I Can't Stop Thinking About Jonathan Groff's Tears
The actor, known for crying in public, gives me permission to accept my own deep emotions.
Jonathan Groff made me cry on the subway.
He didn’t mean to, of course. But I was reading his The New Yorker interview in which recounted his two-decade career that began upon moving to New York City. When the interviewer asked how he was different from the 19-year-old who first moved to the city, here is how Groff responded:
[He bursts into tears.] I can’t tell why I cry!
When I read those words, I was moved to tears too. Thank goodness I was wearing a mask, which spared me from showing my messy emotions on public transit. As someone who also moved to New York City twenty years ago, I understood the gamut of emotions when thinking back on a life and career defined by this city.
Yet I also saw in Groff a kindred spirit. Because the interview also demonstrated what the actor is known for besides his prodigious talent: his propensity for crying.
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I am constantly bursting into tears too. So much can set me off: kind words, mean words, award show speeches, pop songs. What makes it worse is when it catches me off guard. For example, I have seen three Broadway shows this year. And each time the show ended—when the orchestral music swelled, the beaming actors took their bows, and the audience applauded—I was overwhelmed to the point of tears.
But to quote Groff, “I can’t tell why I cry.”
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