Stephen Collins finds his ‘Spamalot’ heaven

NEW YORK -- For 11 seasons, Stephen Collins played Eric Camden, the father and small-town minister of the hit TV drama “7th Heaven,” which apparently left an impression on viewers.

“I find people are very polite to me, which is really sweet,” Collins says. “They tend to be on their good behavior because they sort of do think that I’m kind of a minister.”

And now -- as the Monty Python catchphrase goes -- for something completely different, Collins has joined the cast of the Tony-winning musical “Spamalot” as King Arthur.

“Spamalot,” which opened in 2005, is “lovingly ripped off” (as the official website puts it) from the 1975 movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

Collins is clearly having fun from the first deadpan moment that he trots on stage (minus a horse) to the sound of his servant clapping two coconut shells behind him.

Though best known for his TV work, Collins began his career in theater with roles in the original Broadway casts of “Moonchildren” and “The Ritz,” among others. He also played Macduff in a New York Shakespeare Festival production of “Macbeth.”

In conversation, Collins is unassuming, quick to praise his “Spamalot” colleagues and thoughtful about the challenges of performing comedy.

“Arthur is about 75% straight man, but I’ve always loved that job,” Collins says. “To me, if the other guy gets a really big laugh, then I know I’ve done my job right.”

Mike Nichols, who won a Tony for his direction of the musical, asked Collins to audition last fall. After days of preparation, Collins closed the deal after singing just one song. Collins said he has always wanted to work with Nichols. “In rehearsals, he can say something in one sentence that would take an ordinary mortal 10 minutes to articulate,” he says.

It’s been 23 years since Collins’ last appearance on Broadway. His last off-Broadway show was Stephen Sondheim’s “Putting it Together” with Julie Andrews in 1994.

“I think once you’re a stage actor, which he is, you never lose it,” says Collins’ costar, Marin Mazzie, who plays the Lady of the Lake. “It’s in your bones. And it’s in his bones.”