Video: Tom Francis Wasn't Familiar with SUNSET BLVD Before Joining the Show

With his first Tony nomination under his belt, Sunset Blvd. star Tom Francis visited The View to discuss the production, working with his co-star Nicole Scherzinger, and more. "I feel like I haven't processed it yet," the actor told Alyssa Farah Griffin of all of the success surrounding the show. 

"We're very much in the throws of Tony campaigns and stuff at the moment, and I feel like when I step back after I finish this job, I'm going to look back and be like, 'Wow, that really was a job that formed my career in a beautiful way.'"

Though Francis has found success with his portrayal of Joe Gillis- first on the West End and now on Broadway- he wasn't familiar with the material. "I hadn't seen anything. And our director Jamie Lloyd told me, 'I don't want you to watch anything. I just want you to come in on Day 1 and we'll figure out our version of Joe Gillis." Watch the full interview with the Tony nominee now.

Based on Billy Wilder's classic Academy Award-winning film, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard features a book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. Before it premiered on Broadway, the show was first performed in London's West End at the Adelphi Theatre in 1993 starring Patti LuPone, where it ran for almost four years and played to nearly two million people. The American premiere was at the Shubert Theatre in Century City, Los Angeles in December 1993 with Glenn Close as Norma. The musical was an instant success and played 369 performances before moving to Broadway in 1994 with, what was then, the biggest advance in Broadway history, at $37.5 million.

Jamie Lloyd's reimagination of Sunset Boulevard is currently playing at the St. James Theatre. The production has received seven Tony Award nominations, making it the most nominated revival of the season.

Haunted by her memories and dreams, movie star Norma Desmond yearns to return to the big screen. A struggling screenwriter who can't sell his scripts to the Hollywood studios may be her only hope, until their dangerous and captivating relationship leads to disaster. Drenched in champagne and cynicism, Sunset Blvd. focuses the lens on the ambitions and frustrations of its characters and puts their intoxicating need for fame and adoration in stark close-up.

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