Jessica Hecht Reveals the Hardest Part of Being a Tony Nominee (Exclusive)

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Jessica Hecht Reveals the Hardest Part of Being a Tony Nominee (Exclusive) originally appeared on Parade.
Jessica Hecht, like the rest of us, struggles with the technical aspects of watching live awards show nomination announcements. Some categories are announced on a morning show. Some on a social media simulcast. Is the livestream on YouTube, the awards show's website, behind a pay wall? "Oh my god! Should I be on Chrome?" she quips.
Unlike us fans and journalists, however, Hecht actually was nominated for a Tony Award this year. She's up for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her work as PTA mom Suzanne in Eureka Day. On nominations morning, however, Hecht couldn't figure out how to watch the nominees being announced.
"I was at home," she tells Parade while chatting in our office studio. "I feel fairly computer savvy, but I couldn't get the feed of the nominations coming out. I love not knowing when they come out. I love just forgetting. Of course, it creates so much anxiety either way, but a couple of people had said, 'Oh my God, they're coming out tomorrow.' So I walked the dog, I had my bagel, and then I was like, 'Okay, let me try to go online,' and I couldn't get it together. About 9:20, I started to get texts, and I thought, 'Well, thank you, my friends.'"
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This is Hecht's third Tony nomination. She was nominated previously for roles in the 2010 production of A View from the Bridge and the 2023 production of Summer, 1976. Hecht is a true staple of the New York acting scene, however, and in addition to numerous theater roles has also popped up in everything from Succession and Law & Order to Friends and The Boys. Her next film Eleanor the Great comes out later this year and on the day of our meeting, she'd come straight from a costume fitting in New Jersey for another upcoming project.
Unlike many of the 2025 Tony nominees, Hecht's show Eureka Day, isn't currently on Broadway, completing its limited run earlier this year. The show, which is also nominated for Best Revival of a Play, focused on the five members of a private school's PTA board, navigating a vaccine policy in the wake of a mumps outbreak. Hecht's Suzanne often serves as the comic relief during the first act of the play before her much darker backstory is revealed towards the end of the play.
Since this is Hecht's third Tony nomination, she knows the perks of both being a nominee as well as the downsides of the month-long press tour leading up to Broadway's big night.
"If you don't get nominated," she tells us, "You have like 24 hours, maybe 48 at the most, kind of like, 'Oh, I guess I just paled in comparison,' but you deal with it. You say to yourself, 'But I do feel proud of my work.' I very rarely get nominated for certain kinds of awards, almost never. Someone once told a friend of mine, that being an underdog is better for your acting, which I believe."
"If you do get nominated," she continues, "You have about a month of this low-grade worthlessness you cannot shake. 'Why am I wearing this? Why do I look so old today? Why does everybody else know how to pose? Why is everybody so quick with the answers?' It's about four weeks of that. You have to think about what you're ready for."
With the Tony Awards presented tonight, hopefully most of the dog-and-pony show elements are in Hecht's rearview. When asked if she has a speech prepared for if she wins, Hecht says, "It's very dry, what I do write out in my mind. I really love my agents, so I always think one day I want to thank my agents. I'm really close to my mom. All the classics. I'm more mortified about who I would forget. If I win something one day, it's going to be a little bit of a list."
Ahead of the Tony Awards, Parade chatted with Jessica Hecht about her pre-show rituals, working with Scarlett Johansson and her many appearances on Law & Order. Read the full interview below:
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Did it feel different getting nominated this time for versus the other two times?
The first time was for an Arthur Miller play [in the 2010 production of A View From the Bridge], and being with Liev [Schreiber] and Scarlett [Johansson] was so precious, because Arthur is my truly favorite writer. And there's something about elevating your sense of self because you're doing that kind of work, that you think [awards] shouldn't matter.
Then, to be honest, when I was doing Summer, 1976Laura [Linney, who was not nominated for a Tony that year,] was my goddess, so I wish we had experienced that together. It just goes to show that it's random, because she was just made the whole thing work.
This one was really delicious, but this ensemble is fire, as my kids would say. Many times as we were doing the play, I just looked around and thought, "This is the most kick ass ensemble I have ever been with." They would throw things at you, so alive. I owe them such a debt of gratitude.
What was it like with the five of you off stage? Did you hang out?
There's the sense of the community that you already have here. Bill [Irwin], I knew a bit from the New York theater scene, and I feel a reverence for Him, and he's extraordinary. Each person had a different place in my history here. We didn't hang out a ton because I'm not a big hanger outer, but Bill arranged a couple of beautiful meals for us.
Your character is so funny in most of the play, but then has a few very dramatic moments towards the end. You get to really show the breadth of what you can do as an actor. What is it like figuring out a character that complex?
Well, I think people who have experienced terrible tragedies often create a really complex and meticulous way of overriding that. This character is beautifully written because her life's biggest tragedy occurs when her kids are little, and so the play is constructed around being in an environment where you are around children and you feel the joy of that. You are trying to maintain safety and hope and the preciousness of childhood for many kids, until that totally cracks. So the play is written, to my mind, like the little playpen until the walls collapse, and then you're suddenly without any safety net.
What was the most difficult part of the show?
There's two things for me. One was to not make it a satire. I was very anxious about that when we were developing it. When you're dealing with stuff that could be considered woke subjects. The way many left-leaning people are navigating life has been the subject of a lot of comedy. I was desperate for it not to fall into that, so to create something that made people think they knew the characters was essential for me. Then the second half of the play, when she reveals to someone who she thinks is her friend, the rationale for her beliefs, I couldn't quite figure that out. Anna [D. Shapiro, the director] was so gracious, helping and guiding me, but not telling me what it should be. That was an extraordinary part of our rehearsal process.
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Do you have any pre-show rituals?
I do. I sing show tunes. I'm not a great singer, but I can carry a tune. I have a little library of show tunes that I don't realize I have. When I go backstage, or even in the dressing room, I just kind of let them out. Most of my casts really indulge that. I'm very silly backstage. I was silly until the moment we go on, because I get super nervous, and the only antidote for that, for me, is silliness.
What show tune do you sing most often?
I go to a lot of different ones. "Start Spreading the News." Sometimes when it's cold, we do "Steam Heat." We do anything that is the old, like, "Whatever Lola Wants." The only musical I've ever done is Fiddler [on the Roof], so I do that. It makes me so happy.
Because 's limited run ended in the winter, have you been able to see some of the other nominees?
Yes! Oh my gosh! I saw Operation Mincemeat last week. Isn't it awesome? It's so good! They were so wonderfully creative. I saw English right before it closed, which is exceptional. I saw John Proctor, which I loved. I have a few things for this week, so I'm catching up.
To pivot, you're in the movie , which premiered at Cannes in May. You work with June Squibb who is an icon. What was it like working with her?
First of all, she was a huge theater star. People don't realize that she was a hoofer. She was iconic in these wonderful character parts and musicals. She goes to Sardi's every weekend if she's here shooting, and so she had these Sunday night dinners. I went a couple of times, and I brought the actors that I'm friendly with, who were like, "How do you know June Squibb?" All these people who really know theater history just love her. The exquisite thing about the way she works is she's actually very clear. She doesn't mess around. She makes a decision, and if she feels maybe that's not right, at least she'll try. If you give her a direction, she'll always try it, or she'll say, "You know what, I don't think I'd do that the way you're describing," and we move on to a new idea. She knows herself, and she has such a way of focusing everything. She's also just a beautiful energy. She's so present. It was incredible to work with her.
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Scarlett Johansson is the director, and this is the first movie that she's directed. How was it having her direct?
Absolutely wonderful. First of all, she's very girlfriendy. The first few minutes is talking about your outfit and what you want to eat. Then she's very specific about what it should be. She understands filmmaking so precisely, and so the way she directs is utterly doable and also really helps to make the scene as perfect a storytelling vehicle as possible. She drops you into such a human and specific place. She's wonderful. She's my hero.
You're also in , which is one of my favorite movies. You guys are all staying in this big house and doing these crossword puzzle competitions, what was it like filming that?
Awesome, oh my God. Peter Hedges is a great director, and he had us doing all this family stuff to get into the character of the family. The family was Amy Ryan, one of the greatest actors ever. She's my great friend as well. Norbert [Leo Butz]. John Mahoney was the dad. Diane Wiest was the mom. We sat around the first couple days. We sang the Bob Dylan songs as a family, and ate pancakes, and then Juliette [Binoche] came, and she's actually very girlfriendy and wonderful. I couldn't believe I was with Juliette Binoche. It was as advertised, great.
You were also in , and so many Broadway actors were on that show. Was Broadway just abuzz with that one?
With that one, it was early on, maybe the second season. I don't watch a lot of TV, and they were like, "It's a small part, but people seem to like this show." For most actors, if there's just a little juice in the scene, and they say that it'll be recurring, you're like, "Sure!" Also, you just don't get paid a lot in the theater, so this is a nice way to make a little cash. So I had no idea what the thing was, and I just had the most wonderful time there.
What do you get recognized most often for?
I think Breaking Bad, and then Friends, and then a show that I loved doing, which was The Sinner, and for a while that was running a lot during COVID. I think it has to do with what's popular, but also, I just had one little scene, but Alexander[Payne]'s film Sideways. There's a great quote about film acting: as long as you have a beginning, middle and end to your scene, that's all it takes to have a truly memorable part in a film.
You've been in four different episodes, plenty of other guest roles in procedurals.
All evil.
How is it popping on those for one episode?
Crying for dollars. Amy Ryan actually coined that phrase, which is so funny. All those shows require a little crying. They're fun. They're a real testament to the actual trade of acting. You have a job to do, which is to play this person who is suffering or anguished in some way, and the craft of acting comes into play much more than anyone ever realizes.
What is the oddest part that you've ever taken in one of those?
I did one where I played a slave owner. It's so bad that I just have to say it. I had taken a couple of kids from Haiti, and I enslaved them. I played some really wonky ones. I played a nun in a few things. That made me very proud, because I love spiritual people. I played a few nuns.
If they've got a nun role, they know who to call!
Look at me. Who else would you call? Come on!
This interview was condensed and edited for length and clarity.
Jessica Hecht Reveals the Hardest Part of Being a Tony Nominee (Exclusive) first appeared on Parade on Jun 8, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.