Jonathan Groff

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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.

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.