Jonathan Groff Quotes

I did have AOL Instant Messenger when I was in middle school.

- Jonathan Groff

School, Middle, Messenger

In the first year in New York, I went to this amazing teacher named Jen Waldman. She does lots of different classes, but one of her classes was where you went and worked on a song. And suddenly I felt like an artist again, and because I had worked the whole song, when I went into the audition room, I could connect to something in the 16 bars.

- Jonathan Groff

Artist, Year, Named, Bars

I never look at myself online, and I don't read gossip Web sites.

- Jonathan Groff

Never, Web, Read, Sites

I can say that I've become a David Fincher disciple. I have been completely turned.

- Jonathan Groff

Say, Been, Turned, Disciple

When I was a senior in high school, I worked at a theater where they hired New York actors. And they told me about 'Backstage,' and so I got my school in Pennsylvania to subscribe. And there was an audition for a tour of 'The Sound of Music,' and I got the job. Deferred my admission to college just to go on tour.

- Jonathan Groff

College, Sound Of Music, Pennsylvania

After 'Spring Awakening,' I wanted to do things that are really challenging and outside my comfort zone: things that scare me a little and make me grow.

- Jonathan Groff

Grow, Scare, Challenging, Comfort Zone

I was Mary Poppins for Halloween when I was 3, with lipstick and a carpetbag. And I was Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz' in a production in my dad's barn.

- Jonathan Groff

Production, Mary Poppins, Wizard Of Oz

For Halloween, I've gone trick-or-treating as Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, and Robin Hood.

- Jonathan Groff

Hood, Mary, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins

I think about 'Will & Grace,' and I think about 'Modern Family,' and the way that being gay has become sort of middle America... in the way that they show gay people in their specific way.

- Jonathan Groff

Think, Middle, I Think, Modern Family

I did 'How to Succeed in Business... ,' 'Kiss Me Kate,' 'Godspell,' and 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown' in high school, all of which were fun.

- Jonathan Groff

Business, Kiss, Which, A Good Man

It's so awesome to be a part of something that is successful not because there's a famous person in it or because it's a revival of something, but because it's so fresh and original.

- Jonathan Groff

Famous, Original, Part, Revival

Even the first suitcase-off-the-train moment, it's easy to be discouraged, frustrated, annoyed, angry. Because you're waiting in freezing weather outside of an open call, and you're like, 'This moment of me right now is not the joy I felt when I was doing J. Pierrepont Finch in 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying' in high school.'

- Jonathan Groff

Waiting, Doing, Frustrated, Discouraged

When I was 20 years old, I got cast in 'Spring Awakening' and got swept up in this experience where it was kind of tunnel vision. We were working - it was nonstop.

- Jonathan Groff

Kind, Old, Swept, Tunnel Vision

I loved traditional musical comedy. That was my passion. Then 'Spring Awakening' happened, and it took that rock n' roll and pop music to change gears for me.

- Jonathan Groff

Comedy, Took, Musical, Musical Comedy

I moved to New York on October 21, 2004, and it was the day that the Chelsea Grill, a restaurant in Hell's Kitchen on 9th Avenue between 46th and 47th Street, opened. I had never waited a table in my life, but I walked in and lied to the manager in a very J. Pierrepont Finch way.

- Jonathan Groff

My Life, Chelsea, Very, Waited

The first job I got was a production of 'Fame - the Musical,' at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts, and it got me my Equity card, too. I waited 12 hours to be seen for it, though!

- Jonathan Groff

Hours, Musical, Though, Waited

I beat 'Super Mario Bros 1,' '2,' and '3.'

- Jonathan Groff

Beat, Bros, Super, Mario

When you're always onstage, you really have to focus on listening and reacting.

- Jonathan Groff

Focus, Listening, Always, Reacting

I can't think of a better bonding experience than to be able to sit on stage and to watch your fellow performers perform on stage every night.

- Jonathan Groff

Night, Think, Performers, Bonding

For me, there's nothing more valuable as an actor, or better way to learn, than getting to perform in front of a live audience, no matter where you are. Whether it's on Broadway, in Florida, or doing a tour.

- Jonathan Groff

Doing, Florida, Broadway, Live Audience

There's something special about 'Looking.'

- Jonathan Groff

Looking, Special, About, Something Special

We didn't have a glee club at my school. It depends on what area of the States you're from. It's more in the Midwest.

- Jonathan Groff

More, Depends, Area, Glee

I feel like certainly there are people expecting 'Looking' to be representative of everyone that's gay, the entire gay community. And it's a dangerous expectation to come in watching the show expecting that. Expecting that out of any show.

- Jonathan Groff

Feel, Dangerous, Show, Gay Community

It's daunting, taking on the task of representing the gay community, because there are so many different facets and different schools of thought and behavior.

- Jonathan Groff

Thought, Representing, Many, Gay Community

While I was in high school, I saw Sutton Foster in 'Thoroughly Modern Millie,' and she was the one that was most inspiring to me for sure. I saw 'Millie' 6 times in a span of two years or so.

- Jonathan Groff

Sure, Thoroughly, Saw, Span

There's not a lot of gay programming on TV.

- Jonathan Groff

Gay, TV, Lot, Programming

I was definitely planning to go to college, but I deferred my admission to Carnegie Mellon to be in a non-equity tour of 'The Sound of Music.' But I made very little money in the tour, and college is really expensive, and I thought I'd never be able to pay off those loans.

- Jonathan Groff

College, Sound Of Music, Carnegie

Ultimately, we're actors: I'm putting on a costume, so we're playing pretend.

- Jonathan Groff

Playing, Putting, Ultimately, Costume

It's one thing to experience your Broadway debut alone, but to share it with an entire company was like summer camp or a college experience, where you were really growing up together.

- Jonathan Groff

College, Broadway, Your, Camp

I taught a class about the Tony Awards at a summer theater camp the year after I graduated from high school. So, the first time I was nominated for 'Spring Awakening,' it felt like a surreal dream: it was every childhood dream I had come true. It felt like a fairy tale.

- Jonathan Groff

Year, About, Had, Camp

Coming out, for me, was slightly painful. It was a relief, but it was also painful.

- Jonathan Groff

Me, Slightly, Also, Relief

I feel like, with a television show, you're always biting your nails hoping you're going to get that next season.

- Jonathan Groff

Next, Always, Like, Season

I'd rather be a working actor and not hiding anything in my personal life.

- Jonathan Groff

Hiding, Actor, Rather, Working Actor

I think the first Broadway show that I saw was 'Beauty and the Beast,' and that was in 5th or 6th grade. Our school would take bus trips up to see shows, and so it was on one of their bus trips that I got to see 'Beauty and the Beast.'

- Jonathan Groff

Bus, Broadway, I Think, Trips

People create from different places. Some love to create from a tortured place, some from a joyful place. And when I feel like I'm a 5-year-old kid in my backyard playing pretend, that's when I'm happiest.

- Jonathan Groff

Love, Some, Different Places, Backyard

I loved 'Weekend,' and it meant a lot to me when I saw it in the movie theater. I think 'Looking' feels more like that movie than any of those other shows, with a little more comedy thrown in than 'Weekend.' But it's certainly got the vibe and look and feeling of that movie.

- Jonathan Groff

Other, Vibe, Feels, Movie Theater

I was journaling in Florence, and I was like, 'Oh, I have to come out of the closet. I have to break up with this guy' - he was my 'roommate.' So that was my awakening moment, when I stepped into my own skin while in a foreign country by myself and had a very stereotypical moment of revelation.

- Jonathan Groff

Country, Own, Very, Florence

I don't hate dating people, but I'm not on social media or anything.

- Jonathan Groff

Hate, Dating, Social, Social Media

I believe in 'Backstage.' It changed my life.

- Jonathan Groff

My Life, Believe, Backstage, Changed

Maybe someday I'll have a job where it haunts me or it's hard to move on.

- Jonathan Groff

Move On, Maybe, Move, Haunts

When I moved to New York, I wanted to be in the ensemble of 'Hairspray.' That was my goal.

- Jonathan Groff

Goal, New, Wanted, Hairspray

Playing King George, for me, was a lesson in stillness and timing.

- Jonathan Groff

King, Me, Timing, Stillness

I've never met Lena Dunham, but I'm such a huge fan - I think she's a crazy genius.

- Jonathan Groff

Think, I Think, Huge Fan, None

Musical auditions are always the worst because you have to sing and act, and that's so stressful.

- Jonathan Groff

Always, Act, Auditions, Stressful

'Looking' is more than just a television show. It's contributing to the cultural conversation, and for me, those are the most exciting projects to be a part of.

- Jonathan Groff

Television, More, Projects, Conversation

The idea of faking empathy to take a step forward to understanding - it's a really powerful idea.

- Jonathan Groff

Empathy, Powerful, Take, Faking

I would say 'Looking' and 'Spring Awakening' are the most important and personal projects I've ever been apart of.

- Jonathan Groff

The Most Important, Been, Apart

My first film that I got right after 'Spring Awakening' was called 'Taking Woodstock,' and Ang Lee was the director.

- Jonathan Groff

Director, Right, Film, Woodstock

Before 'Mindhunter,' I was doing this show called 'Looking' on HBO.

- Jonathan Groff

Doing, Show, Before, HBO

I remember telling my mom, 'Mom, I'm gay, but I'm not going to march in a parade or anything.' That's what I was telling my parents and all my friends and everything. I'm gay, but I'm not going to be on a float or something. Cut to five years later, and I was the grand marshal of the gay pride parade.

- Jonathan Groff

I Remember, Cut, Telling, All My Friends

As a kid growing up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, all I wanted to do was be on Broadway in a musical. 'Spring Awakening' kind of answered all of my questions and fulfilled all of my dreams - beyond my wildest dreams.

- Jonathan Groff

Broadway, Musical, Answered, Awakening

When I was doing 'Spring Awakening' the first couple of years I was living in New York, I was gay, and I was living with my 'roommate,' who was my boyfriend but was my roommate to everyone else.

- Jonathan Groff

Doing, New, Couple, Awakening

I got cast for 'Spring Awakening' when I was 20. Every dream I had came true in that moment.

- Jonathan Groff

Moment, Got, Had, Awakening

I left 'Spring Awakening,' and within a month of leaving the show, I came out to my parents and to my friends and broke up with my boyfriend and moved into an apartment of my own and completely changed my life.

- Jonathan Groff

My Life, Boyfriend, Moved, Awakening

I was playing this character, Melchior Gabor, who was a rebel and who was a person who didn't let the world define him, and who stood up to authority and was this kind of revolutionary... And when I left 'Spring Awakening,' I came out of that experience feeling like... I had cultivated this side of my personality that hadn't existed before.

- Jonathan Groff

Rebel, Before, Stood, Awakening

'Spring Awakening' was a discovery for all involved. None of us will ever have that specific sense of revelation in the same way - that is probably the thing I miss the most.

- Jonathan Groff

Will, Sense, Revelation, Awakening

I did 'Spring Awakening' on Broadway for about three years, and I did over 500 performances.

- Jonathan Groff

Spring, Over, Broadway, Awakening

When you get to really involve yourself with a piece and the other people, and you get to feel like it's a community and you're all building something together, it helps me to produce better work, I think.

- Jonathan Groff

Feel, Other, I Think, Helps

The difference between being in the closet and out of the closet as a gay man is such a huge shift. I feel so connected still to that 22-year-old, but the idea that I was not open with that part of my life - which I am now so open about - is sort of surreal.

- Jonathan Groff

My Life, Idea, Shift, Gay

Obviously, gay projects play a special role for me because I am gay, so I'm doubly proud of them.

- Jonathan Groff

Play, Role, Projects, Gay

I guess I think of myself as an actor before I think of myself as a gay actor.

- Jonathan Groff

Think, Actor, I Think, Gay

If I've had roadblocks along the way for being gay, I'm not aware of them.

- Jonathan Groff

Aware, Roadblocks, Along, Gay

I haven't had anyone say, 'No, we can't because he's gay.' In fact, it's been quite the opposite.

- Jonathan Groff

Fact, Been, Had, Gay

There's kind of a gift in being gay because, if you come out, you're forced to express yourself.

- Jonathan Groff

Gift, Kind, Forced, Gay

If someone pitches me a really great idea for an album, I would do it.

- Jonathan Groff

Someone, Idea, Would, Pitches

I love interacting with an audience. I love just being myself in front of a crowd.

- Jonathan Groff

Love, Audience, I Love, Front

I'd always done musicals, and so living in the world of straight plays and working with off-Broadway actors and living in that community was a completely life-changing experience.

- Jonathan Groff

Living, Always, Plays, Musicals

I'm very selective about television because you sign away so much of your life to it.

- Jonathan Groff

Television, Away, Very, Selective

In a play, you can adjust your performance to audience reaction, but in a film, it's like you're trapped in a bad dream watching yourself act, and you're in the audience.

- Jonathan Groff

Play, Audience, Reaction, Adjust

I wish that I could take credit for the success of 'Frozen' and 'Hamilton.' But I just feel lucky to be in 'em.

- Jonathan Groff

Lucky, I Wish, Could, Credit

Dating can be painful, can be great, can be confusing, can be weird, but I don't do it online because I'm not really an online person.

- Jonathan Groff

Weird, Person, Online, Confusing

I feel like loyalty is such a rare quality in this world, particularly the entertainment world.

- Jonathan Groff

Like, Particularly, Entertainment World

I grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, watching the Tony Awards on TV. Not just 'watching' the Tony Awards on TV - I would record them on a VHS tape and bring them in to school and show them to the other kids.

- Jonathan Groff

Other, TV, Other Kids, Tony

I bought the VHS of 'Into the Woods' at the Suncoast in the Park City Mall and watched it in the basement when I got home. And when it was over, I rewound it and immediately watched it again.

- Jonathan Groff

City, Over, Basement, Park

With every character, the first thing I want to feel is empathy.

- Jonathan Groff

Character, Empathy, Want, The First Thing

I am such a huge fan of both of those shows - I've seen every episode of 'Sex in the City' and every episode of 'Girls' at least once, some multiple times.

- Jonathan Groff

City, Sex, Some, Huge Fan

I smile a lot in my real life.

- Jonathan Groff

Life, Real, Lot, Real Life

I was obsessed with Nintendo.

- Jonathan Groff

Obsessed, Nintendo

It's so easy to get the joy sucked out of you.

- Jonathan Groff

Joy, Easy, Get, Sucked

Alfred Molina is one of the nicest people on the planet and a complete master.

- Jonathan Groff

Planet, Nicest, Complete

I was born and raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania - in Amish Country!

- Jonathan Groff

Born, Country, I Was Born, Pennsylvania

I went to a local high school in Lancaster. Not much I can say about it; it was pretty much your typical public high school back in Pennsylvania.

- Jonathan Groff

Back, Pretty, About, Pennsylvania

Don't let the world define you. In the world of acting, and I think in any profession, really, people are really eager to put you in a box and categorize you as one particular thing.

- Jonathan Groff

Think, I Think, Profession, Particular

Once I came out of the closet, it was sort of that thing of 'The truth will set you free.'

- Jonathan Groff

Will, Closet, Set, I Came

Whenever you get into a new environment, it's scary. You don't know the people; you're not really comfortable with the machine that the show is.

- Jonathan Groff

People, New, Show, Machine

I've never had trouble sleeping in my life.

- Jonathan Groff

My Life, Trouble, Never, Sleeping

I've been fortunate that my career has developed through on-the-job training.

- Jonathan Groff

Career, Through, Been, Fortunate

I ended up doing three very complicated off-Broadway plays that, in certain ways, were not successes in that they were received in a complicated way. But for me they were successes because they forced me to act without singing, which I'd never done before.

- Jonathan Groff

Doing, Before, Very, Complicated

I'm not on Twitter. I'm not on Facebook. I'm not on Instagram.

- Jonathan Groff

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

I'm a singer who moves well.

- Jonathan Groff

Singer, Well, Who, Moves

I love the you-never-know-what's-going-to-happen aspect of doing concerts.

- Jonathan Groff

Love, Doing, Concerts, Aspect

When a piece of art gets really specific is usually when anybody can relate to it.

- Jonathan Groff

Art, Relate, Piece, Specific

Personally, for me in my life, I think every journey should be an ongoing journey, for anyone.

- Jonathan Groff

My Life, Think, I Think, Personally

The word 'improv' always makes me feel a little anxious because I always feel like we'll have to pull props out of a bag and find 800 different ways to talk about a stick, the way you do in theater school.

- Jonathan Groff

Bag, Feel, About, Improv

Make sure that you always follow your heart and your gut, and let yourself be who you want to be, and who you know you are. And don't let anyone steal your joy.

- Jonathan Groff

Follow Your Heart, Always, Heart

Some people have the gift where they can just sing. I don't have the fail-safe voice, so it has to be something that I need to sing about.

- Jonathan Groff

Gift, Voice, Some, Sing

Trying to sound good at 10 A.M. is the worst.

- Jonathan Groff

Good, Trying, Sound, Worst

The hardest I've ever laughed was with Lea Michele.

- Jonathan Groff

Hardest, Ever, Michele, Laughed

I'd moved to New York to pursue a career in theatre, and it's very practical how you do it - I just went to every open call going.

- Jonathan Groff

Career, New, Very, Theatre

Just follow your joy. Always. I think that if you do that, life will take you on the course that it's meant to take you.

- Jonathan Groff

Think, Always, Meant, Course

A 'Looking' musical would completely bring me back to Broadway. I would come back in a second.

- Jonathan Groff

Bring, Musical, Would, Broadway

I wanted to work with Michael Mayer because I'd seen 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' six times.

- Jonathan Groff

Work, Six, Seen, Thoroughly

I just don't know artistically - because I don't write my own music - I don't know artistically what an album would mean for me. I don't know what I would want to say with an album that would be unique to me - something that hasn't been done before. I'm just not sure what that is. But I'm absolutely open to it.

- Jonathan Groff

Own, Been, Before, Album

As an actor, I have these tics that I don't even know exist.

- Jonathan Groff

Know, Actor, Even, Exist

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