I had to prepare a speech in case I won a Tony on Sunday (casual). The prospect of saying what I felt I needed to say, if given that platform, was harrowing for me — and that fear ultimately made me even more certain that what I had to say needed to be heard. (The fact that there were no other words of the like on the broadcast further confirmed this sentiment.) As I celebrate my castmate’s win (my deepest congratulations to Will), I feel no less compelled to share what I had to say. So here’s my speech. I hope in some small way this can inspire others to do the scary thing.
Kelly Reichardt’s moody 70s existential art heist tragicomedy THE MASTERMIND hits US cinemas in two weeks on October 17. This library in Columbus Indiana doubled as the museum in some scenes #rats #joshoconnor
It was a great honor to be nominated for the @dramaleague distinguished performance award alongside my incredible castmate @sarah__pidgeon and in the company of so many actors that have truly inspired me (some of them friends too!) including @williamjacksonharper@rosehardt@karaakter Michael Stuhlbarg and @_____gaylerankin______ . Most of all, it was a privilege to be present as @davidadjmi and Daniel Aukin accepted their awards for outstanding production of a play and outstanding direction.
David talked about how deeply the characters in his play are struggling within the creative process; with humble strength, he said “I have struggled, too.” He went on to dedicate the award (in part) to the Greek god Dionysus, and then let us know that he wrote that part on the subway.
Daniel began his acceptance speech by casually turning to Alfred Molina and saying something to the effect of “Fred. The last time I was standing this close to you I was 13 years old and it was outside the Leicester Haymarket Theatre after a production of The Cherry Orchard. You played Trofimov. The Leicester Haymarket doesn’t exist anymore, but your Trofimov does.” 😭
Earlier in the ceremony, each of the performance nominees was asked to say a few words as well. These were mine:
Thank you to the Drama League for all that you do, and for this honor. I am so proud to be up here with Sarah representing the ensemble of Stereophonic, a production that proves that a three-hour play with a cast of seven relatively unknown actors is not to be fucking underestimated. As a college dropout who started this career as a kid 27 years ago, with a single off-Broadway credit previous to this show, I am thrilled to be able to stand in the face of Commercial Viability and say Thank you for this recognition and by the way there’s a ton more where that came from waiting in the wings.
I thanked David for the gift of his endlessly beautiful play. I thanked Daniel for fighting for me.
I am so grateful to be playing this role.
