EP 466: Nathan Lane Finally Gets a Stunt Double

Nathan Lane talks about why his fans always think he’s Jewish, how his older brother inspired him to get into acting, and some of roles he’s played on Broadway in shows like from Guys and Dolls to The Producers. He laments the that the Coronavirus could have a lasting impact on the theatre, but says that he is hoping to soon realize his lifelong dream of starring in Death of a Salesman on Broadway. He discusses starring in the return of Showtime’s Penny Dreadful, how the new season transports the show from Victorian London to California on the cusp of World War II, and what it was like to finally star in something where he gets an actual stunt double. He reveals his love for the noir detective fiction of Raymond Chandler, how Penny Dreadful: City of Angels exposes the social tensions simmering under the surface of 1930s LA, and how his character was partly inspired by a real attorney turned Nazi hunter. Plus Nathan remembers the late playwright Terrence McNally, George C. Scott as Noel Coward, and the grueling experience of starring with 80s TV magician Doug Henning in the notorious Broadway musical flop Merlin.

See Nathan Lane in Penny Dreadful: City of Angels premiering this Sunday, April 26 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime. Visit www.showtime.com for more information. Today's episode is sponsored by Demand Justice. Visit www.demandjustice.org/kick to join the fight to protect voting rights.