Call Answered: Adam Pascal Interview: 13 Things You Don't Know About This Tony Nominated Rent Star

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Call Me Adam Featured Interview Artwork, Call Me Adam logo. Adam Pascal’s headshot. Interview Title: 13 Things You Don't Know About This Tony Nominated Rent Star, www.callmeadam.com

On Monday, January 10, 2011 I had the fortunate experience of interviewing Adam Pascal after his and Anthony Rapp's concert at Town Hall.

On-stage Adam knows how to entertain and off-stage is no different. Personable and humorous, Adam was kind enough to take the time to answer my questions.

In this interview, Adam answered my call to share:

  • His inspirations
  • The best advice he has received
  • Favorite way to spend his day off
  • Who he would like to dream about when he sleeps
  • So much more

Connect with Adam: Facebook

Currently, Adam is out on tour with Anthony Rapp in Adam & Anthony Live! With one show left, the final stop on their US Tour is January 29, 2025 at 8pm at The Irvine Barclay Theater in Irvine, CA.

Me (Adam Rothenberg) and Anthony Rapp
Backstage after Adam & Anthony Live at Town Hall NYC 2011

1. Who or what inspired you to become a performer? Rock music inspired me to become a performer. I got hooked on rock music at 9 years old and shortly after that discovered I could carry a tune and then it just kind of went from there.

I just always loved to sing and the harder I sang and the more blood vessels I burst in my neck trying to sing like all of these heavy metal singers I listened to growing up, the better it felt. It was such a feeling of expression and power. If I was feeling vulnerable, it made me feel strong. If I was feeling weak, it made me feel powerful. It's always been that for me.

2. What is the highest and lowest note you can sing? Hahaha...I have no idea. I'm so not a schooled singer in that way I couldn't tell you. I'd just say high and low. Hahaha.

3. Who's the one person you haven't worked with that you would like to? Oh god, there are so many. God, that's a good question. I would love to work with Jason Robert Brown. We worked a little bit together, but not on a full original production. I love his music and I love his work.

I would also love to work with Stephen Sondheim and I would love to work with Michael Greif again. I'm always honored that anybody of note wants to work with me, so I'm open to working with anybody who has an interest in working with me.

Adam Pascal as Roger in Rent on Broadway
Photo Courtesy of Adam Pascal's Social Media

4. What's the best advice you've ever received? That's a good question too. "Grow up." I can't tell you how many countless people I've heard that from and it never sticks, but it's always good advice.

5. What do you get from performing in a solo concert that you don't get from performing in a Broadway show? For me personally, I'm much more exposed, much more naked. I get to play instruments and get to express myself in what is the most natural way for me to do it.

Although, that being said, I've always felt a little more comfortable doing musicals than doing a concert and I think that's because you can hide. You can hide behind a character. You can also hide behind somebody else's material.

I always had this opinion in the back of my mind where I was like, "I know I'm going to go out there and sing well and I'm going to do a good job and if they didn't like the show, I didn't write it. There's a certain security in that. As long as I know people will come away and say that show sucked, but that guy was good, that's the most I could do.

6. If you couldn't be doing what you are doing now, what career would you choose? I never had another career path. I never could do anything else, of value. That's a really hard question to answer because I'd really be lost. I wouldn't have a career, I would have a job.

Adam Pascal
Photo Courtesy of Adam Pascal's Social Media

7. Favorite way to spend your day off? At home. At home with my kids, smoking weed. Not smoking weed with my kids, but as two separate events.

8. Favorite way to stay in shape? P90X

9. Boxers or Briefs? Boxer briefs.

10. Favorite website? I love Broadway Stars. My wife always make fun of me because of the name. The name is misleading because it's not really about Broadway Stars.

It's really an amazing hub for everything theatre related, whether it's Broadway, Regional, West End. It's so dense with information, so I check that site at least twice a day.

BONUS QUESTIONS:

11. Superman or Wonder Woman? Wonder Woman.

12. Do you have any strange or unusual talent that nobody knows about? Not really. I wish I did. The only talent I have is what I can do on stage. Anything else I wouldn't classify as a talent...I can do light carpentry, light electrical, and light plumbing, certainly not talents.

13. If you could dream about anyone while you sleep, who would it be? Hahaha...other than my wife, Jessica Biel, preferably more than once a night. I could dream about her over and over again.

Adam Pascal
Photo Courtesy of Adam Pascal's Social Media

More on Adam Pascal:

Best known for playing the original "Roger" in the Tony Award Winning musical Rent, which earned Adam a Theatre World Award, an OBIE Award, and a Tony Award Nomination, Adam has gone on to have quite a career!

After Rent, Adam went on to originate the role of "Radames" in Broadway's Aida by Elton John and Tim Rice and played the "Emcee" in the final cast of Cabaret by Kander and Ebb. In 2008, Adam starred alongside Josh Groban and Idina Menzel in London for two sold-out performances of the Tim Rice/ABBA musical Chess at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

In addition to theatre, Adam has released three solo albums...Model Prisoner, Civilian, and his latest CD Blinding Light and starred in such movies as Rent, SLC Punk, School of Rock, Temptation, and his two most recent films Falling Star and American Primitive.

Adam is also hard at work on a musical for Broadway based on the concept album Operation Mindcrime, by the progressive rock band Queensryche.

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