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Jonathan Groff's Tony Awards Speech About His Parents' Acceptance Leaves Fans In Tears
Actor Jonathan Groff got us in the feels with a powerful speech after he finally won his first Tony award for Best Lead Actor for his performance in the musical revival of Merrily We Roll Along.
Groff, who admitted to crying after hearing he was initially nominated, was emotionally overwhelmed upon hearing his name announced as the winner in the category on Sunday night.
The 39-year-old got up on stage to raucous applause and began his acceptance speech by thanking his parents first, saying:
“Thank you for letting me dress up as Mary Poppins when I was 3. Thank you for letting me act out scenes from I Love Lucy on my 10th birthday.
"Thank you for always allowing my freak flag to fly without ever making me feel weird about it.”
He continued:
“Even if they didn't always understand me, my family knew the lifesaving power of fanning the flame of a young person's passions without judgment."
“I walk through life with an open heart because you let me know that I could; thank you, I love you.”
You can watch his full acceptance speech shared by a user on X (formerly Twitter) who wrote:
“I’m gonna need every future award winner to take notes from Jonathan Groff’s Tonys speech, because damnnnnnn.”
The newly minted Tony winner went on to give a shout-out to his teachers back in his home state of Pennsylvania and continued:
“I moved to New York exactly 20 years ago this year, and I got a job waiting tables and became a volunteer for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and all I wanted was to be a part of this community.”
Groff rose to prominence after making his Broadway debut originating the role of the lead character Melchior Gabor in 2006's Spring Awakening.
The musical, adapted from Frank Wedekind's original 1891 play with music by Duncan Sheik and book and lyrics by Steven Sater, won eight Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical.
Spring Awakening also earned Groff a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, and being a part of the show prompted an awakening of his own.
He said during Sunday's speech:
“Thank you to everyone involved in Spring Awakening, who not only made that dream come true, but also inspired me to come out of the closet when I was 23."
“I'm now 39, and musical theater is still saving my soul.”
There appeared not to be a dry eye in the house and online, with fans shouting their praise for Groff's emotional speech.
Fans agreed he gave a masterclass in speech delivery.
Before winning the Tony, Groff was last nominated for his brilliant portrayal of King George III in Hamilton when he returned for the Broadway production for two stints in 2015 after closing out its off-Broadway run at the Public Theater.
He found continued success in various TV ventures, including appearances in the Fox musical drama, Glee, and starring in the Netflix crime thriller series Mindhunter.
Groff also voiced Kristoff in Disney's animated blockbuster Frozen in 2013 and reprised the character for its short film sequel Frozen Fever in 2015, and in the sequel film Frozen II in 2019.
The 2022 revival of Merrily We Roll Along was staged at New York Theatre Workshop and transferred to Broadway the following year.
The production was directed by Maria Friedman and it starred Groff along with Daniel Radcliffe, who also won a Tony for Featured Actor , and Lindsay Mendez, who was nominated for Featured Actress.