Jonathan Groff Talks GLEE, SPRING AWAKENING, & More

Though Jonathan Groff is likely best known to theatre audiences for his Tony-nominated performance in SPRING AWAKENING, he became known to television audiences last year as Jesse St. James in the smash hit GLEE. Next week - on the 146th anniversary of the death of Abraham Lincoln - he'll appear in movie theaters across the country when 'The Conspirator', centered around Lincoln's assassination, opens nationwide.

Recently the actor discussed his experiences with MassLive.com following the news that he'll return to GLEE in its latter half of the season. He'll play Jesse St. James, the rival bad boy to his former SPRING AWAKENING co-star Lea Michele's Rachel Berry. "I love his confidence and how unabashedly full of himself he is," Groff said of the character. "Is he good or is he bad? Jesse certainly had a secret. He's likable and unlikable at the same time. It's a fun balance."

He continued by talking about his upcoming return: "I wish I knew more. I found out last week. Ryan Murphy contacted me. I start in a week or two. I'll be singing with Lea probably but I don't know if he's raising havoc or coming to apologize."

On the topic of his former stage co-stars, he says that "I've known Lea for five years. The key to any long-term relationship is re-negotiating. With really good friends you know you're really good friends even if you don't talk a lot...we're all best friends." So would they reunite for a film version of the 2006 musical? 

"I would love to but I'm afraid I'm too old. It would be an amazing movie though," Groff said, adding that his favorite song is "Left Behind."

Read the full interview at MassLive.com. The Conspirator hits theaters April 15th. In the wake of Abraham Lincoln's assassination seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice President, and Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), 42, owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth (Toby Kebbell), 26, and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt, her own son, John (Johnny Simmons). As the nation turns against her, Surratt is forced to rely on Aiken to uncover the truth and save her life.