Broadway actors need to shine in all sorts of ways. Some are obvious (mastering an accent). Some are surprises (mastering a horse). We asked this year’s Tony-nominated performers to describe a skill they had to pick up for a role onstage or onscreen. Here’s what they had to say.

Sam Tutty
I had to learn how to do a tie for ‘Dear Evan Hansen.’ I was 21, and had never done a tie. Evan ties a tie in front of the entire audience. We were in the middle of rehearsals, and I had to say, ‘I don’t know how to do that.’ I had to Google it, and then our director helped me as well. When you learn that way, you learn for life. It’s embedded in my very soul

Alden Ehrenreich
It’s the level of concentration when you’ve done it a thousand times and you’re exhausted spiritually and emotionally. It’s being able to live through each moment as new. That’s the muscle that is the most profound.

38 Tony Nominees Reveal the Strangest Skills They’ve Picked Up – The New York Times

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