Interview: Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach Bring Their Long Friendship to Broadway in Dog Day Afternoon

Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach have known each other for more than two decades.

The two actors first crossed paths all the way down 42nd Street when Bernthal understudied Moss-Bachrach in the 2003 Signature Theatre revival of Fifth of July by Lanford Wilson. Now, a mere 10 blocks uptown, they’re teaming up for their Broadway debuts in Dog Day Afternoon, a new Stephen Adly Guirgis play inspired by the beloved Sidney Lumet film (Moss-Bachrach is playing the John Cazale part; Bernthal will be the one filling Pacino’s shoes).

As they prepare to launch the production at the August Wilson Theatre, the two actors talk about taking on a story they consider sacred, the thrill and terror of tackling Broadway together, and why Guirgis’s unmistakable New York dialect makes this version feel especially urgent.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

How are the dog days of rehearsals going?
Jon Bernthal: You know, it’s spicy days. It’s a movie that we revere. It’s an American masterpiece. I think for anybody in our age range who decided to be an actor, an artist, those performances and that filmmaking are sacred to us. The draw here, at least for me, was Stephen’s take on the story and how incredibly pertinent this story is. How far we’ve come since 1972 and how little we’ve traveled, you know? Stephen’s a master of telling these New York stories through the lens of outsiders, and that’s really what this is: a couple of misfits who feel unseen, trapped into a corner. It’s about them taking a stand and following their heart, and the hunger to be one’s own authentic self.

How far back do the two of you go?
Jon: We’ve known each other a very long time. We actually met when I understudied Ebon in an off-Broadway play [Signature Theatre’s 2003 revival of Fifth of July] back in 2003. Ebon got me to be on The Bear, which was so cool, and we did The Punisher together.

Does having that long history together make it easier to take on something this challenging?
Ebon Moss-Bachrach: In trying to do anything, especially a play as ambitious as this, in an arena like Broadway, where neither of us has ever done it… we’re jumping off a cliff. It’s nice to have a familiar face and familiar hands to hold as you do this. It feels like we’re pushing a big thing up a mountain here. It’s scary.

And there are so many variables when you go out to make something in a deeply collaborative medium. I know what Jon’s priorities are, I know what his motivations are, I know what he wants out of something, and it’s similar to mine. Working with him is like having a confidant and comrade, and if I’m feeling unsure about things, he’s a great sounding board. There’s no one else I’d rather do this with, and he continues to be essential and helpful in refocusing me when I’m feeling like I’ve lost my way. It’s easy for him to pull me back.

What does Stephen Adly Guirgis bring to this story?
Jon: In a way, it’s almost thumbing its nose at this mania that’s taken over of having a built-in audience. In this day and time of IP, everyone is trying to capture that built-in audience, and this is the opposite of that. He’s a singular artist with a singular voice, telling this singular story through his lens. What I love so much about creators like Stephen is that, in the nature of their work, you can go off into the nooks and crannies of the story. You see the people in the bank, the people in the crowd, these unbelievable characters. It’s a wild, punk-rock ability to make the piece unpredictable. And I think that’s so cool.

Ebon: It’s his ear for New York. He’s a New York writer. New York is his canvas and his ear is unmatched. I’d be surprised if this dude has ever left New York City. Just the details, the life of it exists in the details, and his ability to see the cracks in the ground and bring that stuff out. He’s working with a really rich palette.

What made you want to be part of this production now?
Jon: I went after it for quite some time. I got a call from Stephen out of the blue asking me to do a reading, and I didn’t even need to hear what the piece was; I just wanted to work with him. And now I get to do it with my brother, Ebon, this guy I believe in so much, whose instincts I trust so much, and who I love as a human being so much. Look, it’s terrifying and it’s hard. We’re right at the place now where we’re about to launch this out into the world and we don’t know what we have yet. We’ve worked very hard, and there’s no place I’d rather be, terror and all.

Ebon: I would do this play anytime if I had a chance. I would have done it 20 years ago and I would do it 20 years from now. I don’t think people would let me do it then; we’re starting to push the age thing here a little bit. But yeah, Jon and I are both very fortunate with the things we’ve gotten to do that have allowed us to be here and share this story with people.

And I don’t know, it seems very exciting to me. Sometimes I go to see plays and I feel they can be a little bit boring. This is a very visceral, heartfelt thing. It’s very exciting, it’s very dangerous, and I just want to light a fire under the audience in the way that some of the plays I saw when I was a kid influenced me and made me want to pursue a life in theater.