Three weeks before his last appearance as Water for the elephants‘ Circus stowaway Jacob Jankowski, Grant Gustin spent a breathless 48 hours at home in Los Angeles for his daughter’s third birthday. After 24 hours, “Purple Carpet Vs. the People” — his group chat with co-stars Isabelle McCalla and Paul Alexander Nolan — was already full of birthday content (McCalla apparently claimed a dressing room of particularly hideous purple carpet for himself, and the legacy lives on). “We’re like siblings,” Gustin said of his onstage love triangle, with whom he will perform for the last time on Sept. 1 (Kyle Selig takes over the lead role on Sept. 3). “It was a lot of fun.”

As Gustin’s Broadway debut Water for the elephants ended his decade as television star of The Flash on a high note. “I underestimated how hard it would be,” he said of the physically and vocally demanding role that constantly surprises him with new aches and pains. But it’s exactly what he was looking for when he packed up his car and headed east last winter. “I knew I wanted theater,” he said, reflecting on the cross-country trip that began this new chapter of his career. “I felt like I needed it to wake up as an actor.” After six months of Broadway, he’s wide awake – and with a newborn baby greeting him as soon as he steps off the stage, he may never sleep again.

Read more highlights from Gustin’s time on Broadway, including the show’s most famous line error, its most famous backstage visitor, and the circus job Gustin could confidently take at any time.

What is the most mundane thing you will miss about going to the Imperial Theatre every day after September 1st?

I probably don’t even know exactly what little things I’m going to miss now. I have a lot of tattoos on all my arms and I’m covering them up for the show. And I’m sure being alone in my room is what starts that process. Taking the steps where I’m alone before all the craziness starts.

Which of the Water for the elephants Which songs do you think will take the longest to disappear from your head?

It all depends on my daughter. They’ve been singing the album every night before bed. I thought my wife was exaggerating, but I’m home, so I sang with her last night before bed and my daughter was so excited to prove to me that she knew all these songs – and she does. She can sing the whole album. So it depends on the day, but probably “Silver Stars” is my only big solo ballad moment and I think that’s probably the ballad number that my daughter sings the most. And during rehearsals, I’ve been practicing “Silver Stars” the most, so I think “Silver Stars” is going to be the hardest to get out of my system.

What was the most memorable accident on stage?

Paul hands Izzy a box of jewelry just before he sings “You’ve Got Nothing” in Act 2, and she says, “You shouldn’t have done that.” And he says, “How do you know? It could be a can opener.” At a show months ago, we could both see the word leave his brain. And he says, “How do you know? It could be a can opener chandelier.” Somehow it happened again three weeks ago. The first time it happened, I left a note in his dressing room that just said, “How do you know? It could be a candlestick,” and I dated it. It’s hanging on his mirror.

Who was your favorite backstage visitor?

Probably (Steven) Spielberg. Spielberg came with (West Side Story Star) Mike Feist, which was cool. They happened to be there on the same day and came backstage together. Lin-Manuel (Miranda) came too. I had met Lin a few times before, but it’s really special when he comes to a show.

You, Paul and Izzy have been a tight-knit trio throughout this whole experience. What have you learned from each of them?

Paul is just such a free actor. He’s so bold and brave, but also simple. I’m always listening, but I don’t consciously go into it thinking, “I’m going to do things I’ve never done before.” You never know what Paul is going to do, and I think that influenced me a little bit. It’s the same with Izzy. And she’s so emotionally available every night. It feels like she’s taking this journey for the first time, and I think that helps ground me. It’s a good reminder every night to just be as vulnerable as possible.

Now that you have lived in a fictional circus world for six months, what job in a real circus do you think you would be qualified for?

The first job Jacob does at the beginning of the show is shoveling horse manure. I could probably do that too. That would be my entry-level job and we would see if I developed any new skills along the way. But that’s probably all I can do without training: shoveling manure.

Have you learned any circus skills from your colleagues?

They asked me a few times if I wanted to do this or that and I said, “No, I’m staying on the ground.” I have no interest in potentially getting hurt while fooling around. Izzy, on the other hand – she does all the trapeze work in the show and has been developing it and trying to convince Shana Carroll, our circus choreographer, to let her do more and more. She tried my ladder jump so many times at the beginning of the show just because she’s interested in learning all these skills. She’s the little sister of the group. She’s the crazy one.

What are you most looking forward to in your schedule after airing eight shows a week?

(Before rehearsals started) I drove across the country because I was taking our two dogs and a lot of my daughter’s stuff and stuff. The first day of the drive, my wife told me she was pregnant and I was going to be in New York for eight months. So I was like, “All right, as soon as I’m done, there’s a new baby.” The due date is literally just days after I graduate. I’m excited to get home and just be with my girls again, but we’re also going to welcome a new baby. There’s no resting.

I know you went into this show with some anxiety. How is your confidence now that you’re reaching the finish line of your Broadway debut?

For me, singing was the biggest thing. I feel like people in LA think of me as someone who sings because I was featured on Joy and we did musical things on flash. But I never saw myself as a singer. When I started here, I wasn’t confident and my imposter syndrome was strong. I was really scared that in the first month they would realize they had made a big mistake. I found so much confidence as a singer for the first time because I had no choice but to be confident. I hope I can hold on to that and carry it forward if I get the opportunity to do another musical on Broadway one day.