Andrew Durand chats with THR at the 2025 Tony Awards red carpet and thanks two people who lead a local community theater for championing his love for the arts. Plus, he explains how he handles performing eight shows a week in 'Dead Outlaw.'
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00:00Congratulations on your nomination. What does it mean to be here tonight?
00:03Oh, I'm so excited. It's the biggest night for theater, and I've loved theater since I was 10 years old, so it's such an honor to be here.
00:11Who is one person that you would really want to thank for championing your love for the arts and getting you here tonight?
00:18It's two people. They were Wally and Jeannie Hines, and they ran the local community theater in my small town where I'm from.
00:24And I grew up there and learned to love theater there, and I learned how to act, do costumes, paint the sets, sell the popcorn, sell the tickets.
00:34I was just there all the time, and I loved it. It was my family.
00:37Well, of course, eight shows a week is no easy task.
00:41So do you have a pre-show or post-show ritual to kind of reset you so that you can bring a hundred to each performance or maybe something to amp you up as well?
00:51Yeah, I mean, I warm up for every performance because I don't want to feel, like, pedestrian on stage.
00:56I feel like it needs to be a little heightened, so I just warm up my body and my voice,
01:00and then I just take a quiet moment to myself and try to be grateful for what I get to do
01:05and try to just stay in the moment of the story and not get ahead of myself.
01:10And then, you know, I go home and stay up late and eat snacks and watch TV because I got to.
01:16That's the way of resetting.
01:17Yeah, exactly.
01:19A lot of people have been calling this season of Broadway especially thrilling.
01:22Why do you think that is?
01:24I mean, apparently it was, like, a record number of shows opening, so it feels like Broadway is back in a big way.
01:31It's really cool that there are a lot of, you know, film TV actors on Broadway.
01:35I think it's bringing a lot of attention back to New York City and this art form that exists only here.
01:42A lot of people, you know, have been, I'm sure you've been running into a lot of fellow nominees as well the last few weeks and months.
01:51Is there one person you have yet to rub shoulders with or congratulate that you would love to say congrats to tonight?
01:58I really, I got to meet Audra McDonald.
02:00I mean, I think that would be everyone's answer, but yeah, yeah, that's the one.
02:05And one show outside of your own that you were really impressed with?
02:08Oh, I mean, I love Little Shop of Horrors.
02:13It's not a Broadway show, but I just love that show.
02:16It's my favorite musical, so I'll say that one, yeah.
02:18Yeah.