Watch on Deadline
Even the French crew got in the swing of it.
In French or English?
And then Eddie Marsan turned up, and he started singing it, Mays sighed.
Daniel Mays in ‘Guys & Dolls,’ Mays and Michael Douglas in ‘Franklin’Bridge Theatre/Manuel Harlan/Apple TV+
His fellow contenders are David Cumming forOperation Mincemeat, Tom Francis forSunset Boulevardand Charlie Stemp forCrazy for You.
Wallace and Neal also are nominated, and the shows up for best musical revival.
Mays now has departed, but the show lives on at the Bridge.
Daniel Mays in ‘Guys & Dolls,’ March 2023 (Baz Bamigboye/Deadline)
The Olivier Awards ceremony is this Sunday at the Royal Albert Hall.
Highlights from the show will stream on ITV1 in the UK and on BritBox in the U.S. and Canada.
Hoskins was extraordinary, but Mays put his own stamp on Nathan Detroit.
What impressed me watching Mays was how agile he was navigating his way around the room like a whirlwind.
I remember Phillips remarking on how well Mays moved.
He danced a bit when he was a kid and retained the muscle memory, she explained.
Mays remembers the dress rehearsals and those early previews as being quite emotional.
The platter nearly got sent back.
Lou was like, Weve had dessert, whats this?
Then I did get down on one knee.
I rocked the boat!
Mays agrees, but he wont stand for anything being said against musical theatre artists.
My respect for musical theatre performances has gone through the roof, he says.
People dont realize whats involved.
I mean, eight shows a week.
There were some days we were like, I cant go on today, on a two-show day.
But Mays did not miss any of his scheduled performances.
He would film from early morning and then scoot across town to perform at the Bridge in the evening.
And drink plenty of honey and freshly-squeezed lemon juice with piping hot water.
God, I went through some lemons, he remarks.
He loved doing the TV, but to do that alongside Nathan Detroit was madness.
And then I did the sequel toYour Christmas or Mine?at the same time as well.
He hadnt been optioned to be in the follow-up.
But somehow we managed to work it out.
But it was a huge ask of me to do that.
Listen, both the show and the film, they really looked after me and they all worked together.
Sometimes I just didnt know whether I was coming or going.
He says hell think twice before taking on two projects simultaneously while starring in a hot West End hit.
For your health, its not the wisest thing to do.
Mays also was inDes.
The Long Shadowhas a BAFTA nomination for best limited drama, but it received zero acting citations.
Sadly, theres a lot of great work out there that never gets recognized.
Same is true of the Olivier Awards.
Mays is a big fan of Lewis Arnolds.
All of that is poured into it.
Even the smallest characters are so well-defined in something likeThe Long Shadow.
Like all of us, Mays enjoys being nominated, but his mantra is, Just do the work.
The more work he does, the more work he begets.
My character was never inMoonflower Murders.
Anthony emailed me and said, Look, we love what you did so much.
I really want to put you in the sequel.
Theres likely to be a thirdMagpie Murdersseason and a thirdYour Christmas or Mine?movie.
Hard work is in his DNA.
His fathers an electrician and runs his own business, which his mother helps with.
Thats why he likes to work.
It is, as I noted, in his blood.
My old man is the hardest-working guy I know, to this day.
I have that work ethic from my parents.
You get up and you go to work, he says.
Were able to tell stories.
Not all kids are built to do extra maths, he says.
Its all about telling stories and giving kids an opportunity.
Mylo was operating the camera, and I was there in the background helping him.
They got another actor to appear in the short film.
I said, Do you want me to do the acting in it?
He went, I dont want you anywhere near it, which is understandable.
Working with his son got his juices flowing.
And now Mays hopes that one day he will direct a project for TV or the cinema.
Id like to throw my hat in the ring and see how I get on.
I think if I did anything, it would be social realism.
Write what you know, he says.
Such a project is a long way off.
And he wouldnt mind working on another musical.
Something old or something new?
He stresses that there havent been any conversations about him appearing inOliver!At least not this week.
His immediate response was how horrendous it has been and how he feels for Amewudah-Rivers.
Its inexcusable, he says, and wonders whether its all the Tom Holland fans.
Its just pure and utter racism.
And its just appalling in every way.
I feel for that girl, he tells me.
But I hope she just smashes that part and silences all of those people, all of those doubters.
I hope hes right.
Which brings me back toFranklin.
Mays is thrilled thatFranklinis out in the year of the American elections.
By the end of the show, you realize, What an amazing achievement.
And [Benjamin Franklin] saved the day, so theres this real heroic, honorable quality about him.
And then you look at someone like Donald Trump, and you think, It just beggars belief.
