Max von Essen

“My obsession with James Franco borders on the unhealthy.”

“When I'm working, I try to be serious and rest where I can. I just mark in rehearsals. I still train. I warm up. And I still take lessons from this unbelievable teacher in New York, Joan Lader. I try to be stretched and ready to go.”

“I love Bill Finn's stuff. It's so rewarding for an actor. It's conversational but intricate. He writes some beautiful, simple songs and melodies, but he also writes this cacophony for people.”

“'La Vie en Rose' is just about my favorite movie. Marion Cotillard, I'm so desperately obsessed with her work.”

“I'm the youngest of four, and they were all very into sports. I was the first one to express an interest in the arts. I took piano lessons and singing lessons, acting lessons. So it was all new to them, but my parents were great.”

“I grew up with the movies of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire and Judy Garland - these are the kinds of shows and the kinds of numbers in shows that I dreamed of being in and doing when I was a kid.”

“I hate to be general, but I rely on Andrew Keenan-Bolger for all things music. Every season, he releases a mixtape on his blog of the most incredible and current music. I download it instantly, and it gets me through the season and keeps me educated musically.”

“My work is literally my voice.”

“My favorite app is, without a doubt, Instagram. It's such a fun way to share photos and life's captured moments with friends, family and fans.”

“I liked being in a smaller theater. I love doing shows of all sizes, but sometimes it's nice to be in a smaller space and to strip away some of the music so that you can be a little less than larger-than-life; you can be a little more naturalistic.”

“Honestly, I wish I'd known just how hard it is and how competitive the acting world is. I took my time; I went at my own pace. That's been helpful over the years, but also, I didn't quite realize how incredible everyone else was going to be: the level of competition and everyone's skill.”

“If I don't get a TV show next year because someone looks up my Wikipedia and it says 'openly gay,' then it's worth the risk because I've had so many years being openly gay and proud of myself as a role model.”

“My environment is important to me. I'd rather give up other things in my life - I might not take vacations or spend a lot of money on clothes - so that I can live in a home I feel really good about.”

“I keep this crazy notebook of song ideas.”

“My career hadn't rocketed to the top of anything, but I've worked consistently and done things I've loved.”

“I was a handyman in an office building across from Penn Station for two entire summers while I was still in school and the summer after. I had to wear a big, gray jumpsuit kind of thing that had the name of the company in a big patch on my chest, and I was sent to fix things and didn't know what I was doing.”

“If I had been born in Paris in the early 1900s and lived through World War II, I feel like my DNA would've been Henri Baurel.”

“For casual wear, I'm obsessed with Onassis in Soho. Hip-preppy and well priced.”

“My passion was to be on Broadway and to be part of this community because I saw what it was like from the outside as the young kid in and around New York, and I would see things like the 'Easter Bonnet' or 'Broadway Bares,' things I would sneak into.”