With credits in shows like The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Little Mermaid and Anything Goes, Robert Creighton is certainly one of the industry’s most beloved character actors, but what he does in the title role of Cagney is something else altogether. Playing the ultimate tough guy, Creighton brings to life a true passion project which proves, just like Cagney, that he is made of leading man material. On the eve of the show’s opening at The York Theatre Company we had the opportunity of talking with Mr. Creighton about this project.

How did your Cagney obsession begin?

I was in acting school in New York in the early 90s and a teacher said I reminded him of Jimmy Cagney because I was the same size. At that point I didn’t know too much about him so I started watching his films, back then I was very much into the craft of acting, so I became mesmerized by Cagney. I think as an actor he was ahead of his time, just the detail of the characters, there was something about him that caught me and I felt very connected to him right off the bat. I started reading about his life and became more intrigued. After acting school his estate was trying to put together a show about his life so I auditioned for that and got that part, we workshopped it a little bit but it fizzled out. That light my fire and made me realize this was a story I had to tell, I felt so connected to him.

How did it turn into a musical?

I’d never written a musical before so I worked on the book with Peter Colley, five years after that we did a reading in New York, we gave it more shape with Bill Castellino who also served as director and Christopher McGovern who wrote the rest of the score. The four of us collaborated on what you see today.

What are some of your favorite Cagney performances?

Obviously Yankee Doodle Dandy he’s incredible in that, The Roaring Twenties which he did with Humphrey Bogart...I rewatched it recently and he’s phenomenal, also Angels with Dirty Faces, Love Me or Leave Me which he did with Doris Day and should be a musical on Broadway. I think he should’ve won another Oscar for that one (laughs).

Doing your research did you find anything that changed your perception of him? Perhaps something about his life that made you reevaluate his performances.

Interesting question. Perhaps after I learned where he came from, what a fighter he was. The first thirty pages of his autobiography are about his life in the streets, after you read that and see the physicality he brought to the screen you realize that was who he was, he wasn’t putting on a show. He was also an artist, a farmer, he raised horses...he was a real guy, he wasn’t loud but you didn’t want to mess with him. When he started to get famous people would try to pick fights with him which is partly was forced him to stay away from public life, he knew they could “bring out the Irish in him”, so he preferred to stay away. When you learn where he came from and see his ability to be ferocious onscreen, you realize he was honest.

Did you put any autobiographical elements of your own in the story since you have such an affinity with Cagney, and mentioned you were the same size for instance?

That’s a valid question, I don’t think Cagney was trying to prove anything because he always made it a case onscreen to fight guys who were bigger than him. I think when you see a smaller guy onscreen and it’s written in the script that he scares a bigger guy, there’s something unseen that gives him the power. I think that enhances the power of the scene because there is something that remains a mystery to the audience. In terms of me, being short always made me try harder in sports, but I don’t think much about it. I guess it shapes you in a way, but you also develop different skills, that’s why there are so many short comedians. I feel Cagney, like me, was a “guy’s guy” who loved sports, but also loved tap dancing and music and arts. I feel connected to him that way.

The studio era in Hollywood was particular because they made personalities instead of people who all looked the same too.

Yes, it was remarkable, Cagney for instance, they put him as second banana and his toughness made them make him a star.

The tap sequences in your show are spectacular. How was it to work with Joshua Bergasse?

He’s an amazing guy, he’s fun and very laid back, but boy he makes you work (laughs) he expects you to do what he envisions.

It must be a great workout too.

Are you kidding? I have two little kids and they don’t understand daddy needs to sleep in sometimes (laughs).

I’m curious about the score for the show. While there are some completely new songs they sound very familiar, like they were made during the Tin Pan Alley era, can you talk about your influences when you were writing the music?

That was important because we knew we wanted to include some George M. Cohan music because you can’t tell a story about Cagney without that, but we wanted everything to feel like a unified piece, we couldn’t have modern music and Cohan. We wanted to have a score that wouldn’t confuse people, it’s a score from 2015 but it feels familiar, and I feel very proud of the fact that we accomplished that.

The show is all about legacy and how Cagney was worried about how people would perceive him when he was gone. It might be too early to ask you this since you have a long career ahead, but how do you want people to think of you?

It’s interesting. Right now in my career I’ve been very lucky, to have made a living doing Broadway shows...I’m lucky. More than legacy I worry about my reputation, you want to be thought of as a hard worker, someone who shows up in time and that’s who I wanna be, that’s how I wanna go through the business. In terms of my long term legacy, my kids have put my priorities into perspective, I want my kids to be proud of my work. I think Cagney is going to be part of my legacy because it was a dream that came true through very hard work. I feel I was born to do this show and it’s happening, having it at the York Theatre is just the beginning.

Cagney is playing at The York Theatre Company.