2005 Tony Awards Q&A: Hank Azaria

Hank Azaria, nominated for Best Leading Actor in a Musical, is making his Broadway debut in Spamalot. Prior to that, his stagework included performing in Sexual Perversity in Chicago in the West End. He currently stars in the Showtime drama "Huff," on which he also serves as producer. Azaria's film credits include: Eulogy; Along Came Polly; Shattered Glass; America's Sweethearts; Cradle Will Rock; Mystery Men; Mystery, Alaska; Godzilla; Great Expectations; Celebrity; The Birdcage; Heat; Grosse Pointe Blank; Now and Then; Quiz Show; and Pretty Woman. His television credits include "Uprising," "Tuesdays With Morrie" (Emmy Award) and "Fail Safe." He played guest-starring roles on "Friends" (Emmy nomination) and "Mad About You" (Emmy nomination), and he lends his voice to numerous characters on "The Simpsons" (three Emmy Awards).

Your experience in Spamalot represents your first on the Broadway stage, what has that been like?

Well, it seems like everyone knows my voice from the Simpsons, so I'm happy now that more people are seeing my face too.

This experience has really been the most fun that I've ever had in my entire life. I never knew that it could be like this. I've always wanted to do Broadway, but never dreamed or imagined that it would be in a musical. Honestly, this job has just been great fun.

How has the nomination helped to cap off that experience?

I was in a blissful state of detachment about the nominations, because it's been a great ride, and I was feeling that things were so great that I didn't really even need to be nominated. Of course then when it happened, I was screaming 'YES! I KNEW IT ALL ALONG!'

Sharing that experience with you is the rest of the show, up for a total of 14 nominations, what's the mood like?

I'm very happy for all those guys, and for the show as a whole. We all worked hard, but Eric, and Mike, and Casey, and John Du Prez, and Nate and Larry worked very hard and were really out on a limb with this thing for a long time, so I'm thrilled for them.

You're due to depart the show for a few months after the Tony's, but then to come back later in the year?

That's right, I'm leaving the show in mid-June to go shoot [Huff] in LA for a while, and then I come back in for Thanksgiving. I'm already looking forward to that.

Were you a Monty Python fan growing up?

I was a huge Monty Python fan, so this job was a double, a triple, a quadruple whammy for me! I loved the films growing up, and it is the sort of thing, where who would ever imagine that someday you're going to be on Broadway in a Monty Python musical? You'd be carted away as insane!

It's such a weird thing to be doing, and I can't think of anything more outrageous. I don't what's next, a Broadway remake of the Godfather or something? I don't think that would work as a musical though. Maybe Adam Guettel could pull it off, but I don't know who else.

Do you see more appearances on stage in your future?

I'd love to do more Broadway shows, I'm dying to do it actually. I don't think any more musicals are in my future, but I'd love to do more shows. Aside from loving the experience of being on stage, I grew up in the area, and I love it out here.

More so with Spamalot than with other shows, audience reactions have been a big part of the experience – what's the scene from up on stage?

Audiences have been so wild, that it's like being in a rock concert every night but more fun! Literally, aside from the fun that we all have doing it, everyone gets such a huge kick out of the audience reacting to it. Every step of this is like 'ok, this is enough, we're having so much fun, and couldn't be having any more fun, this is so great,' and then things get better! After the audiences came in, then the critics loved it, and now we've got all these nominations. I think that you've got to really savor the ones like this, because you definitely wind up paying for it later with other things that aren't as successful.

How long will you be with the show when you return in November?

I'll be doing the show hopefully for years because, I want to come in and out of the show for as long as it lasts…and why not – because it's the most fun I've ever had. I'm gonna do it, you'll see, you'll all see – you'll all be sorry!