Andrew Scott - once a familiar face at the Abbey - is now sharing a New York stage with Julianne Moore and Bill Nighy. He talks to Larry Ryan
Andrew Scott is undaunted. As we sit down for coffee near his temporary home on Manhattan's Upper West Side, the Irish actor seems unconcerned by the prospect of some last-minute rehearsals and two performances on Broadway later in the day. His biggest concern at the moment is far more mundane: the charred and deeply inedible croissants that lie before us.
The 30-year-old is making his Broadway debut in The Vertical Hour, a new play by David Hare that is being staged by Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning director of American Beauty. Scott is in good company as a Broadway newcomer: also taking their first steps on its boards are his co-stars Julianne Moore and Bill Nighy.
"It's great to come over here and, for the first time to work over here, to be with this calibre of people, all at the top of their game. It's really exciting to be in the room with them," he says, his face lighting up. "And kind of intimidating, too, you know?"
Scott plays the boyfriend of Moore's character, a war correspondent turned academic. He takes her to meet his father, played by Nighy, for the first time, in the English countryside, where Moore and Nighy have a clash of opinions about Iraq.
Scott's part - he plays something of a holding role between the two of them - has been a challenge. "The guy I'm playing is a kind, nice listener, but those parts are always more difficult. If you're playing someone more extreme it's easier. Also, the character isn't overly garrulous, so it's been hard to do that and still make your presence felt and make sure the character is there on the stage."
The combination of high-profile actors, director and writer has created quite a buzz for the show, which is currently Broadway's only new offering. "It's sort of unusual," says Scott. "To open a new play on Broadway is a big risk, especially as it is a commercial venture." The risk has been added to by its British writer's reputation for polemics, not to mention the fraught feelings about the war in Iraq that frame the play. "We were a little concerned before. It's not by any stretch an anti-American play, but it questions things. Before we [ started previews] we weren't sure which way it would go down. But Americans are more than willing to laugh at themselves. They really are. They're certainly very robust, and they love it. They stood up last night."
The risks seem to be paying off. The Vertical Hour, which opened on Tuesday after three weeks of previews, reportedly took €3 million in advance ticket sales. Perhaps being the only new play on Broadway has appealed to theatre-goers looking for an alternative to song-and-dance routines. "You can tell audiences are just starved for it, because it's a very intelligent play, and very articulate. You can tell they're hungry for the quality, particularly as they have just had the elections here; the feelings are intense. The play really does explore the war: what's right, what's wrong." Scott, who dropped out of a drama degree at Trinity College in Dublin after landing several parts at the Abbey, has been careful about his choice of work. "I've no interest in doing some schlocky TV programme just to get the cash."
Besides taking the lead in the low-budget Irish thriller Dead Bodies, in 2003, Scott had a small part in Band of Brothers, the second World War mini-series produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, plus a foray into sitcom with the BBC's unorthodox My Life in Film, in 2004. Despite some good reviews, the series, whose characters' mundane lives echoed the plots of Top Gun, Shallow Grave and other well-known movies, lasted only one season. "They buried it," he says, referring to the BBC. "I was disappointed with that, because I thought it was really funny."
In the past two years he has concentrated on theatre in London, with good results. In 2005 he won an Olivier Award for his role in A Girl in a Car with a Man, at the Royal Court, and was warmly reviewed for his performance in last year's acclaimed revival of Brian Friel's Aristocrats, at the National Theatre. He remembers the production fondly. "It was a great time: a fantastic part, great play, great cast, great theatre. It was one of those great jobs."
It was Aristocrats that brought him to the attention of Sam Mendes, for whom Scott is full of praise. "He's very straightforward, very practical. I genuinely think he's a brilliant director. He's very calm and very confident."
Would Scott like to work more in the US? He breaks into a smile. "Absolutely. Why not, you know?" Just so long as the croissants improve.
• The Vertical Houris at Music Box Theater, New York, until April 1st