Nick Cordero is an unusual figure in the Broadway musical theatre community. Standing at a striking 6 feet, 5 inches tall, the actor is currently playing a mafioso named Cheech in Woody Allen‘s Bullets Over Broadway.
Even though he’s had successful runs in Rock of Ages and The Toxic Avenger, he shared that being so tall resulted in losing out on roles, “most of them,” because of his height. He explained, “They give it to someone who looks better next to the leading lady.”
He didn’t have to worry about a leading lady in his current show, but he did have a bit of a misstep with his director, Susan Stroman.
The Tony nominee for Best Featured Actor in a Musical said, “We were doing a presentation in the fall. I hadn’t had time to do laundry, so I wore pink socks. I walked up to Susan and I was like, ‘I hope you don’t mind.’ She was like, ‘What are you doing?’ She sent [an assistant] to get me some black socks. I thought it would be a cool thing, Cheech expressing himself.”
While it is obviously not pink socks that drives his character, it is more of a physicality that creates his demeanor.
“The thuggishness of him, the physical intimidation, that took me a little bit to get,” Cordero said. “What I realized: It’s really just his stillness. He’s the rock, this stoic sort of presence amid all these characters going crazy.”
Bullets Over Broadway is currently nominated for 6 Tony Awards. It is playing at the St. James Theatre in New York City.
