Tony Nominee Christopher Abbott (‘Death of a Salesman’) Takes Center Stage

Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

Higher Ground

Tv & Film, Film Interviews, Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 31 May 2026

⏱️ 78 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Christopher Abbott is one of the finest actors of his generation. He joins us this week from the Winter Garden Theatre, where he plays Biff Loman in the latest Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman opposite Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf.

Fresh off nine Tony nominations, we sit with Abbott to unpack is volatile and vulnerable portrayal of Biff (3:00), the renewed relevance of Arthur Miller’s critique of the American dream (6:00), and how he produces his intense performance, eight shows a week (8:30). Then, we walk through his upbringing in Greenwich, Connecticut (16:00), the working-class roots that shaped his approach to acting (25:00), and why he kept walking toward the stage (27:00).

On the back-half, we discuss Abbott’s lean years auditioning in New York City (32:00), his breakthrough role in Girls (42:19), creating work in the mold of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands (46:00), his journey to parenthood with Aubrey Plaza (1:02:00), and his lasting transformations in the films James White (1:05:00) and On the Count of Three (1:07:00). To close, we talk about his return to Girls in “The Panic in Central Park” (1:08:35), finding a home in the theater with Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (1:18:00) and now Death of a Salesman (1:20:40), and naturally, the New York Knicks (1:24:30).

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Would you rather the Knicks win a championship or you win a Tony?
0:04.2	I'd rather Knicks win a championship.
0:06.5	I was already nominated for a Tony.
0:08.3	That's enough.
0:10.8	Of course I want to win a Tony.
0:13.7	Of course I want Sam for Goso.
0:25.1	Welcome to the show.
0:45.1	Thank you. It is a long time coming, I think.
0:47.1	It is a long time coming.
0:49.0	We are taping this at the Winter Garden.
0:51.1	Yeah.
0:51.7	On stage.
0:53.0	Usually the only questions you get on this stage come from
0:57.1	Nathan Lane and Lori McCaff. Yeah. So I'm hoping this is going to be a little less daunting for you.
1:02.8	Well, I have rehearsed answers for that one. Right. And this one I don't. We're completely unscripted.
1:07.1	Yeah. Okay. So in 2026, you started doing this play. It marked 20 years of you
1:14.7	living in New York. Uh-huh. You got your first Tony nomination. Uh, you're about to be a father.
1:22.0	Yeah. And most importantly, the Knicks are in the NBA finals. Yeah. I just want to start,
1:26.6	most importantly. How are you doing? Like what, what's going on day to day here? Yeah. There's a lot going on at once. Okay. It can make one feel like it's some version of a simulation. Can I recommend something? Sure. You should buy a lottery ticket. The way things are going right now, this is the time. I've never done that. I've never,
1:44.8	but you think start now? Yeah, but I do get 10%. Okay. If you win. All right. All right. You tell me which one. I don't know which one, which lottery. Is it the New York lottery? No, you have to pick it because you're on the street right now. It's going to be all Nick's numbers. Great.
1:57.2	All right.
1:57.7	What's Jalen Brunton's number?
	...

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