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You may not recognize the name Dorian Harewood, but chances are you’d recognize the face or voice from one of the nearly 100 plays and movies he has appeared in, such as “Roots: The Next Generation,” “Full Metal Jacket,” and “Against All Odds.” He’s also the voice telling you what’s next on NBC; he’s been the network’s voice-over guy since 2012. He even has toured with the Four Tops, keeping in touch with the musical roots that started his career.
Harewood is currently back in theatre, starring in the musical “The Notebook” at the Schonefeld Theatre on Broadway as Older Noah Calhoun, a role that has landed him a Tony nomination for Best Actor. Harewood appeared on 710 WOR’s Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning program to talk about his career, starting with the film legend who encouraged him to give acting a shot.
“[Bette Davis and I] did a musical that was supposed to come to Broadway,” Harewood reminisced. “She told me that she really loved my singing voice, but had I thought about straight acting, and I told her no, I hadn’t thought about it. She said, ‘Well, I really like your dramatic instincts, they’re very much like mine and you’d be cheating yourself if you didn’t at least explore dramatic acting’… [so] I started as a singer. Bette Davis is the one who talked me into acting, and she was my mentor for the whole thing.”
Harewood talked about getting back into live theatre with “The Notebook” after a long stretch in TV and movies, which has culminated with his first Tony nomination. “There’s laughter all throughout the musical. There’s a lot of funny stuff, a lot of romantic things, tender things, tears of joy, a lot of that, and certainly tears of sadness. It’s a special, special show, and as good as the movie was, this musical is even better. It takes it to another level with the wonderful score by Ingrid Michaelson.”