Brian Stokes Mitchell Quotes
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I like being different people.
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I'm one of the few lucky actors in the world. I've never waited tables. I never pumped gas. I've always earned a living. I never had to borrow from my parents. I was the first in our family to own a new car.
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I always call myself the luckiest actor in the world because I made a living solely as a performer from the time I left home at 17 years old.
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I kind of feel the career chose me. My motto has always been, 'Go where I'm wanted.'
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I didn't really think I liked jazz all that much until I was about 18. That's when the freedom and possibilities of it began to seem appealing to me.
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I think the Oscar is the big money award; that means you've made it in a money sense. The Tony has always represented - to me, and most actors that I've talked to - an artistic award. It means you're an artist and not just a popular performer.
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I'd always been a huge fan of Stephen Schwartz.
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The first time I really had an influence on a show was during 'Ragtime.' It's still the most magical show that I've ever done.
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I'm the chairman of the board of the Actor's Fund. It's an incredible organization. It helps anybody that has made their living in the performing arts and entertainment: actors, singers, dancers, film producers, agents, managers, ticket takers, writers, anybody in times of need or crisis.
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I love rethinking and reimagining songs.
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I like to capture the spirit of what the writers intended but find my own nuances. That comes from jazz - the invention and freeness within a structure.
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I wouldn't call what I do 'dance.'
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Honestly, I hate watching myself on TV - I have always hated watching myself and listening to myself.
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One of the interesting things an artist does is they keep rediscovering things, whether it's a jazz piece or a role you've done for 3,000 performances or a song you're singing for the 3,000th time. My job is to find that spark that keeps it fresh and alive.
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I was practically raised with Christmas music.
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The thing about doing concerts is that it's doing a live show. It's on my schedule. It's songs I want to sing. It's saying what I want to say. It's working with the people I want to work with. I don't have to worry about pleasing other people - I can do what I want, and people come along and go for the ride.
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Stay as connected as you can. Sometimes that means you're going to do a job that may not pay you much but may give you a great connection. If the work is not going the way you need it to go, create your own!
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'Ragtime' was the most magical show that I've done. I had an incredible experience with that, with the show itself, with the cast, with the audience. The response to that show - my God, it really blew me away, the reactions to that show, the way it changed their lives and altered their thinking, their own self-discovery.
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I was raised on jazz. My father, from the time I was born, used to get up early on Saturdays and Sundays and put on Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Kenny Burrell, Sarah Vaughn, John Coltrane - all these great, classic albums.
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I have been fortunate in my career to play a lot of lead roles. The downside to that is I don't have a life outside of the show. I go on lockdown even with my wife if the show is really difficult and I am having vocal problems.
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'Ragtime' is about how we get through ugliness, how we talk together, work together, get through it together.
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To take the ugly language out of 'Ragtime' is to sanitize it, and that does it a great disservice.
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One of the best pieces of wisdom I ever got is you work because you work, meaning you work because you're saying yes to things, and you're connecting with people.
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Usually, I don't feel comfortable with a character until I've played him before an audience for several performances. It is not until after three months of performing that I learn to discover what I call 'all the nooks and crannies' of the person.