VIDEO: Cynthia Nixon Discusses Researching a Role

Cynthia Nixon used some of her personal experience to portray the terminally ill professor Vivian Bearing in the Manhattan Theatre Club’s revival of Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Wit.”

“I felt there was a lot in the play I can relate to,” Nixon told Back Stage. “I’m a great English literature buff; it was my major in college. So I didn’t have to reach for that.”

Nixon claims Edson’s “near perfect play” also made it easier for her to become her character.

“As demanding as the part is, if you listen to her play, follow the path she wrote for you, it’s easier than it looks,” she said.

Watch the video below to learn more about how Nixon prepared for her role in “Wit,” which closed on Broadway on March 17.