Billy Crudup Featured on 'Downstage Center,' March 2

The American Theatre Wing and XM Satellite Radio will present an interview with actor Billy Crudup on their weekly theatrical interview show, "Downstage Center," on XM's On Broadway (XM Channel 28).

Crudup will appear as the special guest on Friday, March 2 at 6 p.m. The show will repeat on Saturday, March 3 at noon, Sunday, March 4 at 7 p.m., and Wednesday, March 7 at midnight.

In the interview, Crudup recalls how he messed up his first audition but still managed to be cast in his Broadway debut, Arcadia; describes the communal spirit that guided the 2002 production of The Elephant Man, and how it differed from his work with director Simon McBurney in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui; relates the thrill of manipulating audiences in Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman; and reflects on whether we -- and he -- should be reading up on Russian history to prepare for The Coast of Utopia.

Crudup made his Broadway debut in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, for which he received several accolades, including an Outer Critics Circle Award for "Outstanding Debut of an Actor." He earned Tony Award® nominations for his roles in The Elephant Man andThe Pillowman.  His additional Broadway credits include Three Sisters and Bus Stop and his Off-Broadway credits include The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Pace University), Measure for Measure (Delacorte Theater), Oedipus (Blue Light Theater), and America Dreaming (Vineyard Theatre). He is currently appearing as literary critic Vissarion Belinksky in the first two parts of Stoppard's  The Coast of Utopia at Lincoln Center.

Crudup is also well-known for his numerous film credits including 70's rocker Russel Hammond in Almost Famous ,  British spy Arch Cummings in The Good Shepherd, Will Bloom in Big Fish, and Jacey Holt in Inventing the Abbots.

Each new "Downstage Center" is regularly broadcast at 6 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays at noon, Sundays at 7 p.m. and Wednesdays at 12 a.m. (all times EST). Following the initial run on XM, each program is made available for free, on-demand, internationally as both streaming audio and podcast on ATW's Web site, www.americantheatrewing.org.  Visit www.xmradio.com for more on XM Satellite Radio.

Photo of Billy Crudup by Ben Strothmann