Andrew Scott

Currently: Playing Philip Lucas, a young man caught between his go-getter professor girlfriend Julianne Moore and his estranged physician dad Bill Nighy in David Hare's The Vertical Hour.

Hometown: Dublin, Ireland. After some film work when he was a teen, Scott decided to pass on college drama studies to perform at the famed Abbey Theatre. "I wanted to work as an actor," he says simply. "I decided it would be better to learn on the job, you know? I have no regrets about doing that. When I was about 22, I moved to London, and I've been there ever since."

The Spielberg Connection: Scott has appeared in not one, but two Steven Spielberg-sanctioned war epics: as Pvt. John "Cowboy" Hall in an episode of the 10-part 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers and a bit part as a soldier in 1998's Saving Private Ryan. "They shot the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan in southern Ireland," he explains, adding with a laugh, "I had very little to do in the film; I just had to sort be rolled over by various main characters in the trench."

Give My Regards to…: The Vertical Hour represents Scott's Broadway debut, along with every other member of the cast. Though he's a 2005 Olivier Award winner for the Royal Opera House production of A Girl in a Car With a Man, he's delighted by the challenges of Broadway, especially working alongside Moore and Nighy. "We all clicked really well," he says. "It's important that there's a chemistry among the three characters; those relationships are very defined, and it's just been so easy. Both of them are the most brilliant, generous people, and we're very supportive of one another. In my mind, it couldn't have gone better."

Crossing the Pond: One crucial source of support for Scott: fellow West Ender Nighy. "We're both foreigners, so it's been great to have a pal over here who's experiencing this—properly living in New York—for the first time, as I am," Scott says. "I'm really looking forward to seeing more of New York now that we've opened because we've spent most of our time inside the theater."

Romancing Julianne: In actuality, Scott is 16 years younger than leading lady Moore, but he insists, "People are responding well to the relationship. I don't think anyone has ever questioned it." Certainly the ageless Moore must feel at ease being partnered with a younger actor since her real-life husband, film director Bart Freundlich, is nine years her junior.

Stage Door Manner: As usual when a movie star comes to Broadway, the stage door at the Music Box Theatre is surrounded by barricades to help control the crowds. "It's kind of overwhelming," Scott says of the swarm of admirers waiting to greet the cast each night. "Theater people in New York seem to be passionate about this play, and they have really interesting things to say."

By a Hare: Unlike Nighy and Moore, Scott had never worked with playwright David Hare. "I really wanted to get the cadences of David's language right," he says. "I'm an Irishman playing an Englishman, so I wanted to get that right as well." Many of Scott's scenes involve sitting quietly while Moore and Nighy argue politics, with only occasional testy interjections from young Philip. "It was a difficult part to rehearse," he notes, "because it's always more difficult to play characters where you're actively listening and not make them extreme."

Feeding the Fire: Hare's play, like his last politically themed hit, Stuff Happens, seems guaranteed to get Gotham gabbing. "New Yorkers seem ready for a play like this—really hungry for it, actually," Scott agrees. "I'm sure it's because it's David's play, but audiences seem terribly responsive. It's a pleasure."