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Dan Amboyer is no stranger to New York: he's lived all across the boroughs for the past 17 years, now settled in Brooklyn with his husband Eric Berger and their two kids, 5-year-old Teddy and 1-year-old Phoebe. But the actor’s experience with the city extends to the small screen as well: Amboyer starred as Hillary Duff’s character's fiancé Thad Steadman in Younger, the hit New York-shot Darren Star TV show show that ran for seven seasons starting 2015 and has recently found a new fanbase on Netflix.
“Once they put it on Netflix, it was hanging out there in the top list for a while so people that hadn’t had access to it before could now watch it,” the 39-year-old actor tells Time Out New York. “Suddenly I was dropping off my son in school and people were like ‘Oh my, I saw you on the show last night!’”
New Yorkers can now catch Amboyer on yet another New York-based production: the Off Broadway play Maybe Tomorrow, currently playing at the Abingdon Theatre company through April 6. Written by Max Mondi and directed by Chad Austin, the two-actor play also stars Elizabeth A. Davis as Amboyer’s partner. The 90-minute play specifically dives into the characters’ 10-year romantic relationship as they navigate a new set of challenges together.
We catch up with Amboyer about all things New York and acting as the Off Broadway production continues its run in midtown Manhattan. Below are edited excerpts from our conversation.
On what it’s like to star in Maybe Tomorrow
“What's really cool to me is that, with everything happening in the world, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the news and I think that the characters are working through things as well. They are dealing with overwhelming circumstances and outside pressures, trying to find the best path forward and, hopefully, trying to create a family together. I found an immediate connection with the character, who is a bit of a Golden Retriever. He is relentlessly looking for the positive in all circumstances.”
On enjoying New York City with the kids
“We love to go to Coney Island, on the rides. The Wonder Wheel is a favorite. We have the Elliot the Elephant books and Coney Island is in it so it’s a fun thing to get to do what Elliot does in the books.
In terms of food, we love Giovanni's near Prospect Park. It’s an Italian restaurant on the corner of where we live and they have live music on Saturday nights. We love it!”
On all the different New York City neighborhoods that he has called home
“I'm from the Detroit area in Michigan and have been fortunate to live in so many different neighborhoods throughout the past 17 years. I first lived in Astoria and I loved it: it was family oriented and filled with beautiful markets. I still think the produce there is the best in New York, and good priced comparatively. I then lived in the Gramercy area with my husband for about 10 years and now we're out in Brooklyn. We came here to nest and be next to Prospect Park and we're so fortunate to live near it.”
On filming the majority of Younger in New York City
“Darren Star kind of had this mantra by which New York was another character on the show so we were filming on location almost all the time, in restaurants and bars. Very little was on sound stages. I remember shooting in the Gramercy Park Hotel, for example, or inside SPIN in the Flatiron.”