From 'Sunset Boulevard' to 'Dear England': Meet this year's Olivier-nominated stars

Read interviews with some of the biggest contenders of this year's Olivier Awards, which is taking place at London's Royal Albert Hall on 14 April.

Ahead of this year's Olivier Awards, which will take place on Sunday 14 April at London's Royal Albert Hall, we have rounded up interviews with some of the night's biggest contenders.

From Nicole Scherzinger who starred as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, which is nominated for 11 awards on the night, to Joseph Fiennes who took on the role of Gareth Southgate in Dear England, find out more about these stars of the stage. You can also read the full list of nominees for this year's awards.

Nicole Scherzinger (Sunset Boulevard)

Nominated for Best Actress in a Musical

"Sometimes I feel like a modern-day Norma Desmond because here’s a story about this woman who lives in this house up in the hills off of Sunset Boulevard. And I actually live in a big house up in the hills off of Sunset Boulevard. I experienced having my pop star status in my heyday a decade ago, and now times have changed so much. She’s the movie star, and I’m the pop star. In the human, emotional aspect of it, the feeling of abandonment, loneliness, emptiness, insecurities, fear, overthinking, overanalysing – I tend to do that. I think she does too."

Read the full interview with Nicole Scherzinger.

Joseph Fiennes (Dear England)

Nominated for Best Actor

"I think of Gareth and the hardships he went through as a player and how he’s managed to forge and manifest the best part of his potential and character out of that pain."

Read the full interview with Joseph Fiennes.

Jack Wolfe (Next to Normal)

Nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical

"Next to Normal premiered on Broadway 15 years ago, and it hit me at the perfect point as a teenager to discover the Tony Awards performance on YouTube. I was so excited to see it come to London, and then to be in it comes with pressure."

Read the full interview with Jack Wolfe.

Book Next to Normal tickets on London Theatre.

Mark Gatiss (The Motive and the Cue)

Nominated for Best Actor

"You don’t need to know anything about theatre to enjoy The Motive and the Cue. It’s also about fame, addiction, class, fathers and sons, ghosts. It’s got everything – just like Hamlet!"

Read the full interview with Mark Gatiss.

Marisha Wallace (Guys & Dolls)

Nominated for Best Actress in a Musical

"This is my first time working with Nick Hytner, and I can’t believe that because I initially turned down the role, which is crazy! Because I was like, I can’t do a year. At that time, I had only been doing three-month stints because I had been doing theatre for so long. And then he took me out to lunch and he said, 'I’ve never begged anyone to do a show before and I want you to do the show.'"

Read the full interview with Marisha Wallace.

Book Guys & Dolls tickets on London Theatre.

Michael R Jackson and Stephen Brackett (A Strange Loop)

Nominated for Best New Musical

Jackson: "I wrote it from a place of complete sort of loneliness and isolation thinking that there was no one I could talk to about any of the things that came up. So for the piece to have grown from that to so many people stepping into it or auditioning for it or seeing the show and talking about what it means for them to see those representations means that like that initial spark to fill the void was the right one."

Read the full interview with Michael R Jackson and Stephen Brackett.