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Exclusive: THE COLLABORATION's Jeremy Pope and Paul Bettany Open Up About the Art of Acting

The Collaboration runs through February 11 at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

Feb. 08, 2023  

What's the best part of starring in The Collaboration on Broadway? The collaboration, of course. Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope play artists Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat in the new play, and their relationship onstage and off has been a huge element in its development.

"I remember coming onstage for the first day of rehearsal... I hadn't been onstage for 25 years. I was nervous," Bettany explained to BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge. "I had learned the whole script for the first day. Jeremy walked in and we just sort of began. He had learned the entire script too! I thought, 'Now we can go places together.'"

"We've spent so much time in these roles and getting this script together with each other," added Pope. "I had a moment in 2018 in the [Samuel J. Friedman] Theatre, so to get to share this with Paul is really beautiful. We've grown so close. We're friends forever!"

Watch below as the pair chats more about their process and watch the conversation in full (and even more conversations with your favorite actors of stage and screen) with SAG-AFTRA Foundation.





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