With the Tonys it's a little tricky because a lot of the funnier jokes are more insider, so people watching at home may not get a Julie Taymor reference the way that New Yorkers would. So you have to figure out what comedy plays to a large audience and still respect the individuals who are there.
Nobody inspired me more than Julie Andrews, who is a classically trained soprano herself.
I made a big mistake with him the first day I shot. We're shooting the scene where I come back from the party, the dance, in the sleigh with Julie Christie and we turn the corner and go past the camera and the camera follows us just a little bit and we disappear.
Working with Julie Andrews is like getting hit over the head with a valentine.
One of my favorites is 'The Sound of Music'. When Julie Andrews runs through the hills singing her head off, I always wish that a gust of wind would blow her skirt up.
When our executive producer, Julie Plec, told me I was going to become a hybrid I got really excited. Because there's a lot of responsibility that comes with that, especially in our world of 'The Vampire Diaries' where Tyler is the first successful hybrid that's made.
In terms of influence, my style icons have been a mixture of Julie Andrews and Olivia Newton-John. When I was little I used to watch 'Grease,' 'Mary Poppins' and 'The Sound of Music' a lot. If you put all those things together you do kind of get my outfits. A slightly tarty nanny in a second-hand outfit. That is pretty much what I wear.
I will admit, I once launched myself at Julie Garwood for a hug, hoping some of her magic would rub off on me... and I have fangirl crushes on Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Linda Howard, and Kresley Cole, among many others.
Julie Andrews is so iconic, and I grew up watching 'The Sound of Music' - it's every girl's dream to play Maria, in a way, I think. That music!
I think the last album I bought was a very beautiful album called 'Lost Wisdom' by Mount Eerie featuring Julie Doiron, and I bought it direct from Phil Elverum via his website. It's cool you can do that now with the Internet.