I first heard about Billy Magnussen from friends who’d seen the Broadway production of Christopher Durang’s Chekhov-themed comedy Vanya And Sonia And Masha And Spike. They kept raving about the actor who played Spike, an aspiring actor who spent much of his stage time showing off his body. Magnussen, preening about the stage, stole all his scenes and walked away with a Tony Award nomination. So I was thrilled to see him as Prince Charming’s younger (unnamed) brother in Rob Marshall’s film version of Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods. As he reveals below, he got the film role partly because a certain three-time Oscar winning actor (also in the film) saw him in the play. He was in Toronto earlier this week for a press day.
There’s lots of clever wordplay in Sondheim’s songs, where there are jokes within jokes. Was it difficult to get your mouth around all that?
I learned from David Hyde Pierce [on Vanya, Sonya…]. He said sometimes you can just let the words work for you. Just say them. The writer knows what he’s doing. Just let it play on you and go on the ride. Rob Marshall encouraged Chris [Pine, Prince Charming] and me to play and have a good time. And in that you discover so many things.
Did you talk with Pine about defining your princes separately?
I believe with acting you can do all this internal work, but you are defined by the characters around you and how they treat you. Even from the Into The Woods posters you can see that there’s Prince Charming and then… there’s this other prince! I felt he’s Prince Charming, and I’m the younger brother who aspires to be Prince Charming but isn’t. Through that I discovered you don’t have to be Prince Charming to be the right man for someone.
Did you add anything?
There’s a scene where I jump out of the tower and slam against it. Originally Rob told me to jump off and climb down perfectly and then leave. I said: “Let’s make it where he’s trying to do that but it doesn’t work out.” My prince is always trying to be great, but he’s not. That’s who he is, and that’s why he and Rapunzel come together.
That duet with Pine, Agony, is one of the funniest sequences. You perform it in a river, stepping on stones, and it must have been carefully choreographed.
We had about four weeks of rehearsal leading up to the first days of shooting. Chris and I discovered everything in a studio on a flat surface. And the day of the shoot, of course we had to adapt. When you work with wonderful people it’s fast. Let’s do this! It’s exciting. We’re discovering and making things happen. It was exciting to be a part of it.
Pine adopts this put-upon voice. Did you set out playing it straighter?
Yeah, Chris sounds like Richard Burton. Notice that I try at times to match him, but then I slip out of it. That’s how I discovered my character.
What was it like to work with Meryl Streep?
She’s a cool cat, man. She’s fun. She’s a generous actor. Talented. I soaked up everything I could from her. I owe being in the film to her. She got me the audition. She saw me in Vanya And Sonia and then told Rob and Marc [Platt, producer].
You worked for two years on the soap opera, As The World Turns. Was that comparable to live theatre because it’s shot live?
Soap is the hardest thing in the world. The training was terrific. They literally give you 40 pages, you have to say it in half an hour and it will be on national TV. It’s all about being on point and prepared. A lot of this business is capitalizing on luck and opportunity. When opportunity shows up, to be prepared and ready. That was a big thing I learned. Be ready when your number’s called.
You’ve filmed the new, as yet untitled Steven Spielberg movie coming out in 2015. What can you tell me?
It’s crazy. Steve’s pretty awesome, he’s a cool motherfucker. And so is Tom Hanks. They’re both gentlemen. Mark Rylance is in it.
Rylance is a great actor. Have you seen him onstage?
I got to hang out with Rylance and talk acting with him. He’s probably the best stage actor alive right now. We talked actor shop. He’s a cool gentleman. And Spielberg is the 12-year-old kid shooting movies in his backyard. And he’s having a blast.
