Hurt earned a 2020 Daytime Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Digital Drama Series” for playing Adam in The Rehearsal. “That was crazy. It’s so cool,” he admitted. “It feels like a bit of a surprise and a gift, especially right now at this time. I connected a lot with Adam, I love him. I could hear the character’s voices in my head. I really respected his compass for the truth and his bullshit detector, which is very defined.”
He praised showrunner Jaclyn Bethany for her vision and insights. “It was fantastic to work with her,” he said. “Jaclyn is a very unique individual. As a creator, she is always willing to collaborate, which is super important. I really believe in her talent and her skill.”
“Some of the best moments were improvised. For me, all the great actors are improvisers, whether they are using the dialogue or making up their own, or improvised behavior in the midst of the scene,” he said.
Hurt is pleased that The Rehearsal scored a total of two 2020 Daytime Emmy nominations, including his and for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Digital Drama Series” for Tina Benko. “That is just extraordinary,” he said. “It is such a cool thing that this can happen to an independent series like ours.”
He listed Mark Rylance as one of his favorite theater actors. “He is fantastic, and while he is incredible on film, he is a true theater person. He ran Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London for 10 years and he has become a big fan of improvisation,” he said.
Hurt concluded about The Rehearsal, “This show is an interesting cauldron of ingredients because it was independently made. Everyone there was for the love of it and for the joy of creation. The photography is beautiful and the music is incredible. What I loved most about it is that the characters are people that really exist in the theater world, but they also exist in every other world and the characters are very relatable. I just really love it. It’s a short watch and it’s worth every second of your time. I hope people give it a shot since it will pull them right in.”
For more information on The Rehearsal or to stream the series online, check out its official website.
Read More: The Rehearsal earned a glowing review from Digital Journal.
