Video: Billy Crudup Recalls Panic Attack Onstage During HARRY CLARKE
The Tony-winner is currently performing in a new version of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts.
By: Josh Sharpe Mar. 04, 2025
Though Billy Crudup is an acclaimed performer with numerous accolades, he is sometimes still susceptible to an actor's nightmare: forgetting one's lines.
On a recent visit to Live with Kelly and Mark, the Tony-winner recalled a time during one of the first performances of his one-man show Harry Clarke when he had "a full blown panic attack" after recognizing somebody in the audience.
"[I had] tunnel vision, my heart went through my chest, [and] I called for line," he explained. "That show came in at 55 minutes because I forgot half an hour. It was a really terrifying, terrible experience," he said with a laugh. Crudup starred in the play off-Broadway in 2017 before reprising his performance on the West End in 2024.
The actor is back onstage in a new production of Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts, currently in previews at Lincoln Center Theater. "The reason people do classics is because they're always relevant," he explained. "Something vivid that was happening in Norway at the time for Ibsen was the power dynamics were changing. The ultra-wealthy were employing religious fundamentalists to control the culture. And in this one, one woman fights back."
The new version of Ibsen’s GHOSTS, written by Mark O’Rowe with direction by Jack O’Brien, is currently in previews. The production will open on Monday, March 10 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse. The show features Ella Beatty as Regina, Billy Crudup as Pastor Manders, Levon Hawke as Oswald, Hamish Linklater as Engstrand, and Lily Rabe as Helena Alvin.
The production sets by John Lee Beatty, costumes by Jess Goldstein, lighting by Japhy Weideman, sound by Mark Bennett and Scott Lehrer, and original music by Mark Bennett. Chris De Camillis will be the Stage Manager.
After several years abroad, Helena Alving’s son has returned home. He carries with him a terrifying secret. Ibsen’s Ghosts is a devastating moral thriller in which ideas of love, duty and family are mercilessly put to the test. This spectacular new version, written by one of Ireland’s leading playwrights, Mark O’Rowe, and directed by Jack O’Brien, grabs you by the throat from the outset and refuses to let go – all the way to its electrifying climax.
