On the Podcast: Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson on Making Their Broadway Debuts in ‘The Fear of 13’

This week, The Run-Through continues its spring theater coverage!

Lindsey Ferrentino’s The Fear of 13, one of the year’s most anticipated transfers from London, opened last week on Broadway at the James Earl Jones Theatre. Adapted from the 2015 documentary of the same name, the play tells the story of Nick Yarris, a man wrongfully accused and convicted of rape and murder before being exonerated by DNA evidence after 22 years in prison. Two seasoned actors, Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson, bring this semi-fictionalized account to life: Brody stars as Yarris, while Thompson plays a prison volunteer with whom he falls in love.

The production marks both actors’ Broadway debuts, and they sat down with senior editor Marley Marius to discuss the experience. Each spoke about the weight of reenacting moments from a living person’s life; Yarris, now free, was a frequent presence at both table reads and performances. As Thompson puts it, when it comes to work like this, “whether they’re in the room or not, they are in the room.”

Offstage, meanwhile, Brody and Thompson take very different approaches to unwinding. Brody, a self-described homebody and true multi-hyphenate, spends his time making music and cooking stews, while Thompson looks forward to catching other shows in her free time and seeking out speakeasies around the theater district. Listen to the full conversation above.