What Drives Nathan Lane to Excel, and What Keeps Him Grounded

He also called you the “the all-around musical-theater performer.” Why did that bother you?

I was perturbed by the term "entertainer" at the time. And so I thought, Really? Is that all I am? I'm an entertainer? I felt I had more to offer as an actor and that I wasn't tapping into. And it's not like I had a lot of power.

So how did you change things up?

In 2012, I went to Chicago and did The Iceman Cometh. It's a profoundly difficult, challenging, impossible part. And it was terrifying and thrilling. So anyway, it was a great success. It was sold out. And then we later remounted it with the Brooklyn Academy of Music and did it there as well. And that changed me as an actor and how I approach things. After doing that, everything else seems easy.

You’re in good company. Denzel Washington was in The Iceman Cometh in 2018 on Broadway.

We were at a luncheon, a Tony nominee luncheon, and I saw him across the room, and then I saw him coming towards me. And I don't know him. I admire him greatly; I think he's one of our greatest actors. And so he came up to me and he was smiling, and he leaned in and he said, “You know what I'm going through. Don't you?” It's such a monumental piece and demands everything you have. I'm part of a brotherhood of actors who've taken on that part, which is very, very moving to me.

Do you have an instinct for when something is going to work when you get a script?

It's about the writing — that's it.

Speaking of something that worked, next year is the 29th anniversary of The Birdcage. What is a memory that you can share or something that you took away from making it?

A lot of really talented people, and it was made with a lot of care and great heart. And … to work with Mike Nichols and Elaine May, it's unbelievable that I got to do that. And then Robin (Williams), he's at the heart of it. He was such a mensch, such a beautiful soul, kind and generous, and so talented. Just such a magnificent talent and comic genius. Brilliant. Just a brilliant guy who was very sweet. Throughout that whole thing, he was so kind to me.

Nathan Lane voices Luno, the Oracle of the Moon (left), in the Netflix animated musical "Spellbound," which follows the adventures of Ellian, the daughter of the rulers of Lumbria who must go on a quest to save her family and kingdom after a mysterious spell transforms her parents into monsters.

Skydance Animation/Netflix

As you’ve gotten older, how do you define success now?

Oh, my greatest personal success? I would say my marriage and my life, where I am now in my life, and my dog. Every career has ups and downs. And the thing you think is going to be the great thing turns out not to be the thing.

What governs your choices these days?

I have my insecurities and fears and neurotic side. It is about that experience. As Marty Short would say, it's about the hang. It's about who you're going to work with, or you hope to work with the best people. You want professionalism and kindness and enthusiasm and ideas, and come prepared. That's what it's all about. And then the rest will take care of itself — either it'll be successful or not.

What are some of the unexpected joys of getting older for you?

It's weird. You get older, but in your head you think, I'm still 25. I don't feel any different that way. I'd like to think I'm a little more mature now. Every day's a gift that you wake up and you're still around. I'm still viable in the marketplace. People want me to do things. And I have my husband and my dog, and that's what really is the most important thing. So getting older, you just have to take better care of yourself.