Justin Cooley has had a whirlwind few years. After making an acclaimed Broadway debut in “Kimberly Akimbo” straight out of high school, the young actor is now following it up with a starring role in the Off-Broadway revival of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” taking on the iconic role of Leaf Coneybear (originated by Jesse Tyler Ferguson in the 2005 production) as the show returns to New York for the first time in 20 years.
Equal parts hilarious and heartfelt, “Spelling Bee” gives Cooley the chance to lean into the vulnerability and comic instincts that first caught audiences’ attention, while also carving out something entirely his own. We spoke with the delightful Cooley over Zoom about joining the production, honoring an iconic role, and what he’s learning about himself as an artist while navigating this exhilarating, sometimes overwhelming early era of his career. Below are excerpts from that conversation.
Congrats on “Spelling Bee!” What was the process of joining the show like for you?
It was such an anticipated event because it happened at the Kennedy Center last year. The opportunity came around to audition for Chip Tolentino for that production and I thought, “Oh, this will be so cool, but I’m going to be involved in [other] stuff. I’ll pass on this one. Hopefully I’ll get to see it.” Of course, I was honored to be reached out by Danny Mefford, who also did “Kimberly Kimbo” and was directing the show. Then a year passes by, and I keep hearing rumors that it might be going to Broadway and people mentioned that I should go in for Leaf, but they didn’t call me in for that. So, I’m kind of waiting and I keep hearing whispers that half the cast is coming back but the person who was playing this role or that role might not be coming back and that Leaf might be open. Then one day, the producer contacts my team and they say, “Danny loved working with you on “Kimberly Akimbo.” You would be such an amazing Leaf. Even though we called you in for Chip before, we’d be honored if you took the role.”
Were you familiar with the show prior to joining it?
A fun thing about this role is I never saw this show or did it growing up, but it was done all around me. And people my whole life from age 15 have been telling me, “Have you ever played Leaf in Spelling Bee? Oh, you’ve never seen it? You would be great in that role. You’re born for this role.” And I never knew what it was.
How does it feel to follow in the footsteps of the amazing Jesse Tyler Ferguson?
It feels so amazing! When I got the role, I knew that it was so beloved and was coming to New York for the first time in 20 years—it’s a little shocking that a revival hadn’t happened. So, to be the next one bringing the role to New York was not a responsibility I took lightly. I wanted to imbue it with my own spirit and maybe it was a strength that I had never done or experienced the show before. Before we started rehearsal, Jesse Tyler Ferguson did an interview, and out of nowhere I just start getting tagged on Instagram because Jesse was talking about me, saying that he couldn’t wait to see what I did with the role. He sounded so excited. We hadn’t met before that moment. And I thought, okay, I have his blessing, and there are people who believe that I can do this, so I should too. He ended up coming to opening night and there are pictures of us talking, and I’m emotional and he’s emotional. He had the kindest things to say, and I felt like I could take that win home.
How do you approach balancing comedy and vulnerability in a show where the laughs often come from very real emotional stakes?
The big lift that an actor has is the vulnerability of themselves as a human. Comedy is one of the most vulnerable things because you know right away if you are doing it right or not. It can be hard because it requires that the actor put down their ego and put down their defenses. So, to let that down and not get anything in return can be trying.
But it’s letting myself be vulnerable and then letting myself be tenacious and trying over and over again—because trust me, I don’t get all the laughs the first time around. It takes a good amount of optimism to keep trying and a good amount of playful spirit to never get bogged down to find those special golden moments.
Can you talk about how the audience is responding to the show? It must be pretty special to be in such a fun, joyful show at this moment in time.
It really is. And I think that is something that I am really trying to take in and nurture a sense of appreciation in myself. I think as actors, we can all get really bogged down about ourselves and our level of craft and ask “What did I nail today? How was my performance? Is this going to help my next job?” But the most present feedback that we get, and I hear people say it from their hearts, unprovoked, “I really needed to laugh today. Thank you for the laughs. Thank you for the joy.” And that is something that is truly humbling to hear. It’s not people saying, “Oh, man, what a well-crafted performance.” And maybe it is all those things, and I like to hear that, but first and foremost, I’m making people happy, and that’s really, really powerful.
Can you talk a little about your cast mates – what a fantastic group of performers. Had you met any of them prior to rehearsals?
I had met Philippe Arroyo because we had played Dungeons and Dragons together once but other than that, I had not met anyone else. I knew who Lilli Cooper was. I knew who Kevin McHale was –they were people that I was a fan of. And then there were also people that are so close to me in age and are in very similar places: Autumn Best, Jasmine Amy Rogers and Philippe. We all had huge recent debuts and we are all figuring out our careers and next steps. And it’s been really fun to feel the wisdom that we can get from people like Lilli while also creating a really invigorating community.
This production relies heavily on ensemble chemistry. How did the cast build trust and rhythm together?
We had a really quick rehearsal process, but like I said earlier in this conversation, something about this sort of comedy requires a lot of vulnerability from everyone. It requires everyone to have the confidence and faith to mess up and to not be funny, and to absolutely flop. We took a lot of intentional time to unmask to each other. On the day our first day of our readthrough, we all brought in pictures from middle school and shared this part of ourselves. So that is embarrassment personified right there. And we shared anecdotes about our lives and about the love that we had for those kids now in the future—and being able to share that with each other was what our director said we needed to bring to our characters. Everything is so high stakes, but we’re also in one of the most open and most bleeding-heart eras of our lives and we needed to find that again. Doing those sorts of activities outside of the text really helped us.
Who have some of your favorite guest spellers?
Oh my gosh, Daniel Radcliffe! There are some people that you hear from everyone “They’re so nice, they’re so nice.” And then it’s so great to meet them and find out they’re actually really nice! Him just being there was incredible—of course, there was uproarious applause. All the conditions were set for it to be so distracting, and he continued to be so invested in our show. And he was so graceful to us afterwards and made sure to tell us everything he thought and that he really took in. So that was amazing.
What was it like to have been cast in “Kimberly Akimbo” right out of high school?
Being in “Kimberly” right after high school was truly my most magnificent mountain to climb. It was an insane challenge on so many levels: in my career, in my skill, in my life, in my own personality and my social life. And everything kind of transformed at once. I was trying to nail this incredibly difficult show and rise to this level of craft that I had never displayed or been challenged to do before while also trying to make friends, while also trying to teach myself how to cook while also trying to teach myself how to work a laundromat! It was so challenging, but it was one of the most fruitful moments of my life. And looking back—I’m only 22 now—I’m so proud of that kid for persisting in the way that he did. I feel so set up in ways that I never would’ve predicted being on this show now. We had a press day, we had opening, we had all these things that I remember thinking “We’re filming commercials now. What? Wait, what are we taking pictures for again?” Now I’ve got it. And that’s an amazing feeling.
What was it like to act with a legend like Victoria Clark?
Looking back also on everything that I gained from “Kimberly Akimbo,” there’s so much to be grateful for. And I think possibly my relationship with her is one of those. I grew so exponentially and being able meet the bar that had been set for me while acting across from her was just mind boggling. At the time I was seeing things I didn’t know were possible. And not only that, I was right across from it and I could ask her how she did it afterwards. And then not only would she tell me, but she would also tell me that I had the exact same thing within me and that we were all working together in a process to get me there. And that sort of modeling and reinforcement is what got me to the level of confidence, passion, and ambition I’m able to feel today. She is also an incredible person. I have spent Thanksgivings at her house. I have walked her dogs. She’s just one of the best people I know.
This is your second high profile show in NYC. What have you learned about yourself as an artist from working on this production?
There’s so many different unique insecurities and challenges that I had. Will I be able to meet the expectation that’s set upon me? Will I be able to reproduce the level of work I was doing before? Will people remember me? And I think that the biggest lesson is that everything I do is cumulative and only adds to the vast painting that is my life. And when I stepped on stage again, I felt a new confidence I didn’t have before. And it’s on me to open myself up to really live inside of that. So, I’ve really been learning to be confident enough to play, to believe that my ideas are creative and are entertaining, to believe that my comedic impulses on stage, as wacky as they can be, can be pulled off. I think it’s been something I’ve really been able to explore pretty wonderfully in this role.
For tickets and information about “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” click here.
