Ahead of the Tony Awards on June 12th, the Tony Nominee Class of 2022 came together on Thursday to speak with the press. Here are a few excerpts from On Stage Host Frank DiLella's conversation with Hugh Jackman, Jesse Williams, Billy Cystal and Sam Rockwell.

Hugh Jackman, Tony Nominee, "The Music Man": Getting a nomination at the Tony awards for a kid from Sydney, Australia is mind blowing to me. It doesn't matter what you've done in your career or where you've been. It's a special moment. And I, I never ever take it for granted, but I think especially now post pandemic and being part of this season, which feels like the full rebirth after the pandemic of everyone coming back and audiences coming back, it feels especially meaningful and poignant to me. And, and I'm just super grateful, man. Every eight shows a week, I'm getting to go in there and I feel this collective joy and relief that we' back together. We're telling stories, we're laughing, we're crying. And it's beautiful.

Jesse Williams, Tony Nominee, "Take Me Out": One of the great things I love about living in New York is we all kind of have a respect, cause we all survive. It it's a place you gotta survive, right? And, and this theater community, the Broadway community is similar. It's real work. It's real commitment. You have to love it. You have to believe in yourself and others and trust yourself and others in a way that is on a completely different tier than anything I've ever done. And so for that reason, and then you, and then Tony's is the pinnacle of that. So I have to say I have a very high regard for it. I'm incredibly grateful for the chance to even be in these rooms. And I'm just trying to work as hard as I can, every show to earn it.

Billy Crystal, Tony Nominee, "Mr. Saturday Night": You're working in an incredible environment of four or five blocks of the most talented people you could ever imagine in all different ways. All the writers, producers, designers, crews, composers, and, and the arrangers and musicians it's from, you know, from like seven o'clock to ten o'clock there's brilliance that's happening on these streets. So, you know, to be part of it is really something.

Frank DiLella: What do you think you'll be thinking of walking down the red carpet and into the doors at radio city musical and Sunday, June 12th?

Billy Crystal Tony Nominee, "Mr. Saturday Night": I should have brought food.

Frank DiLella: What's gonna go through your mind when you're walking down the right carpet and you're on your way into the doors at Radio City Music Hall.

Sam Rockwell, Tony Nominee, "American Buffalo": I wanna see Hugh Jackman dance around somewhere. I wanna see something like that. Kristen Chenoweth singing, I wanna see something wild.