Jonathan Groff didn't want to spend 7 years as a 'teen singer' on 'Glee'

In conversation with VFIt is Richard Lawson, Groff speaks Joyfully as well as his childhood in rural Pennsylvania and his Tony-nominated performance as Melchior Gabor in The awakening of spring. Rather than joining Lea Michele, her Spring awakening costar and bestie, on Ryan MurphyIt is Joy, Groff chose to stay in the theater world. “I really felt like I didn't want to commit again to being a teenage singer until I was seven years old, which I had just done for two years in The awakening of spring,” he said to Lawson.

Of course, Groff would eventually fight his way to Joy in a recurring role as heartthrob Jesse St. James, and continue to make a splash as Patrick, the love interest protagonist of Look, Andrew HaighThe groundbreaking queer series by. He has taken on a wide range of film and television roles in the years since, ranging from leading roles David Fincherthe period police drama, Spirit hunter, to voice Kristoff in Disney Frozen, play in M.Night Shyamalanthe horror movie Knock at the cabin. Yet Groff has always managed to return to his theatrical roots. In 2016, he earned a second Tony nomination for creating the role of King George III in the Broadway production of a small show called Hamilton; now he's nominated for his third Tony for Joyfully. Below, Groff talks about his “childhood obsession” with Sondheim, moving to New York to become an actor, and choosing art over money.

Vanity Fair: I saw you on one of the late night shows and you said that when the nominations were announced you were very emotional. Is there anything about Merry we ride or that role that seems important in a particular way?

Jonathan Groff: Oh my God. I think it's a long list of things. I don't know if it's a specific thing. It's probably a combination of listening to the original cast of Business while I shoveled horse manure into my father's stalls as a teenager; he's a horse trainer. Growing up in Pennsylvania and being obsessed with Sondheim musicals and reading a Sondheim biography during that high school science fair, I have this childhood obsession with his work.

On top of all that, it's been almost two years now that the same group of actors have been working together on Joyfully. We all completely fell in love with each other. So there is a deep connection with the company.

And then this series was a failure more than 40 years ago. Honestly, I never get tired of talking about it, because it seems like a miracle that this show has returned after decades away from its original Broadway premiere. Here it is now, and there are seven Tony nominations. At this point, financially, the show has become a success, which is historically difficult for Sondheim shows in general — even for his shows that have been, like, his artistic and critical successes. This monetary success is why he talks about it so deeply in his career in Joyfully. It was always very important to him and it meant something to him. In a way, that was what he often missed. To be inside this production of Joyfully because a hit is so surreal, so cool and so moving.

The phrase I always heard was that Sondheim wanted Andrew Lloyd Webber's box office, and Andrew Lloyd Webber wanted Sondheim's reviews. The meeting of the two is very rare.

[Laughs] Wow, that's so funny.

There's a great documentary about the original production – the people who were involved in it reflect on this beautiful dream that didn't quite work out. All these years later, there have been other productions here and there, but nothing on the scale of your show. What was the heavy responsibility of getting it right and honoring, or changing, the legacy of this beloved but also fraught production history?