Tonys Actor Roundtable

Clockwise, from left: Neil Patrick Harris, Andy Karl, Jefferson Mays, James Monroe Iglehart, Tony Shalhoub and Chris O'Dowd pose for THR's first-ever Tonys Actor Roundtable.

Watch the roundtable here.

Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris, who stars as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, on venturing back to Broadway after How I Met Your Mother wrapped: "That's such a ferocious part, and having just spent the better part of a decade playing an alpha male, sitcom, scenery chewer, it felt like, 'Wow, it would be impressive on many levels to be able to be in, essentially, a one-person show.'"

Neil Patrick Harris

"I was also terrified by the notion of being so flamboyant and feminine and carrying myself in a way that I've just never ever done -- I have no previous history with heels or wigs," says Neil Patrick Harris of taking on the role of Hedwig. "If you challenge yourself through things that you're afraid of, on this scale especially, it demands attention. Personal attention, I mean -- not from fans or from people watching -- but you have to be on point. You can't phone it in."

Chris O'Dowd

Chris O'Dowd, who stars in Of Mice and Men, on making his Broadway debut as Lennie: "I'd been asked if I would be interested in it ... and then it went away because their first choice became available, and I was really disappointed! ... Then, a few months later, he couldn't get out of his contract for some TV job!"

Chris O'Dowd

"When I was around nine or ten -- I was quite shy -- but the school was doing Sleeping Beauty ... and the girl who was playing Sleeping Beauty, I was quite attracted to," says Chris O'Dowd of his first memory of performing, during which he was set to kiss his co-star. "Just as I was about to kiss her, she put her hand on her mouth, so I had to kiss her hand! I don't believe she's in the industry anymore."

Andy Karl

Andy Karl, who stars as Rocky in Rocky, on the production's immense physicality: "I got hit so hard two nights ago, I literally blacked out for a count! Because these punches, we're making full contact, and it's something Steve Hoggett, the choreographer, came up with, because we are being viewed from 360 degrees. We have audience behind us in front of us -- there's no tricks."

Andy Karl

"I thought, 'What are they thinking? That's gonna be the stupidest idea ever,'" says Andy Karl of Rocky. "You think about this Rocky franchise, but it all actually started with this first independent film, it's shot beautifully, it's a simple story about a guy who's got nothing inclined and is given the opportunity of a lifetime, but he's got all this heart and dignity behind it, and so it actually made a great story for a musical."

Tony Shalhoub

Tony Shalhoub -- who played middle-aged Moss Art, Moss Hart's father and George S. Kaufman in Act One -- on joining the production: "When I approach any material lately, I look for those things that seem undoable or wrong or impossible, challenging, and this just seemed, 'There is no way I could pull this off,' ... I wanted to try and see if I could do something that's a little bit outside my wheelhouse, and also the idea of being able to do three characters just felt like a good chance to fail."

Tony Shalhoub

"I have cut out coffee, caffeine, wine and all the fun stuff, and dairy for the most part, just because you need to have your energy sustained for a long period of time," says Tony Shalhoub of performing eight shows a week. Weirdest thing in his dressing room? "I've got balls of thread -- I have to pick up lint in the show, so I save random wads of thread so I have them on my shelf. That sounds completely insane!"

James Monroe Iglehart

James Monroe Iglehart, who delivers laughs as the Genie in Aladdin, on first seeing the show as a high school graduation present: "I watched 'Friend Like Me,' and I leaned over to my mom and thought, 'I want to do something just like that!' ... I knew I wanted to be a Disney character, I just didn't know how the heck it was gonna happen ... the Genie is my favorite character of all time."

James Monroe Iglehart

"I open the show, I love it -- please clap for me!" says James Monroe Iglehart of the controversial topic of entrance applause. He also says that during intermission, "I get reglittered," and the guest who has meant the most to him so far is, "My mom -- she stood up and then cried falling down."

Jefferson Mays

Jefferson Mays, who plays nine members of the D'Ysquith family in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, on TKTK: "It's a musical, and this is my first foray into Broadway musicals -- they're Olympic athletes! Unbelieveable, the benchmark is so high! The excellence! As so-called straight-play actors, we can sort of muddle through, come in hungover sometimes and do our best work! ... I was absolutely terrified."

Jefferson Mays

"I think it's more athletic than artistic sometimes, everything happens very quickly," says Jefferson Mays of his constant character changes. "I must say, a lot of it is done to me by my extraordinary dressers. Sometimes, there are up to four people working on me at one time, I go running offstage into the dark, these four muscular and determined people set upon me, tear my clothes off, thrust me into a new outfit, tear off a mustache, slap on a wig, squirt water into my mouth and push me back out onstage like an expert pit crew in the Indianapolis 500."