I'm not Charlie Chaplin and will never, ever claim to be. But when I become the 'Tramp,' I can feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
My initial introduction to him was - this is a funny story... My Aunt Marian, my entire life growing up, told me that I looked like Charlie Chaplin. That didn't really resonate with me when I was younger - I hadn't seen a lot of his films.
I had seen 'Avenue Q' off-Broadway back in 2003 and fell in love with it. I just thought it was the smartest, funniest thing I'd seen in a long time.
I was a bit of a goofball. I was always silly. I think that lends itself to being an actor.
Maggie and I got married and then had to wait three years before we got to take our honeymoon because we were both working! Right before 'Chaplin' began, we got to go to Hawaii.
The nice thing about 'Honeymoon in Vegas' is we're not talking about some crazy smash hit where everyone is coming and comparing my performance to Nicholas Cage.
We are brunch hounds. We also like movie dates. There's a lot of diners, a lot of movies. We're 'simple pleasures' people. It doesn't have to be crazy. It could be a 'Law and Order' marathon on the couch, or it could be dinner or a show. We like to mix it up.
One of the reasons I got into musical theater was Anthony Warlow. I was obsessed with the 'Jekyll and Hyde' concept album because of him.
I would say that Pixar is doing for animation what Chaplin did for film, infusing it with heart and characters that you care about and stories that you lose yourself in. They are similar revolutionaries and changing a medium.
Puppet camp truly redefined my preconceptions of puppetry... I'll never forget learning that before a puppet can speak... he has to inhale. It's those details that make the characters truly come to life.
When I was a kid, I was hugely impacted by 'Jurassic Park.' I think I was just the right age when that movie came out, and I remember running around my town like a Velociraptor.
I was a huge Muppet fan growing up, but that was the extent of my puppet knowledge. I really loved the art form and the whole Henson universe.
If you think hard enough about it, Rowlf the dog playing the piano on 'The Muppet Show' - what kind of insanity was happening underneath the cameras to make that happen? His mouth is moving, and he's got two hands playing the piano. That's two people under there!
I never dreamed that the little ditties I wrote about annoying customers or bagel recipes would turn into a full-length musical comedy. But a very wise person told me to 'write what you know'. So I did.
There are level-headed actors and outlandish actors and financially responsible actors and financially irresponsible actors.
I think I've got to go back to 'Someone to Watch Over Me.' I think it's a perfectly written song. I really do. I think it's one of the great songs in the American Songbook, and it speaks to love in its simplest and purest form.
My wife makes fun of me by calling me a grandpa because I have very little patience for inconsiderate children. So if we're walking in the mall, and some kid goes by really fast on a skateboard, I become the grumpiest eighty-five-year-old man in the world and start screaming at them.
I get teased a lot for my optimism.
I was a huge fan of 'Avenue Q' long before I ever dreamed of being a part of it. I saw it off-Broadway at the Vineyard and waited at the stage door for autographs!
