In 2019, film and stage stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge joined forces to present two separate stand-alone monologues, Sea Wall/A Life at Off-Broadway’s The Public Theater before quickly transferring to Broadway’s Hudson. The limited run ended just a few months before COVID-19 forced the closure of all Broadway theatre.

More than a year later, both find themselves Tony Award nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, even as Broadway remains in an unprecedented shutdown that has left the industry and its audience hungry for the return of live performances. The two actors recently reconnected to discuss their experiences working on these deeply personal monologues and to reflect on a year without theatre.

JG: I’ve heard you speak about this before, but maybe you can start by talking about why you wanted to do Sea Wall in the first place?

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Jake Gyllenhaal knows he has a great job as a celebrated film actor. But the thing that brings him true joy is bursting into song as part of a stage musical. Jake talks with Marc about his love of theater, which ended up landing him three Tony Award nominations this year, one for acting and two for producing. They also get into why Broadway needs to evolve when it returns, why Jake was in awe of Heath Ledger, and why he was completely surprised by Marc after this episode started. Take a listen below:

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Jake Gyllenhaal is nominated for three Tony Awards, one as an actor in the play “Sea Wall / A Life” and two as a producer (with his company Nine Stories) of “Sea Wall / A Life” and “Slave Play.” Currently in production on Michael Bay’s action thriller “Ambulance,” he talked with Variety about why he wants to make theater an even bigger part of his life and work.

“Sea Wall / A Life” played on Broadway in the summer of 2019, which feels like an actual lifetime ago. What do you remember about the Broadway run?

Thinking about it makes me miss Broadway so intensely. It really became an example for me of why I make art, which is the interaction with an audience, particularly a live audience. The show was two monologues but we thought of it as a dialogue with the audience, and whoever wanted to speak to us afterwards, in talkbacks or backstage or at the stage door, got to tell us their story.

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Jake Gyllenhaal is a triple nominee at the 74th Annual Tony Awards. He received one nomination for “Best Actor In A Play” for ‘Sea Wall / A Life’, as well as for his role as lead producer of ‘Sea Wall, A Life’ and lead producer of ‘Slave Play’, with his production company, Nine Stories. Congratulations, Jake!

I am deeply honored to be nominated today, but also recognize what an uncertain time this is for the theater world, and the world at large. So I encourage everyone first to VOTE and then, if you can, donate to The Actors Fund in support of the many amazing people who depend on live theater. Being without theater right now has left a huge void in anyone who cherishes the communal experience of artists coming together to tell a story in front of a live audience. I miss the incredible work of the theater community and I cannot wait to be back on stage with you all soon.

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Jake Gyllenhaal recently discussed the release of the audiobook version of ‘Sea Wall / A Life’ with WNYC’s ‘All Of It with Alison Stewart’. Take a listen to their conversation below:

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