Broadway Beat Tony 2010 Q&A: Jude Law

The Tony Awards Nominations were announced Tuesday, May 4th and the Tony Awards will be broadcast in a live three-hour ceremony from Radio City Music Hall on the CBS television network on Sunday, June 13, 2010.

The day after the nominations, on Wednesday, May 5th, Broadway Beat talked to nearly all of the nominated stars in advance of a special two-part Broadway Beat Tony Awards extravanganza. Every day, we'll be presenting unedited, raw "Short Takes" sneak peeks of some of these amazing interviews. Next up - Jude Law, nominated for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance in HAMLET. Read the transcript of his interview below!

Click here for the full list of nominations!

Click here for the complete list of Tony Reactions from all the nominees that BroadwayWorld.com checked in with after the nominations were announced!

Want to watch the nomination announcement and relive the fun? Click here.

Click here for complete photo coverage of 'The Women' and Click here for complete coverage of 'The Men.'

----

JL: Ah, it's a real thrill, I can't tell you. I think a nomination for anything, to be recognized is always a thrill. The Tonys and this particular journey were so important to me, and it was a long and hard one. We were out there as a company for six months...just over six months, and closed, of course, as planned in December. So, in a way it felt, I guess, in my head and my heart like it was a done deal. We'd done it. And to now be celebrated, and to be called back into the community... and it's such a strong community here on Broadway. Really, I don't know, it kind of makes it feel like a complete journey. It's a very celebratory full stop at the end of a very long sentence.

Bway Beat: This, to me, was one of the definitive HAMLETs, and I've seen a lot of people do this...

JL: Oh wow.

Bway Beat: It was so succinct that you understood the entire story.

JL: Oh good! That was our aim, absolutely. And Michael has an incredible ability at shedding hundreds of years of pressure by approaching a piece of work with the need just to tell the story. We were really set that we didn't want to be influenced by interpretations that have been brilliantly affecting of this piece over four hundred years. We just wanted to tell it clearly and cleanly. And I think one of the most rewarding aspects was having people come back, whether they were first time or seasoned HAMLET audiences, and saying, I got that this time, or got that, or I saw this, or I heard that, and that was absolutely the aim...to keep it clean, succinct and true.

Bway Beat: Being back on Broadway, there were people who saw this, a beautiful younger audience who had never experienced theatre before, and you helped change them, because they're going to look back and say, "the first show I saw was Jude Law in HAMLET." What did that meant to you, every night meeting the fans and just being on Broadway...

JL: The first time I was here I was like 21 or something and I had a great time, but, you know, it was kind of overwhelming and I don't remember an awful lot of it. I thought I would, but then it wasn't until coming back that a lot of those memories, those deep-rooted memories came back. And I forgot initially also how strong the community is and how much apart of the city you feel, and I love this city so much, and that was really exciting. For the audiences, it was something you don't necessarily plan on, but to have the young people coming and seeing and sharing and experiencing Shakespeare for the first time, and getting him and enjoying him is, I would say, probably the highlight of my work so far as an actor.

---

BroadwayWorld.com is THE place to watch for the best and most comprehensive coverage of the 2010 Tony Awards. Check back daily for new photos, videos and more from all the nominated shows and performers on our mega 2010 site!

Broadway Beat, the popular weekly television program for and about the Theatre World, right here on the web site. Broadway Beat is the premier, award-winning half hour television program covering theatre, music and performers. Each week, the show's popular and knowledgeable host, Richard Ridge, takes you behind-the-scenes for a look at the very best of New York Theatre - on Broadway, and beyond. The show always features beautiful footage shot by video veteran Bradshaw Smith.

Broadway Beat takes you from the rehearsal studios to opening nights, including in-depth interviews with Tony Award winning stars and directors. Broadway Beat is your front row seat to all the music, all the magic, and all of the magnificent drama that is Broadway.