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Andrew Rannells
2024-03-08 SXSW-2024 Variety-comedy-awards 04574.jpg
Rannells in 2024
Born
Andrew Scott Rannells

(1978-08-23) August 23, 1978 (age 46)
Education Marymount Manhattan College
Occupation
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active 1994–present
Partner(s) Tuc Watkins (2019–present)

Andrew Scott Rannells (born August 23, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for originating the role of Elder Kevin Price in the 2011 Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and won the 2012 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. He received his second Tony nomination in 2017 for his performance as Whizzer in the 2016 Broadway revival of Falsettos. Other Broadway credits include Hairspray (2005), Jersey Boys (2009), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2014), Hamilton (2015), The Boys in the Band (2018), and Gutenberg! The Musical! (2023). For his performance in the Off West End production of Tammy Faye, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award.

In the 2010s, he began working as a screen actor; most notably, he starred in the 2012 NBC sitcom The New Normal and played the recurring role of Elijah in HBO's Girls (2012–2017). In 2019, he began starring in Black Monday on Showtime. He has accumulated numerous voice acting credits since the beginning of his career including, currently, Matthew MacDell on Netflix's Big Mouth and William Clockwell on Amazon Prime's Invincible.

Early life and education

Rannells was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Charlotte and Ronald Rannells. He is the fourth of five siblings, with three sisters and an older brother. Rannells attended Our Lady of Lourdes grade school in Omaha, and then Creighton Preparatory School, an all-boys Roman Catholic school in Omaha. ..... His family lived in the Hanscom Park neighborhood in Omaha.

As a child, he took classes at the Emmy Gifford Children's Theater and performed at the Omaha Community Playhouse and the Firehouse Dinner Theatre and the Dundee Dinner Theatre. Rannells was 11 when he acted in his first play. He did community theater with fellow Omahan and Creighton Prep alumnus Conor Oberst. He did voice-over work and commercials, including a 1996 Grease spoof with Amy Adams.

Rannells moved to New York City in 1997 after graduating high school, studying theater at Marymount Manhattan College for two years before he started auditioning full-time and began landing roles.

Career

1994–2002: Early career and voice acting

Active in community theater, Rannells got his start as a professional actor as a teenager through voice acting. In the mid-1990s, he found work with the animation production company DIC Entertainment through an Omaha casting call. He was subsequently cast in a number of their television productions in main voice roles. He continued to work in the medium for a number of years while pursuing theater. Rannells worked with the New York City-based production company 4Kids Entertainment from 2001 to 2004 and did voice acting for several English dubs of anime series such as Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, in addition to serving as voice director for the dubs of Kirby: Right Back at Ya! and Sonic X.

One of his first theater roles was as the character James in the touring production of Pokémon Live! from September 2000 to August 2001. .....

Before winning his first Broadway role, Rannells had parts in a number of regional theater productions, including Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Miss Saigon, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. For his turn as Hedwig at the Zachary Scott Theater Center in Austin, Texas, in 2002, he won best actor in a musical at the B. Iden Payne Awards in September 2002, which honor outstanding achievements in Austin theater.

2005–2012: Broadway debut and The Book of Mormon

Andrew Rannells 2009
Rannells in 2009

In 2005, Rannells made his Broadway debut when he first understudied and then assumed the role of Link Larkin in the Broadway production of Hairspray.

He followed this with some regional performances. He played Bob Gaudio in the First National Tour of Jersey Boys. His last performance with the tour was on December 6, 2008, in Toronto. In January 2009, he reprised the role of Gaudio in the musical's Broadway production.

In 2011, Rannells originated the role of Elder Price in The Book of Mormon, a musical written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and Avenue Q composer Robert Lopez. For his performance, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for his performance in the musical's Original Broadway Cast Recording. His last performance was June 10, 2012.

2012–present: Work in television and theater

Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha at PaleyFest 2013
Rannells and Justin Bartha at Paleyfest in 2013

..... In one of his most well known roles, he played the recurring role of Elijah on the HBO television series Girls.

Andrew Rannells 2015 (cropped)
Rannells in 2015

In 2015 Universal Pictures acquired a comedy that was to be written by Rannells with Mike Doyle and produced by Judd Apatow. He temporarily replaced Jonathan Groff in the role of King George III in Hamilton on Broadway from October 27 to November 29, 2015, while Groff fulfilled pre-arranged filming commitments.

Rannells played the role of Whizzer Brown in the Broadway revival of Falsettos directed by James Lapine. He was joined by Christian Borle and Stephanie J. Block who played Marvin and Trina, respectively. The musical ran from October 27, 2016 (with previews beginning September 29), to January 8, 2017. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance.

He played Larry in the 2018 Broadway revival of The Boys in the Band. It was a limited run, in honor of the play's 50th anniversary. It won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. He revived his role (along with the rest of the revival cast) for the film adaptation for Netflix, which was released on September 30, 2020.

On the television show Black Monday Rannells played Blair Pfaff, one of the leading roles and was also a producer. The show premiered on January 20, 2019, on Showtime. In April 2019, the series was renewed for a second season that premiered on March 15, 2020. In October 2020, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered in 2021. In January 2022, it was confirmed by cast member Paul Scheer that the show was cancelled by Showtime.

During this period, he also returned to voice acting; notable credits include main roles in Netflix's Big Mouth (2017–2025) and Amazon's Invincible (2021–present). He played Trent Oliver in Netflix's 2020 movie musical The Prom, an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name.

In 2022 Rannells made his London stage debut originating the role of Jim Bakker in the musical Tammy Faye at the Almeida Theatre. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2023. Originally announced to reprise this role for the Broadway transfer in the fall of 2024, he dropped out of the production after contract negotiations failed and was replaced by his Falsettos co-star Christian Borle.

He reunited with his The Book of Mormon co-star Josh Gad for a limited Broadway production of Gutenberg! The Musical! from September 15, 2023, to January 28, 2024.

Rannells published his first book, a memoir titled Too Much Is Not Enough, in 2019. It is a series of essays about his childhood in Omaha, Nebraska, and his years spent in New York leading up to his 2005 Broadway debut in Hairspray. His second book Uncle of the Year: & Other Debatable Triumphs, again a memoir in the form of essays, was released in 2023.

He made his directorial debut with season 2 episode 7 of Modern Love, titled "How Do You Remember Me?" He also wrote the episode, adapting an essay he wrote for the New York Times column (which appeared in his first memoir).

During an interview on a podcast called "4Kids Flashback", Rannells revealed that he was never called up to reprise his role as Tao Ren for the English dub of Shaman King (2021).

Personal life

Rannells is gay, mentioning that he had known about his sexual orientation since high school. He came out to his family when he was eighteen, but he stated that "by that point, no one was surprised". He also came out to his theater friends, but not his all-boys Catholic school.

Since 2019, he has been in a relationship with actor Tuc Watkins. The two met the year before while playing a couple in the Broadway production of The Boys in the Band. They reprised their roles for Netflix's film version of the show and also worked together on Black Monday in 2020.

He splits his time between New York and Los Angeles.

Acting credits

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Sex and the City 2 Wedding Chorus
2012 Bachelorette Manny
2015 The Intern Cameron
2016 Why Him? Blaine Pederman
2018 A Simple Favor Darren
2020 The Boys in the Band Larry
The Prom Trent Oliver
The Stand In Nico
2023 Our Son Matthew
Trolls Band Together Veneer (voice)
2024 I Don't Understand You Cole
TBA Untitled A Simple Favor sequel Darren Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2012–2017 Girls Elijah Krantz 35 episodes
2012–2013 The New Normal Bryan Collins 22 episodes
2013 Comedy Bang! Bang! Quinn Abernathy Episode: "Clark Gregg Wears a Navy Blazer & White Collared Shirt"
2013–2014 How I Met Your Mother Darren 2 episodes
2015 Glee Himself Episode: "Dreams Come True"
2015 The Knick Frazier H. Wingo 4 episodes
2016 Another Period Bertram Harrison Fusselforth VII 3 episodes
2016 ... History Washington Roebling Episode: "Landmarks"
2017 Will & Grace Reggie Episode: "Grandpa Jack"
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race Himself / Guest Judge Episode 8 (season 10)
2018 The Romanoffs David Patton Episode: "Bright and High Circle"
2018 Live from Lincoln Center: Stars in Concert Himself Episode: "Andrew Rannells in Concert" (Season 1)
2019–2021 Black Monday Blair Pfaff 30 episodes, also producer
2020 Central Park Griffin Voice; 2 episodes
2021–2024 Invincible William Clockwell Voice; 13 episodes
2021–2022 Ridley Jones Aten Voice; 4 episodes
2021–2024 Girls5eva Kev Recurring role; 8 episodes
2022 Duncanville Voice; 2 episodes
2022 Welcome to Chippendales Bradford Barton 4 episodes
2023–2024 Princess Power King Barton Voice; 13 episodes
2023 History of the World, Part II Sergei Episode: "V"
2024 The Boys Homelander Iceskater 1 episode

Anime

† indicates the release date of an English language version. This list is incomplete.

Year Title Role Notes
2001–2006† Pokémon Morty, Harley, additional characters English dub
2001 Shaman King Len Tao, Luchist Lasso English dub
2001† Tama and Friends Tama Main cast; 28 episodes; English dub
2001–2005 Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Mako Tsunami, Noah Kaiba, Leon von Schroeder / Leon Wilson English dub
2002 Kinnikuman Kinnikuman English dub
2002–2006 Kirby: Right Back at Ya! Nightmare, various characters English dub
2002 Knight Hunters Eternity Toudou Hijiri English dub
2003–06 Sonic X E-102 Gamma, Additional voices English dub
2004–2005† Pokémon Chronicles Shinji, Forrest, Tomm English dub
2005† Tokyo Mew Mew Dren, Wesley J., Coolridge III English dub
2005 Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Wheeler the Chimpanzee, Belowski, Additional voices English dub

Animation

Year Title Role Notes
1994–1997 Street Sharks Streex, Shrimp Louie Main cast; 40 episodes
1999–2000 Archie's Weird Mysteries Archie Andrews Main cast; 40 episodes
2002 Liberty's Kids Alexander Hamilton
2003 The Archies: JugMan Archie Andrews Television film
2003-2004 Funky Cops Dick/Jack Kowalski 4Kids dub
2003–09 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Additional voices
2006–2007 Chaotic Various 78 episodes
2016 The Simpsons Himself Episode: "How Lisa Got Her Marge Back"
2016–18 Sofia the First Morris, Skye 5 episodes
2017–18 Welcome to the Wayne Andrei 9 episodes
2017–21 Vampirina King Peppy 3 episodes
2017–present Big Mouth Matthew MacDell Main cast; 33 episodes
2018 Bob's Burgers Hayden Episode: "Just One of the Boyz 4 Now for Now"
2020 Central Park Griffin 2 episodes
2021 Ridley Jones Aten Episode: "Fly Like an Eagle/My Dinner with Ismat"
2021 Invincible William Clockwell 8 episodes
2023 The Great North Rocky Ritz Voice; Episode: "Great Bus of Choir Adventure"
2023 HouseBroken Ennis Voice; Episode: "Who's a Winner?"
2023 Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Gary Prince / Monster Gary Voice; 6 episodes

Video games

Year Title Voice role Notes
2004 Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monster Coliseum Mako Tsunami English dub
2005 Shadow the Hedgehog Additional characters English dub
2005 One Piece: Pirates Carnival Bellamy English dub; uncredited
2006 Bully Bif Taylor

Theatre

Year Title Role Venue Ref
2000–2001 Pokémon Live! James US National Tour
2004 It's Karate, Kid! Johnny Lawrence Teatro La Tea, Off-off-Broadway
2005 Hairspray Fender (u/s Link Larkin) Neil Simon Theatre, Broadway
2005–2006 Link Larkin
2006 The 60's Project Performer Chester, CT (Regional): World Premiere
2006 One Step Forward New Worlds Stages
2007 Miss Saigon Chris Scott Merry-Go-Round Playhouse
2007 Thoroughly Modern Millie Jimmy Smith Cape Playhouse
2007–2008 Jersey Boys Bob Gaudio US National Tour
2009 Bob Gaudio (replacement) August Wilson Theatre, Broadway
2010 Smokey Joe's Cafe Paper Mill Playhouse
2010 Lysistrata Jones Michelangelo "Mick" Jackson Dallas Theater Center
2011–2012 The Book of Mormon Elder Kevin Price Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway
2014 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig (replacement) Belasco Theatre, Broadway
2015 Hamilton King George III (replacement) Richard Rodgers Theatre, Broadway
(October 27, 2015 – November 29, 2015)

2016–2017 Falsettos Whizzer Brown Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway
2018 The Boys in the Band Larry Booth Theatre, Broadway
2022 Tammy Faye Jim Bakker Almeida Theatre, Off-West End
2023–2024 Gutenberg! The Musical! Doug Simon James Earl Jones Theatre, Broadway
2025 All In: Comedy About Love Performer Hudson Theatre, Broadway

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2011 Tony Award Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical The Book of Mormon Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical Nominated
2012 Grammy Award Best Musical Theater Album Won
2013 OFTA Award Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series Girls Nominated
Gold Derby Awards Best Comedy Guest Actor Nominated
Dorian Awards Rising Star Nominated
2014 Gold Derby Award Best Comedy Guest Actor Girls Nominated
Critics' Choice Television Award Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series Nominated
2015 Broadway.com Audience Awards Favorite Replacement (Male) Hedwig and the Angry Inch Nominated
2016 Hamilton Nominated
2017 Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical Falsettos Won
Tony Award Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Nominated
2021 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Black Monday Nominated
2023 Laurence Olivier Award Best Actor in a Musical Tammy Faye Nominated
2024 Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Award Gutenberg! The Musical! Nominated
Broadway.com Audience Award Favorite Funny Performance Nominated
Favorite Onstage Pair (with Josh Gad) Nominated

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Andrew Rannells para niños

  • LGBT culture in New York City
  • List of LGBT people from New York City
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