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Andrew Rannells
Andrew Rannells 2015 (cropped).jpg
Rannells in 2015
Born
Andrew Scott Rannells

(1978-08-23) August 23, 1978 (age 45)
Education Marymount Manhattan College
Occupation
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active 1995–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), and The Boys in the Band (2018).

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

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 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.

2002–2012: Broadway debut and The Book of Mormon

Andrew Rannells 2009
Rannells in 2009

In 2002, Rannells made his Broadway debut when he 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.

Rannells had his breakthrough in 2011 when he 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

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

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.

Rannells played Blair Pfaff, one of the leading roles on the television show Black Monday. 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–present) 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.

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.

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 also appeared in his memoir).

Personal life

Rannells is gay. Rannells has said he has known he is gay 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.

Filmography

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 Completed
Trolls Band Together Veneer (voice)

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1995–97 Street Sharks Streex, Shrimp Louie (voices) Main cast; 40 episodes
1999–2000 Archie's Weird Mysteries Archie Andrews (voice) Main cast; 40 episodes
2001 Cubix Connor (voice) Main cast; 26 episodes
2001 Shaman King Len Tao (voice) English dub
2001–05 Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Mako Tsunami, Noah Kaiba, Leon von Schroeder, Leon Wilson (voices) English dub
2001–06 Pokémon Morty, Harley, various voices English dub
2001 Tama and Friends Tama Main cast; 28 episodes; English dub
2002 Liberty's Kids Alexander Hamilton (voice) 5 episodes
2002 Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat Additional voices 1 episode
2002 Kinnikuman Additional voices English dub
2002 Knight Hunters Eternity Toudou Hijiri (voice) English dub
2002 Tokyo Mew Mew Dren, Wesley J., Coolridge III (voice) English dub
2003–06 Sonic X Additional voices English dub
2003–09 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Additional voices Unknown episodes
2004–05 Pokémon Chronicles Shinji, Forrest, Tomm English dub
2005 One Piece Young Zoro (voice) 4Kids English dub
2005 Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Wheeler the Chimpanzee, Belowski, Additional voices English dub
2006–07 Chaotic Various voices 78 episodes
2012–17 Girls Elijah Krantz 35 episodes
2012–13 The New Normal Bryan Collins 22 episodes
2013 Comedy Bang! Bang! Quinn Abernathy Episode: "Clark Gregg Wears a Navy Blazer & White Collared Shirt"
2013–14 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 John A. Roebling Episode: "Landmarks"
2016 The Simpsons Himself (voice) Episode: "How Lisa Got Her Marge Back"
2016–18 Sofia the First Morris, Skye (voices) 5 episodes
2017–18 Welcome to the Wayne Andrei (voice) 9 episodes
2017–21 Vampirina King Peppy (voice) 3 episodes
2017 Will & Grace Reggie Episode: "Grandpa Jack"
2017–present Big Mouth Matthew MacDell (voice) 49 episodes
2018 Bob's Burgers Hayden (voice) Episode: "Just One of the Boyz 4 Now for Now"
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)
2019–21 Black Monday Blair Pfaff 30 episodes
2020 Central Park Griffin (voice) 2 episodes
2021 Invincible William Clockwell (voice) 11 episodes
2021–22 Ridley Jones Aten (voice) 4 episodes
2021–22 Girls5eva Kev 7 episodes
2022 Duncanville (voice) 2 episodes
2022 The Great North Rocky Ritz (voice) Episode: "Great Bus of Choir Adventure"
2022 Welcome to Chippendales Bradford Barton 4 episodes
2023 Princess Power King Barton (voice) 5 episodes
2023 History of the World, Part II Sergei Episode: "V"
2023 Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Gary Prince (voice)

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

Stage

Year Title Role Venue Notes
2000–01 Pokémon Live! James US National Tour US 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 replacement role
2005–06 Link Larkin
2006 The 60's Project Performer Chester, CT (Regional): World Premiere
2006 One Step Forward New Worlds Stages Festival of New Musicals
2007–08 Jersey Boys Bob Gaudio US National Tour US Tour
2009 August Wilson Theatre Broadway replacement
2010 Smokey Joe's Cafe Paper Mill Playhouse
2010 Lysistrata Jones Michelangelo "Mick" Jackson Dallas Theater Center Regional premiere; originated role
2011-12 The Book of Mormon Elder Kevin Price Eugene O'Neill Theatre Originated role
2014 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig Belasco Theatre Replacement
2015 Hamilton King George III Richard Rodgers Theatre Temporary replacement (Oct 27, 2015 – Nov 29, 2015)
2016-17 Falsettos Whizzer Brown Walter Kerr Theatre Broadway
2018 The Boys in the Band Larry Booth Theatre Broadway
2022 Tammy Faye Jim Bakker Almeida Theatre London
2023-24 Gutenberg! The Musical! Doug Simon James Earl Jones 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

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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