EXCLUSIVE: Todrick Hall on His Return to Broadway and How Taylor Swift Helped Him Prepare for 'Kinky Boots'
Starring in a Broadway production, eight shows a week, is no easy task, let alone having to sing and dance in full drag and sky-high heels.
But Todrick Hall is clearly up for the challenge when he steps into those iconic shoes as Lola in Kinky Boots on Broadway beginning Tuesday -- a role first made famous by Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor in the 2005 British film and later by Billy Porter, who won a Tony Award for his turn as a drag queen who helps a struggling factory owner by creating a line of sturdy stilettos.
It’s the gig of a lifetime for Hall, who got his start on the Great White Way before moving to Los Angeles to pursue YouTube.
WATCH: Go Behind the Scenes of Todrick’s ‘Steak and Eggs’ Video
“I’m the most nervous I’ve ever been,” Hall admits to ET. “I never dreamed that I would come to New York, let alone be in a Broadway show, let alone star in a Broadway show and have my picture outside of a theater I walked past for years and so it just feels very surreal.”
Thankfully, the 31-year-old has pal Taylor Swift to help calm his nerves.
“Taylor's been the person I've been calling the most when I'm freaking out,” he shares. “She's been like, 'Todrick, you got this.' She's like, 'You're the most fierce person I know.' I've been strutting in my heels for her on FaceTime.”
The pair turned heads this summer after being snapped in NYC just weeks before news broke that Swift and then-boyfriend Tom Hiddleston had split. At the time, paparazzi identified Hall as the 1989 singer’s “mystery man.” But the two friends took the gaffe in stride.
WATCH: Taylor Swift Steps Out in a Leggy Look in NYC With Todrick Hall
“We laughed and she was like, 'This is my favorite rumor I've ever heard in my entire life that you and I are dating,’” he recalls. “We would be the worst couple because we would fight over shoes.”
Swift isn’t the only high-profile friend throwing their support at Hall. He’s also sought out advice from his Drag Race All-Stars boss, RuPaul, who knows a thing or two about drag.
“RuPaul has really helped me come out of my shell,” Hall says. “To be able to rehearse full out and just be more comfortable in my skin because that's what he stands for and how he lives his life everyday.”
WATCH: RuPaul Gets Emotional Backstage Over Surprise Emmy Win
Hall counts Ru as a mentor and “a trailblazer for our community.”
“Not just for the musical theater community, the gay community, the black community, but the community of people who are trying everyday to teach love,” he adds. It's a message Hall says he hopes audiences will take away from Kinky Boots.
“If there is any show on Broadway that will remind people how to love and be accepting and live life to the fullest everyday, this is the show for them to see," he notes.
Hall stars in Kinky Boots on Broadway beginning Nov. 1. For a behind-the-scenes tour of the Tony-winning musical and a closer look at the amazing costumes (including the boots!), watch the video below.