‘Sunset Boulevard' star Tom Francis reveals how he plays ‘the complete and utter opposite' of Nicole Scherzinger's Norma Desmond
Gold Derby: I know when you auditioned for director Jamie Lloyd, you didn't know either the original film or Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical very well. What about the opportunity most excited you a few years ago?
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Tom Francis: For sure, the initial thing was the attraction to work with Jamie. I remember watching his production of Betrayal and I was just blown away by how he directed the show. I've always said, if I ever got the opportunity to try and work with him, I'd take it up. And then once I started delving into the audition material, I just fell in love with the score. I just think it's such a beautifully written score and the melodies are so enjoyable to sing. It's those two things that really made me want to delve into it.
is a period piece, but you and Nicole Scherzinger and the whole ensemble really brings a modern sensibility that makes the show feel timeless. When you step into Joe Gillis, do you feel like you're playing a character in the 1950s?
That's a good question. I think that the words and how the sentences are formed in the book and the lyrics that I sing, they definitely make it feel like it's of that period. But the contrast to that is the fact that I'm in Dickies trousers and a vest and a t-shirt, so that brings it into the modern day, so you're always in this juxtaposition. Those things really inform how you move, but you've got these words which feel very period coming out.
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I knew I was going to enjoy this production from the very beginning when you come out of the body bag. I thought that was such a smart, bold opening. When you're lying in that body bag getting ready to start the show, what is going through your head? What are you thinking about when you're zipped up in there?
Just don't forget the words. I always tell myself, if you can get through 'Let's Do Lunch,' then the rest of the show should be fine. I always just try and just focus in and breathe. I have a little bit of a hole, my head's kind of slanted and my mouth is kind of out, so I can breathe a little bit, and so I just try and breathe through that and just take some deep breaths and focus in for the next two-and-a-half hours.
'Let's Do Lunch' is such a kinetic way to start the show, and then we get that brilliant and inspired car chase sequence with you holding the camera. Were there moments when you were learning about what Jamie was going to do with his staging when you were putting it up on its feet that you were just in awe?
I knew it was going to be a pretty interesting process when we walked in on day one and we started going through all the movement and figuring out what the language was going to be for the movement. Then a few days in, there was a video screen installed in rehearsals, so we had a half-size video screen which came in and out, and when that came in and we started playing around with cameras and figuring out what the show was going to be, that was a pretty jaw-dropping moment. There are so many things that were on camera, and then there are so many things that weren't on camera, and there were so many different drafts of the show when we were making it. I think we found a good balance between stage and camera in this production.
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There are so many moments when your face is up on that 23-foot screen. Do you modulate your performance between playing to the camera versus the audience?
Massively, massively. I feel like a good way to describe it is a head tilt. When I do 'Let's Do Lunch,' I use my head a bit more and I use my body a bit more to convey how I'm feeling, whereas when the camera's in front of my face, I basically think everything and let it come through my eyes a lot more. There's definitely a switch-up.
Let's talk about the physicality. I'm sure you're probably tired of folks asking you about the title number, 'Sunset Boulevard,' but it is really such a dynamic part of the show. Did you play around with different iterations in New York until you settled on the route through Shubert Alley?
Oh, I love it! I'm not sure how many iterations Jamie and our brilliant video team had, but I know that there were a few. I think there was one that was potentially starting on the roof, and there was one that was starting in Times Square, and I think there was one that involved a golf buggy. There were a lot of things to try and make things work, and then we decided to fix on this route, and I think we went with the best option.
I don't think many folks realize how physically demanding what you're doing is, to coordinate your movements, to control your breath, and sing this song and navigate ridiculous crowds, especially at night in Shubert Alley. It is insane! How physically challenging do you find it to make it look so effortless?
If I think about it, then it becomes really hard. I use this analogy: if you go to the gym and you lift a certain weight for a certain amount of days, then that weight becomes really easy and you need to lift a higher weight. Now, I'm not saying it's easy and it becomes easy, but it's come to a point now where I think it's a bit more of a muscle memory, which is definitely more enjoyable because I feel like I can really focus on the storytelling. But it's really tough, especially that last bit where you're walking back and then you have to go up the stairs, all of the turning, and then you go up the stairs onto the stage to hit that last long note, that bit's tricky, so you just have to have a lot of breath control there.
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I want to talk about working with Nicole Scherzinger. She's giving an audacious performance as Norma Desmond. Watching her take the character to such extreme places, what does that make you do as an actor to match that energy?
To allow her to go where she needed, I made the decision with Jamie that I needed to be as still as possible. We thought that if she goes to that place, then I need to go to the complete and utter opposite place to allow her to have that space and that support. When you come and see the show now, I'm very, very still. A lot of my notes from Jamie were, like, "Don't wipe the sweat off your nose. Don't draw anything, just let her do that thing." A lot of the notes that I get are, like, "Can you just be even more still?"
Speaking of extremes, I love watching Joe break down during that final conversation with Betty (Grace Hodgett Young). I love what you do in the last few scenes, especially the death scene. Is it more challenging or cathartic at the end for you?
It's a mixture of both. There are two things that come over me. There's an absolute relief normally that I've remembered my lyrics, because there are just so many words in this production, and then there's also the technical aspect of not shouting too much, but shouting enough, and not shouting too safely, but shouting safe enough. That's always something that you have to deal with. It definitely is a relief that comes over you at the end.
Since Cecil B. DeMille is such an important figure in this musical, I want to ask you if there are any theater or film directors who you're dying to work with once this chapter comes to a close?
For sure. I'd love to work with Tarantino. I'd love to work with Scorsese. I'd love to work with Wes Anderson. There's a few.
Believe it or not, we're coming to the close of , which concludes its Broadway run on July 13. You have the finish line in sight. If you could project into the future, what are you going to miss most about living in this universe when you play that last performance?
That's such a brilliant question. I'm going to miss the people. I'm going to miss the satisfaction of the job. I'm just going to miss this point in my career, I think. This job has changed my life in so many ways and it's given me so many opportunities. Now it's almost a little bit scary because I've now got to go and prove myself in those opportunities, which is going to be really fun, it's going to be an exciting new chapter, and an exciting challenge. But this has been such a beautiful way to start my twenties, and so I think it's sad that's coming to an end, but I'm excited for what comes next.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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