Succession‘s Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) may have at times fought and tumbled her way through the HBO dramedy, but the Emmy-winning actress is putting her stamina to the true test in her one-woman Broadway adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray — and she’s taking a cue from popstar Taylor Swift to prepare.
As described by The New Yorker, which profiled Snook ahead of the strictly limited engagement, the play is an “athletic feat” involving her speaking for two hours opposite pre-recorded versions of herself sans a break and with only three brief “moments when she can sneak a sip of water.”
When asked how she trained for the unique role, in which she portrays 26 characters male and female, she replied, “No alcohol, no caffeine. Sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep. And I do my lines at pace on a treadmill, you know.”
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After the interviewer pointed out the similarity between Swift’s regimen and hers, Snook added that the singer-songwriter inspired her approach. “I heard that and thought, ‘That’s a genius idea. I’m gonna do that.’”
The multi-Grammy winner told Time in 2023 that she embarked on a rigorous workout routine half a year prior to her sprawling Eras Tour, which ran from March 2023 through December 2024 to become the highest-grossing tour of all time. That included running on the treadmill every day while singing the entire 3.5 hour setlist aloud: ”Fast for fast songs, and a jog or a fast walk for slow songs,” she said.
“I wanted to get it in my bones. I wanted to be so over-rehearsed that I could be silly with the fans, and not lose my train of thought. Learning choreography is not my strong suit,” Swift added.
The Picture of Dorian Gray began previews March 10, opening March 27 and running through June 15.
The post ‘Succession’s Sarah Snook Took Cues From Taylor Swift To Prep For Her Athletic Turn In ‘The Picture Of Dorian Gray’ On Broadway appeared first on Deadline.
