Robert Sean Leonard TONY winner really?

[Spil.Berg]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 6:03am

I did not know Robert Sean Leonard was a Tony winner

[tazber]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 6:05am

And now you do.

[Spil.Berg]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 6:09am

wow how was he in the music man

[tazber]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 6:13am

He was cast in it.

I'm not sure why you're so surprised. If you are looking at his credits (which I assume you are based on your questions) then you know he was trained in theater and has been in many Broadway shows. He founded a theater company, and devotes a lot of his career to theater.

Updated On: 12/3/14 at 06:13 AM

[Spil.Berg]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 6:15am

was he good as an actor

[tazber]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 6:20am

I think he is (please, Spil.Berg not was. He's still alive and working).

He was outstanding in Arcadia.

He's also been nominated for a Tony two other times besides his win for Invention of Love.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 7:31am

The least successful of the 2.0 Harold Hills, in my opinion, though he worked hard, clearly. He didn't have the necessary size and bravura showmanship. He was like the talented boy in high school who got the role because ... he was the talented boy in the high school. I can't fault the quality of his work, merely his appropriateness for the unique charismatic demands of Hill. His "Trouble" I recall, lacking a galvanizing snake-oil selling confidence. Not everyone can play everything, even if the results are earnest and impressive. I can't imagine today paying $146 to see him stretch in that role.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 9:02am

He's a naturalist and a great ensemble actor. Casting him in a magnetic, showboating role like Harold Hill did him no favors. (Nor is he a great singer, even in a role like Hill where you don't have to be Alfred Drake to pull it off.) He worked hard, for sure, but sometimes if the fit's not right, it can't be overcome.

He was terrific in LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT and THE INVENTION OF LOVE, and really made a lot out of the straight man role in BORN YESTERDAY. And, of course, he's endlessly entertaining as House's foil.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 10:02am

Stop acting like such a nasty troll.

Yes, he deservedly won a Tony award and, yes, he's a terrific actor.

[Feste]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 12:18pm

He has been outstanding in everything I've ever seen him in. Off-Off Broadway, Broadway, film, television, and even open mic in a piano bar. Super nice guy, too.

I especially remember his performance in Candida with Mary Steenburgen. Quite moving.

[Fantod]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 12:39pm

I've never had the pleasure of seeing him live, but he was very good in Dead Poet's Society and amusing in House. His acting style is very theatrical and I'm not surprised that he is good on stage.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 12:50pm

He also was a good Claudio in Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing; surrounded by great performances (Keaton's Dogberry) and some sub-par performances (Keanu's Don John), he stood his ground

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 2:48pm

He was the best Romeo I have ever seen. Hope he comes back to the NY stage soon.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 3:45pm

Where do we think OP fits on the spectrum?

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 5:24pm

^ Full blown Sybil.

I've never had the pleasure of seeing him live, but he was very good in Dead Poet's Society and amusing in House. His acting style is very theatrical and I'm not surprised that he is good on stage.

Thank you for sharing those highly sagacious thoughts - I am sure they are of great interest to us all.

[Fantod]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 5:26pm

Ok... It's not like I wrote anything offensive. I just learned that he was a theatre actor through this post and decided to reply.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 5:29pm

I thought THE INVENTION OF LOVE was a deadly dull play -- and I'm a Stoppard fan. But Richard Easton and Robert Sean Leonard were the production's saving graces. There was stiff competition in both acting categories that year, so kudos to both of them.

[Noel&Cole]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 5:54pm

Robert Sean Leonard is a wonderful stage actor! He just got consumed by HOUSE for 10 years. But if you've ever read any interviews with him, he says theatre is his love, he hated TV but it provided for his family. I saw him BORN YESTERDAY and MUSIC MAN. He was great in both, although better in BORN YESTERDAY because he isn't a natural singer or dancer

[Rinaldo]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 8:39pm

Robert Sean Leonard has given effective performances on TV and movies (and I'm glad for him that the House exposure has made him "bankable" in future stage productions, as well as helping his financial security). But those don't really give any hint of what a GREAT stage actor he is. Really one of the best we have. He was delightful, magnetic, and just right in a somewhat secondary role in ARCADIA, and heartbreaking in THE INVENTION OF LOVE (absolutely deserved the Tony). I hope I can see him in a play again soon.

[scripps]

Posted: 12/3/14 at 11:21pm

Big Robert Sean Leonard fan. First saw him on stage in The Iceman Cometh, and haven't missed a NY appearance since. Such an intelligent performer; who else would you want interpretating O'Neill and Stoppard?

Looks like he is cast as Atticus Finch in a production of To Kill a Mockingbird in London next year. Let's hope he comes back to the city and rides his bike to work again soon.

[haterobics]

Posted: 12/4/14 at 12:55am

I saw him on Broadway in Speed of Darkness in 1991. The memorable part is that it was just after Dead Poets, and I noticed someone very Ethan Hawke-looking on the sidewalk near the stage door. The reason I wasn't sure is that it was when he made the transition from the baby-faced kid into the bearded Alive version, which was the beginning of some sort of facial hair being part of his thing after that.

So, while Robert Sean Leonard was dealing with all the girls at the stage door, I had a nice chat with Ethan, and the girls five feet away were asking "Do you still see Ethan?!" and he looked over their shoulders barely any distance away from them, smiled at Ethan and said, "Yeah, I see him now and again..." and then Ethan introduced me to him when he came over afterward. No one else sorted out it was him.