Tony Nominee Laurie Metcalf on Death of a Salesman: 'This One Clicks All Those Boxes'

Two-time Tony winner Laurie Metcalf earned her seventh Tony nomination for playing Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman. The Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's classic play was nominated for nine Tony Awards and has been in the works for a long time. For Metcalf, that makes the recognition all the sweeter.

Even after a career filled with acclaimed productions, Metcalf said this Salesman stood out because of the people behind it. “I have been in that mix before, but each one is unique to the other and this one clicks all those boxes for sure,” she told Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek. “That's why this is unique. It's because of Joe Mantello, who I've gotten a chance to work with again, and the big swing that he took on this production, the great writing, of course, and then this ensemble.”

Metcalf has spent more than two decades working with Nathan Lane and Mantello, but for Death of a Salesman, her focus was on finding something new in Linda Loman.

"A through line that I didn't expect to see for her character is that she's a true partner to Willy,” she said. ”He's not just running the show,” They are partners in the financial part of the marriage, everything. Also, she is the one that sets in motion the fact that if Biff and Willy can't get along in this house, then something's going to change. She makes the decision that one of them is going to leave. I never really tracked it back to her before in the story of it all. But I just thought it was inevitable.”

What did not seem inevitable to Metcalf was the fact that she’d be able to make a living doing what she loves. Looking back on her performance in The Glass Menagerie at age 23, she reflected on what she would tell her younger self. “Had I known, cut to 2026, sitting here with you and wearing this, I think she would have been so surprised that A, I ended up being able to make my living as an actor and raise a family by doing something that I love and that B, I was the age that I am now and still in love with it so I could reassure her that you’re not going to burn out,” she said. “It’s always going to be where you gravitate to and you’ll never stop enjoying doing it.”

Watch the full interview below!

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