We started with Carol Burnett, ended with Annette Bening, and had Forest Whitaker, Leslie Odom Jr., and Emma Stone in between (just to name a few). See these and all the other stellar talents who graced our 46 Backstage covers this year.
Carol Burnett
The year began on a legendary note, as the one and only Burnett graced the first Backstage cover of 2016 and discussed her SAG Life Achievement honor, as well as the bygone CBS executives who wanted nothing to do with “The Carol Burnett Show.” Read the full story here.
Tracee Ellis Ross
From “Black-ish” to “Girlfriends,” Ross has had to audition for every role she’s ever booked throughout her 20-year acting career, which could be why she has grown to enjoy the process and feels that “auditioning is an opportunity for me to play the role that I want.” Read the full story here.
Rachel Bloom
In January, after collecting a Golden Globe for her work on her acclaimed but at the time still somewhat unknown “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” the creator and star revealed how the musical series landed at the CW after every major network turned it down. Read the full story here.
Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer
Now riding on the success of their beloved Comedy Central series “Broad City,” the show’s co-creators and stars admitted that repeated rejection from Upright Citizens Brigade teams was actually the impetus for the duo to conclude, “We have to make our own thing now because you will not let us perform on your stage.” Read the full story here.
Jennifer Jason Leigh
After nabbing her first Oscar nomination this year in Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight,” Leigh didn’t mince words when discussing both her abilities and shortcomings as they pertain to the business: “I’m great at acting; I’m not great at chatting.” Read the full story here.
Forest Whitaker
Prior to making his Broadway debut as the title character in the revival of Eugene O’Neill’s “Hughie,” Whitaker expressed again and again, “I’m trying really hard to become a better actor.” Read the full story here.
Danai Gurira
With her Tony-nominated play “Eclipsed,” which bowed on Broadway this year starring Lupita Nyong’o, “The Walking Dead” star depicted captive women in the Liberian civil war, for which Gurira recalled “submitting to the story until I [proved] a worthy enough vessel to get it out.” Read the full story here.
Melissa Rauch
Before landing a gig as a series regular on “The Big Bang Theory,” Rauch’s acting career had been a steady uphill climb, which at times entailed passing out free tickets to her show in a Los Angeles Trader Joe’s, and a failed attempt at hand modeling. Read the full story here.
Jane Krakowski
Between shooting seasons of her Emmy-nominated turn as Jacqueline Voorhees on “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” Krakowski made her highly anticipated return to the Great White Way, bringing irreplicable comedic chops to Broadway’s revival of the effervescent “She Loves Me.” Read the full story here.
Ben Whishaw
In this year’s Broadway revival of the Arthur Miller drama “The Crucible,” British actor Whishaw had to look at the piece from an illogical standpoint in order to portray his protagonist John Proctor with all the play’s “weird contradictions and jumps.” Read the full story here.
Jerrod Carmichael
In the second season of his acclaimed series “The Carmichael Show,” the actor-comedian continued to push the boundaries of social and cultural commentary on network television—on a multi camera sitcom, no less. Read the full story here.
Emayatzy Corinealdi
When she made the move to Los Angeles years ago, “Miles Ahead” star Corinealdi decided she would check in on her career with a biannual self-assessment, examining what she’s achieved and where she wants to go next, a system which she still uses today—and which you can, too! Read the full story here.
Leslie Odom Jr.
Perhaps no one had a better 2016 than this “Hamilton” star who portrayed Aaron Burr in the megahit musical’s original Broadway cast but who, despite receiving infinite praise for his performance, insisted the show’s success was due to the “150 people who have put their hands on this thing in one way or another.” Read the full story here.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Having kicked off his career in theater before making the move out west and going on to become a household name on the long-running hit “Modern Family,” Ferguson returned to Broadway this year in the one-person tour de force “Fully Committed.” Read the full story here.
Scott Aukerman
Now at a new precipice of his career, the “Comedy Bang Bang” and “Between Two Ferns” creator urged young comedians with comparison anxiety to remember, “At a certain point, all of that will fall away and it won’t be so much a competition with your peers as a competition with yourself.” Read the full story here.
Raúl Castillo
Castillo was a breakout star on HBO’s short-lived “Looking,” but the actor confessed, prior to booking the role of audience favorite Richie, he nearly threw in the towel on his acting career altogether. Read why he didn’t here.
Sebastian Stan
Despite their big budgets and visually delectable special effects, the “Captain America: Civil War” lead insisted that superhero movies require the same dramatic flexing and “full-on commitment” as any other role. Read the full story here.
Sullivan Stapleton
For his Backstage cover story, “Blindspot” star Stapleton relocated the interview from a hipster-teeming coffee shop to the café bar within Tribeca’s Harley-Davidson store, a move which fits in all too well with his tendency to play the “man’s man” in films such as “Strike Back” and “300: Rise of an Empire.” Read more about him here.
Linda Cardellini
The “Bloodline” star, who first garnered attention starring on the cult classic “Freaks and Geeks,” revealed the ways her instantly-recognizable voice has helped to shape her impressive career. Read the full story here.
James Corden
“The Late Late Show” host James Corden was tasked with the monumental responsibility of hosting this year’s Tony Awards and, as a Tony winner and stage vet himself, Corden exclaimed before the gig, “The only thing I can guarantee is it’s going to be hosted by someone who cannot believe he’s been given the opportunity to host the Tony Awards.” Read the full story here.
Tobias Menzies and Sam Heughan
Fiercely beloved “Outlander” stars Menzies and Heughan graced the cover of Backstage to discuss the difficulty of depicting time travelers with authenticity as well as, yes, their status as “the thinking woman’s sex symbols.” Read the full story here.
Michaela Watkins
It’s hard not to love Watkins, the former “Saturday Night Live” and “Trophy Wife” who, now enjoying success on Hulu’s acclaimed “Casual,” admitted that, “Rejection and I are old friends.” Read how she deals with it here.
Alice Braga
Speaking to her role as the drug lord Teresa Mendoza on USA’s “Queen of the South,” the breakout Brazilian star chatted about accessing and channeling “that strength and that confidence to become that bad bitch.” Read the full story here.
Laird Mackintosh, Michael Minarik, and Lindsay Northen
These three Broadway understudy extraordinaires discussed what’s required to take the stage at a moment’s notice in some of the Great White Way’s biggest hits including “Wicked” and “Phantom of the Opera.” Read the full story here.
Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner
In a joint Backstage cover, the “Difficult People” stars Eichner and Klausner (who herself also created the series) sounded off on everything from “outsider” status in show business to Debra Messing and Susan Sarandon’s Twitter feud. Read more here.
John Cho
The “Star Trek Beyond” newcomer became an involuntary meme this year with the hashtag #StarringJohnCho, a virality which the actor discussed as part of the broader issue of Asian-American visibility on screen. Read the full story here.
Michael K. Williams
After playing hardened inmate Freddy on HBO’s summer hit “The Night Of,” in addition to producing the documentary series “Black Market,” Williams concluded, “When the system fails you, you create your own system.” Read how he did it here.
Nick Offerman
The actor and author has one piece of advice, which he implores all performers to remember: “Everybody wipes their fanny the same.” For more laughs, read the full interview here.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Between auditioning for Baz Luhrmann and landing a part on Netflix’s “The Get Down” and his role in the upcoming “Baywatch” film, Abdul-Mateen II had a wonderful—and “terrifying”—year. Read why here.
Sterling K. Brown
Before cinching an Emmy Award, Brown discussed stepping into the sizable shoes of prosecuting attorney Christopher Darden on “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.” Read the full story here.
Édgar Ramírez
After playing legendary boxer Roberto Durán in the feature film “Hands of Stone,” Ramírez discussed learning to fight in order to feel “the struggle, the pain that a boxer has to go through.” Read more about his process here.
Michiel Huisman
This Dutch actor had an electrifying year playing the founder of Harley Davidson in Discovery Channel’s miniseries about the motorcycle maven, in addition to his continued role as Daario Naharis on “Game of Thrones.” Read the full story here.
Judith Light
“You don’t need people in this business who are just going to tell you how wonderful you are all the time,” remarked the iconic Light, who this year returned to the stage in Neil LaBute’s one-woman show, “All the Ways to Say I Love You.” Read the full story here.
Michael Weatherly
From one CBS series to another, 2016 marked the year in which Weatherly concluded his 13-year stint on “NCIS,” before moving to the network’s new show “Bull,” where he stars as the titular courtroom trial analyzer, Dr. Jason Bull. Read how he made the switch here.
Mike Colter
Despite a starring role in “Jessica Jones,” which was followed by his character’s own series “Luke Cage,” Colter chatted with Backstage about why he’s still hesitant to declare that he’s “made it.” Read why here.
Andrew Rannells
After gaining notoriety with his Tony-nominated origination of Elder Price in “The Book of Mormon” and his multi-season arc as the acerbic Elijah on “Girls,” Rannells waxed on his return to Broadway in the powerful revival of “Falsettos” here.
Abigail Spencer
After acclaimed arcs on “Mad Men” and Sundance’s “Rectify,” 2016 provided Spencer with her first opportunity to lead a series with NBC’s “Timeless”—it also provided her first Backstage cover. Read the story here.
Denée Benton
It was quite a good year for Benton, who not only had a sizable role in the second season of Lifetime’s “UnREAL,” but also made a craterous Broadway debut as the titular Natasha in “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.” Read the full story here.
Aaron Eckhart
For his role as trainer Kevin Rooney in the Vinny Pazienza biopic “Bleed for This,” Eckhart had to make a drastic physical transformation, an arduous feat, which he described as part of “the fun about being an actor.” Read more about his meticulous preparation process here.
Sutton Foster
The “Younger” star and two-time Tony-winner looks back on her already illustrious career and discusses her return to the stage in a role she was born to play: Charity Hope Valentine in the New Group’s production of “Sweet Charity,” Off-Broadway. Read the full story here.
Naomie Harris
This might be remembered as the year of Harris’ breakout performance in the 2017 Oscar-contending “Moonlight.” The British actor discussed “escaping herself” in order to portray her drug-addicted character. Read the full story here.
Noah Galvin
After making headlines earlier in the year with a controversial interview, “The Real O’Neals” breakout star spoke with Backstage about what it means to be openly gay while playing a gay character on television. Read the full story here.
Emma Stone
Stone has an Oscar nomination, a starring role opposite Ryan Gosling in the critically acclaimed new movie musical “La La Land” and, as of 2016, a Backstage cover. Read the full story here.
Derek Hough
Though a bona-fide quadruple-threat (he is a consummate singer, dancer, actor, and choreographer), “Hairspray Live!” star Derek Hough refuses to label himself as anything other than a multi-faceted, diligent “performer.” Read the full story here.
Alfonso Herrera
The very day after the presidential election, Fox’s “The Exorcist” star spoke fervently about the confluence of his impassioned political stances and the roles he plays. Read the full story here.
Annette Bening
The acting powerhouse makes a highly anticipated return to the silver screen in this year’s “20th Century Women,” and the four-time Oscar nominee chatted with Backstage about her role in the film as Dorothea, whom she described as “an interesting, varied, enigmatic character.” Read the full story here.
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