The Insider.com

Although he made a name for himself as a pop star alongside his brothers, Nick Jonas has always felt like a Broadway kid in his heart. That's why life is especially sweet right now -- not only is he starring in How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, but tonight sees him make the first of many (one hopes) appearances on NBC's Smash!

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Playing Lyle West, a child star with as many fans as he has dollars in the bank, Nick's character arrives at a very opportune time for Eileen -- and Marilyn the Musical!

I caught up with Nick to talk all about his Smash-ing debut, how Broadway welcomed him with open arms and what's next for The Jonas Brothers!

Insider.com: How did you come to be on Smash?
Nick Jonas: For me, it's all about finding acting roles that show a different side of me and can provide growth as an actor -- something where I can really take myself out of my myself. Smash, Last Man Standing and How To Succeed – they're all steps for me, professionally. And with Smash specifically, Lyle is so different than I am, which was a fun challenge.

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Insider: You and Lyle do share a lot of professional similarities -- how do you feel that you differ from the character?
nick: Lyle is very precocious [laughs] and much more confident than me in a lot of ways. I don't know if I'm as forward with the ladies as Lyle is. He's a young guy who just wants to have a good time and that's pretty much all he thinks about. Then he realizes that's the only thing people think he thinks about – but he's got a brain for this business and has been in it long enough to understand that he's got to make things happen for himself.

Insider: What was your favorite part of guest starring on Smash?
Nick: Working opposite Anjelica Huston – it was a dream come true. And a total honor.

Insider: It's revealed in tonight's episode that Lyle has just come into $80 million -- barring charitable acts, what is the first thing you would do with that much money?
Nick: The first thing I would do is set up a home that I feel like I could be in for a long time. A quiet place where, someday I could move my wife and kids into. Setting up the future is the first thing on my mind. As for a splurge, my brother and I have always talked about getting a boat. It's this thing we always talk about, but wouldn't have time to use it now – but we think about it a lot.

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Insider: Although you made a name for yourself as a pop star/actor, you did get your start in theater -- have you found Broadway to be welcoming?
Nick: What was so great about my return to Broadway is that there was a general understanding that this is where I got my start. A lot of the people I'm working with now are people I worked with when I was a kid, so they're all rooting for me, which is a great feeling. I'd say that really trying to integrate myself into the Broadway community was important to me. I've loved theater my entire life and what I've noticed about Broadway people is that they care about their work and they care about the people they work with – those are two qualities I think are really golden.

Insider: Is there any difference between theater in London and in NYC?
Nick: I think there's a big difference but I loved my experience on the West End, I did [Les Miserables] there for about 2 months and it was great. I made a lot of really good friends. It was great to have that under my belt because it's so different from New York. There's so many elements that come into play but I would love to go back there and do another show.

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Insider: Was there any talk of you being in the upcoming movie adaptation?
Nick: There was in the beginning but I'm really excited about the people they've cast – I think Eddie Redmayne will be amazing as Marius and I think Thomas Hooper worked with him previously so their chemistry will make it an amazing movie.

Insider: Are you interested in doing that kind of movie?
Nick: If the right thing came up, I'm always up for it. My overall attitude is that I pick projects if it feels like something I can lend my voice to and my acting experience to. But it has to be right and it's got to feel organic. I am very interested to see what’s next on the horizon.

Smash airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on NBC.