Jonny Orsini on Learning From Greats Like Nathan Lane and Tackling the Vietnam War in Almost Home

Jonny Orsini burst onto the Broadway scene last year in a big way, playing young love interest to Nathan Lane in Douglas Carter Beane's drama The Nance and winning both the Theatre World Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence and a Clive Barnes Award. A handful of other major roles followed, namely Malcolm in Jack O'Brien's revival of Macbeth for Lincoln Center Theater (opposite Ethan Hawke) and Roderigo in Barry Edelstein's production of Othello, opposite Richard Thomas and Blair Underwood at the Old Globe in San Diego. Orsini is now leading the cast of Walter Anderson's Vietnam War-era drama Almost Home, a production of The Directors Company at the Acorn Theatre. And after that, he takes on an unspecified role in the upcoming Broadway comedy Fish in the Dark, opposite playwright and star Larry David. For Orsini, it's all about keeping busy and learning what he can, from the best the theater industry has to offer.

What was it about Almost Home that interested you as a performer?

The thing that really got me is that Walter Anderson, the playwright, was a marine in Vietnam. He's the real deal. Anyone who's lived through that experience I have an affinity for. I didn't go into the military — a lot of kids of our generation didn't — but I feel there is an obligation to be as supportive as I can towards that. That's a huge sacrifice to make, and I'm very grateful for people who do that. I can't even imagine what they go through. If I have an opportunity with military stories, I feel like it's my obligation to tell the story if I can, as best I can, and to support people in the service because they give so much. To spread awareness is very important.

You play a marine who returns home from the war and has to figure out his next step in life. What kind of research did you do?
Walter is so helpful with that. There's nothing better than having the real deal sitting in the room. I go to photojournalism a lot, because journalism is what I was interested in before I started acting. There are a few different books and specific movies. Walter can say, "This movie, this section, is as real as it gets."

Which movies?
The boot camp section of Full Metal Jacket is very accurate. Walter also says that in movies, they make dying, even if it's hard, look really peaceful. That's the biggest thing: He's like, "It is not peaceful." Even way before I started acting, The Thin Red Line really struck me. I think it's because it does not glorify war in any way. It's really ugly. There's something about trying to be honest to it.

I'm curious how you came to be cast in the show you start after Almost Home, which is Larry David's play Fish in the Dark.
That was a nice surprise. I was in San Diego at the Old Globe and I got an e-mail about doing a reading. And then fast-forward, I got it. The play is really hilarious.

What can you tell us about it?
I don't know that I know much more than you do. It's about a death in the family. [laughs]

Have you gotten to see the filmed version of The Nance yet?
I ended up seeing a screening in San Diego. I was doing Othello at the Old Globe, so I wasn't in New York for the premiere. I thought it was beautiful. I don't have a hard time watching myself per se, but what I didn't expect was all the feelings of the experience to come back. The play had a lot of dark, heavy moments, so [there was a lot of] drudging up of the experience of living through the character. Emotionally, it was kind of jarring. But I think it's great that the story can be shared to so many people who can't make it to New York.

You've spent your past year working with a lot of heavy hitters: Nathan Lane in The Nance, Richard Thomas and Blair Underwood in Othello, Ethan Hawke in Macbeth. Can you distill what you, as a young actor, learned from all of them?
Blair and Richard are so talented. Blair has just got so much heart, and Richard is such a craftsperson. And Nathan, when I was working with him people were saying, "Oh, you must be learning so much." I knew I was learning, but I wasn't really sure. I couldn't put my finger on what I would say. It wasn't until the show was over and I was doing other things that I realized that he is such a powerhouse that he will blow you off the stage if you don't come up to his level to whatever degree you can. And more often than not, the most talented people are genuinely the sweetest.