Security! That man has a Tony nomination!

Few actors can say that their Tony nomination almost earned them a gunshot wound, but Rufus Sewell said just that at a press junket today when he recalled a run-in with JFK Airport security yesterday after a flight from London.

“I got a text as I got off the plane telling me about the nomination, and then I got yelled at by a big armed guy in immigration security: Put the phone down!” said Sewell. “They can be a bit touchy. I was probably in the most danger of being shot than I’ve been in the last 20 years.”

Sewell didn’t specify what, if anything, happened 20 years ago, but it certainly wasn’t a Tony nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Play. The stony-eyed British actor earned this for the first time for his role in Tom Stoppard’s Rock ‘N’ Roll. The play landed four nominations total: Best Play, Best Leading Actor in a Play, Best Featured Actress in a Play (Sinead Cusack), and Best Sound Design.

Sewell subdued himself on the customs line and hid his phone from plain sight. But today, free to speak his mind, Sewell still seemed pretty lukewarm about the nomination.

“The truth is, as an actor, a Tony nomination is not that important,” he said. “But once you get one it’s quite nice.”

Sewell made his Broadway debut in Translations, which ran for only three weeks in 1995.  New York City became one of Sewell's choice spots, despite having “touchy” airport security and "not that important"  awards.

““My favorite part about being on Broadway is the city," said Sewell. "Translations was by all intents and purposes a flop, but I had the time of my life, and I've been looking for reasons to work in New York since."

I guess a boring ol Tony nomination will suffice.

---Halley Bondy