Actor and singer Nathan Lee Graham鈥攑erhaps best known for his work in the films Zoolander, Zoolander 2, Sweet Home Alabama, and Hitch鈥攊s back on the boards in the hit Off-Broadway musical Titanique: Une Parodie Musicale.
Graham, recently seen as Hermes in the North American tour of the Tony-winning Hadestown, is playing a limited engagement as Ruth in Titanique through February 18 at the Daryl Roth Theatre. Titanique parodies the blockbuster Oscar-winning film Titanic using the songs of Celine Dion.
Part of the original Broadway casts of the Tony-nominated The Wild Party and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the stage and screen star received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for his work in the new musical The View UpStairs, the IRNE Award for his performance in The Colored Museum, and a Drama League nomination for playing Rey-Rey in Tarell Alvin McCraney's Wig Out. And, for his work in the Los Angeles premiere of The Wild Party, the Missouri native won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Performer in a Musical.
Graham is also a winner of the 2005 Best Classical Album Grammy Award for Songs of Innocence and of Experience (as a soloist). His small-screen credits include The Comeback, Scrubs, Absolutely
Fabulous, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Broad City, LA to Vegas, Katy Keene, and Woke.
In the interview below for the 半岛体育 series How Did I Get
Here鈥攕potlighting not only actors, but directors, designers, musicians,
and others who work on and off the stage to create the magic that is
live theatre鈥擥raham shares how his dream wasn't to be famous and the delights of working with Eartha Kitt in The Wild Party.
Where did you train/study?
Nathan Lee Graham: I am a very proud alumnus of the Sargent
Conservatory at Webster University in Webster Groves, Missouri (St. Louis).
BFA in Musical Theatre.
Was there a teacher who was particularly impactful/helpful? What made this instructor stand out?
I鈥檝e been very fortunate to have some key people guide me in my career.
At Webster, there is no doubt that person would be Mr. Byron Grant!
Head of the musical theatre department at that time. He was key in
aiding my full knowledge of the history of the musical theatre, the way I
approach any role I do to this day, and in my lifelong love of anything
Sondheim! Byron actually gave a damn about how I carried or presented
myself off stage as well鈥e said to me very early on, 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 just
want to have gigs鈥ou want to have a career鈥o show up on time, know
your lines, and don鈥檛 be an asshole!鈥� I鈥檝e maintained this way of being
for over 35 years!
Is the cast having as much fun at Titanique as the audience? Do you have a favorite moment in the show for your character?
I鈥檝e done a lot of things鈥nd Titanique is right up there with the
wild and wonderful ride I鈥檓 on! The cast is absolutely wonderful in
every way! So supportive, so talented, hell, so brave! And yes, we are
having a ball doing it! Mind you, it鈥檚 hard work maintaining that level
of broad, yet sincere comedy. But it certainly is enjoyable. And my
鈥渂reakdown鈥� as 鈥淩uth鈥� is hilariously exhausting! I鈥檓 cracking up inside
the whole time!
You recently starred in the national tour of Hadestown. Can you share a favorite memory from backstage or on stage?
Ah yes, the national or 鈥淣orth鈥� American tour of Hadestown! Well, as we
all know, we had a SAG-AFTRA strike going on, what to do, what to do? I
hadn鈥檛 been on tour since Family Matters went off the air in 1998! And, let me tell you, it was a fantastic time, but it was not easy!
Playing Hermes was all-consuming for me, practically a new city every
week, with five-show weekends! And I鈥檓 proud to say that over the course
of a year and change, I only missed eight shows, which amounted to two
weekends!
Some of the most memorable times on the road were when we could
be in town at the same time as LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations! So amazing to
share with everyone the joy of theatre and coming together, particularly
through these polarizing times! One time, in particular, was in
Fayetteville, Arkansas. I had never been and didn鈥檛 know what to expect. Well,
Hadestown rolled into town when there was a lot of tension within the
community, specifically centered around LGBTQ+ issues, and our show was
certainly a 鈥漛alm in Gilead鈥� if you will! I had the opportunity to
express some powerful words from our company each night鈥攕ome wonderful
and brave people in that town.
Do you have a dream stage roles?
Not to be flip, but my dreams came true so long ago that I鈥檓
constantly making new ones! So I suppose on 鈥渟tage" I鈥檇 like to take a
crack at the following characters that already exist, I鈥檒l give
you four: Lady Bracknell from The Importance of Being Earnest, Norma
Desmond from Sunset Boulevard, Sir Benjamin Backbite from The School
for Scandal, Roger De Bris in The Producers.
What made you decide to become an actor? Was there a particular production or performance that influenced your decision?
There
was never a time when I wasn鈥檛 performing. It was just something I
enjoyed in school and at church, and my parents and my grandparents
supported and encouraged me to do. My mother reminds me all the time
that I came to her in high school and said these words, 鈥淚鈥檇 like to be a working actor.鈥� I didn鈥檛 say 鈥渟tar鈥� or I want to be famous鈥� I said
working actor. And I am super proud to be a working class actor. We are
the backbone of this industry, the war horses! I love it!
What do you consider your big break?
I
must tell you I鈥檝e never had a 鈥渂ig break!鈥� But what I have had is
always working with the best people, in the best shows, and relishing
each and every moment. If one does that enough, you look up, and all of a
sudden, you have a career you can be proud of! I always say, 鈥淚 don鈥檛
have to star in anything, I just have to steal it!鈥�
How did you get your first job in the theatre? How did this current job come about?
My
first job here in NYC was the first national tour of Jesus Christ
Superstar with Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, Irene Cara, Dennis DeYoung, and
Laurent Giroux! Five callbacks, and the rest is history, baby! LOL! Then, the lovely producers and the wonderful director Ty Blue of Titanique invited me to be a part of their amazing production!
Is there a person or people you most respect in your field and why?
Eartha Kitt, the one and only, continues to be a sustaining entity in
my life and career. She gave such wonderful gems of advice and ways of
being for life and work. What an absolute gift to work with and to have
known someone you idolized and looked up to. Always a "part of it" but
simultaneously 鈥渟ingular.鈥� I do know what that feels like鈥ll the
time.
What advice would you give your younger self or anyone starting out?
Here鈥檚
some advice. Stay healthy in every way. It is truly the only way to
actualize your full performing potential. And, remember, show business
is not set up for you to fail. It鈥檚 set up for you to quit! No one
wants you to fail鈥攊f you鈥檙e winning baby, everybody鈥檚 winning! But one
less person to have to do deal with鈥ell, is one less person. So don鈥檛
quit. Unless 鈥測ou鈥� want to.
What do you wish you knew starting out that you know now?
One
of the main things I wish I knew when I was starting out would have
to be the fact that your 鈥渢alent鈥� was only a small part of you getting
hired for a job. In fact, sometimes it鈥檚 the least. There are so many
factors鈥攇ood, bad, or indifferent鈥攖hat you have no power over. So always
have an appointment after your meeting to immediately move on, karmically, to the next thing. Go shopping, have a tea date, get your brows done.
Who cares, just do something! If you prepared and did the damn thing in
the room, leave it all there!
What is your proudest achievement as an actor?
My
proudest achievements as a performing artist: consistency,
sustainability, and to be reliable. Discipline. And like my beloved
grandmother said to me on her deathbed鈥攕he squeezed my hand tight: 鈥淥utlast them!鈥� And that鈥檚 just what I plan on doing!
