Sutton Foster opens up about the huge career challenge she’s facing

Sutton Foster is reflecting on her difficult transition from Broadway to the silver screen.

The actress got candid about the obstacles she faced in the TV industry on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s podcast, Dinner’s on Me.

Sutton admitted that she refers to herself as a self-proclaimed theater kid, however, she remained open to the possibility of making it on screen in her career.

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She shared: “I was like, ‘I’m theater, I’m theater, I’m theater.’ People ask me, ‘Do you wanna do more TV?’ I’m like, ‘Well, sure. If someone wants me!'”

The decision to audition for the TV series Bunheads was a quick one because of her personal love for the Gilmore Girls. She recalled that when she read the Bunheads script, she thought, “Oh my God. This is incredible,” and felt invigorated to be a part of the cast.

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After the series only lasted one season, the actress was drawn to a new role in the TV show Younger.

She believes that she had an edge at getting the role because the series’ director Darren Star, just so happened to be “a big theater fan” himself.

Sutton felt a personal pull to her character in Younger because Sutton was 39 at the time, and she was supposed to portray a “woman trying to pretend she was much younger than she was”  which she found relatable.

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As her character evolved, so did Sutton, as both an individual and as an on-screen actress.

The star recalled: “Every season, I learned more and more and more about how to be on a set, how to be on camera, how to, like, learn lines, and how to handle a character that grows.”

Contrary to her previous Broadway characters which showcase the same story continuously, her TV series characters continued to throw unexpected twists and turns with each new season.

Sutton shared: “You know, we play characters that do the same thing every single night, and then suddenly I’m on a journey. So there were things about TV that I absolutely loved. Yeah. And there’s a thing in TV, too, where you have to leap. You have to be strong and wrong.”

After seven successful seasons of Younger, the series concluded in 2021.

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Although Sutton may have adjusted to the TV series world, the actress isn’t staying away from her theater roots.

In fact, the talented actress will be portraying the character of Loretta Lynn in the Broadway musical, “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” which will come out next year.

Sutton emphasized her enthusiasm for the upcoming role by sharing that she is “really, really, really excited about it,” per the Houston Chronicle.

She added that the role has come full circle, because she had her first read through of the script eight years ago, and she explained that it’s been “circulating” in her universe for some time.

Sutton passionately explained that she felt she “[had] to do [it].”  She added that her next acting challenge is learning how to play the guitar for the role of the popular American country singer.