I was evicted from my mother's womb, destiny was written across my face. I've never ever had a doubt of where I was headed, what I should be doing and what I should not be doing." The 80-year-old acting legend went on to explain his longevity in show business: "There's a lot you have to intelligently disdain if you want to live eight decades. If you want that dream that you dream every night to come true, you can't just do anything and everything. You have to do those things that appeal to the frequency that you are in the world.”

Expanding further on his worldview, De Shields says, "Not all that glitters is gold. Not every shut eye's asleep. Not every goodbye is gone. Check yourself. That's what I've been doing all my life, checking myself.”

Watch the full interview below!

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