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Cheyenne Jackson
CheyenneJacksonKSimone.jpg
Jackson in 2010
Born
Cheyenne David Jackson

(1975-07-12) July 12, 1975 (age 49)
Occupation
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active 2002–present
Spouse(s)
Monte Lapka
(m. 2011; div. 2013)
Jason Landau
(m. 2014)
Children 2

Cheyenne David Jackson (born July 12, 1975) is an American actor and singer. His credits include leading roles in Broadway musicals and other stage roles, as well as film and television roles, concert singing, and music recordings.

After beginning his acting career in regional theatre in Seattle, Washington, Jackson moved to Manhattan and was an understudy in Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002) and Aida (2003). He next originated the role of Matthew in the workshop production of Altar Boyz (2004) for the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and was replaced by Scott Porter for the Off-Broadway run. Jackson's first leading role on Broadway was in All Shook Up (2005), which earned him a Theatre World Award for "Outstanding Broadway Debut". Since then, on the New York stage, he has starred in The Agony & the Agony (2006), Xanadu (2007; Drama League, Drama Desk nominations), D*** Yankees (2008), Finian's Rainbow (2010; Drama Desk nomination), 8 (2011), The Heart of the Matter (2012), The Performers (2013), The Secret Garden (2016), and Into the Woods (2022).

He has also appeared in a number of films, including the 2006 Academy Award-nominated United 93, in which his portrayal of Mark Bingham earned him the Boston Society of Film Critics 2006 award for Best Ensemble Cast. He also had a leading role in the 2014 independent romantic comedy ensemble, Mutual Friends, and guest roles in television series such as NBC's 30 Rock and Fox's Glee. Beginning in 2015, Jackson starred in the FX horror anthology television series American Horror Story in its fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth seasons.

In concert, Jackson has sold out Carnegie Hall twice: The Power of Two in 2010 and Music of the Mad Men Era in 2011. He also performs in cabarets. In addition to his Broadway cast albums, he has released three albums of popular music, including a joint album called The Power of Two with Michael Feinstein in 2008. In 2012, Jackson released two singles, "Drive" and "Before You", from his 2013 album I'm Blue, Skies. In 2016, Jackson released his third studio album, Renaissance, an album adapted and expanded from his solo concert Music of the Mad Men Era.

He also stars as Hades in Disney Channel's Descendants 3. In 2020, he reunited with Descendants alumni Kenny Ortega and Booboo Stewart in Netflix's Julie and the Phantoms.

Early life

Jackson was born at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane, Washington, on July 12, 1975, to David and Sherri Jackson, and was named by his father after the 1950s Western series Cheyenne. The third of four children, he was raised in Oldtown, Idaho, a "teeny mill town" in a rural area in northern Idaho near the Washington border. His father was a Vietnam veteran. His mother taught Jackson, his sister, and his two brothers to sing and regularly played music by Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Elvis Presley at home. Throughout his childhood, Jackson lived with his family in a rural home that had an outhouse and no running water. He moved to Spokane as a teenager.

In Seattle, Jackson worked as an ad executive at a magazine and did some theater work on the side, earning his Equity card. "As soon as I found out what theater was, what Broadway was, I thought, 'Oh, that's what I'll do with my life.' Just a matter of getting all the pieces in place", he said. Inspired to rethink his career after the September 11 attacks, he moved to New York City to pursue his dream of being an actor: "[Acting] was something I always wanted to do but I was too scared and didn't have the confidence. 9/11 changed everything for all of us. It gave me the urgency."

Career

Theatrical acting career

In regional theaters, Jackson has appeared as Tony in West Side Story, as Joey in The Most Happy Fella, as Cain in Children of Eden, as Berger in Hair, as Billy Bigelow in Carousel, as Joe Hardy in D*** Yankees, as Rocky in The Rocky Horror Show, and as The Poet in Kismet, among many other productions.

Jackson made his Broadway debut understudying both male leads in the Tony Award-winning musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. He later served as the standby for the character of Radames in Aida, then originated the role of Matthew in the NYMF production of Altar Boyz. In 2005, he originated his first Broadway leading role in the musical All Shook Up, a tribute to Elvis Presley. His performance as Chad earned him much critical praise, the Theatre World Award, and nominations from the Drama League and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor. In 2006, Jackson starred off-Broadway in playwright Nicky Silver's The Agony and The Agony with Victoria Clark. In June 2007, less than a week before the scheduled opening night, Jackson assumed the lead role of Sonny on Broadway in Xanadu, replacing James Carpinello who had been injured during rehearsal. Previous workshop productions of the musical starred Jackson and Jane Krakowski. However, both Jackson and Krakowski opted out of the initial Broadway run, citing schedule conflicts. His performance as Sonny earned him nominations from the Drama League and Drama Desk for Outstanding Lead Actor. Xanadu had several Tony Award nominations including "Best New Musical" for which Jackson and the cast performed on the 62nd Tony Awards show.

In 2008, Jackson joined Jane Krakowski and Sean Hayes in the New York City Center's Encores! production of D*** Yankees. He returned to Encores! in 2009, playing Woody Mahoney in a staged concert of Finian's Rainbow which critics praised. Jackson also starred in the development workshop of The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez, who co-wrote the music for Avenue Q.

In October 2009, Jackson opened on Broadway to positive critical reviews reprising the role of Woody Mahoney in the Broadway revival of the 1947 musical Finian's Rainbow at the St. James Theatre, costarring with Jim Norton and Kate Baldwin. The Wall Street Journal raved, "The way that [Kate Baldwin] and Cheyenne Jackson sing "Old Devil Moon" is the stuff best-selling cast albums are made of." The show closed on January 17, 2010. Along with the company of Finian's Rainbow, Jackson recorded the Broadway revival cast album in early December 2009, with a release date of February 2, 2010.

In September 2011, Jackson joined Morgan Freeman, Ellen Barkin, Matt Bomer, Christine Lahti, and John Lithgow as part of the Broadway-premiere cast of Dustin Lance Black's new play 8, directed by Joe Mantello. In June 2012, Jackson starred opposite Krysten Ritter in Neil LaBute's The Heart of The Matter produced by MCC Theater at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.

In the 2012–2013 Broadway season, Jackson, Henry Winkler, Alicia Silverstone, Daniel Breaker, Jenni Barber and Ari Graynor starred in David West Read's play The Performers which started previews on October 23, 2012, at the Longacre Theatre. The play closed on November 18, 2012, after 23 previews and 7 regular performances. Critical reception for the overall play was mixed with an median Stage Grade of C. However, a majority of reviewers including Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, and The Associated Press gave extremely positive reviews to both Jackson's and Ari Graynor's performances. Broadway producers cited the effects of Hurricane Sandy on the box office as the primary reason for the show's early closing.

In 2016, Jackson appeared in the 25th Anniversary Concert of The Secret Garden as Dr. Neville Craven at the Lincoln Center.

In 2019, Jackson made his Hollywood Bowl debut playing the roles of the Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince in the show Into the Woods opposite Sutton Foster, Sierra Boggess, Patina Miller, Skylar Astin, Chris Carmack, and Shanice Williams. He later reprised these roles while temporarily filling in for Gavin Creel in the 2022 Broadway revival at the St. James Theatre opposite Miller, Sara Bareilles, Brian D'Arcy James, Phillipa Soo, Joshua Henry, and Julia Lester.

Film career

In films, Jackson most notably portrayed 9/11 victim and hero Mark Bingham in the 2006 Academy Award nominated United 93 which earned him the Boston Society of Film Critics 2006 award for Best Ensemble Cast. He has also appeared in several other films including: Curiosity (2005), Hysteria (2010), Smile (2011), the critically lauded The Green (opposite Julia Ormond and Illeana Douglas), and 2012 Sundance Film Festival selection Price Check (with Parker Posey). He portrayed Greta Gerwig's boyfriend Roger in the 2012 Fox Searchlight Pictures film Lola Versus. In 2013, he starred in the HBO biopic of Liberace, Behind the Candelabra, with Michael Douglas and Matt Damon. He also appeared in the independent films Mutual Friends (2013), Lucky Stiff (2014), and A Beautiful Now (2015). More recently, he played Hades in the Disney Channel original movie Descendants 3 (2019).

Jackson had a lead role in the film version of Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks in 2014. He played Michael Minetti, who is hired by retiree Lily Harrison (Gena Rowlands) to give her private dance lessons at her home for six weeks. The film is based on Richard Alfieri's Broadway play of the same name and is directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman.

Television career

From 2009 through 2013, Jackson had a recurring role on the award-winning series 30 Rock playing Danny Baker. Jackson also portrayed Dustin Goolsby, the coach of "Vocal Adrenaline", the main rival of "New Directions", on the second season of FOX's show Glee.

He has guest starred on several television series, including Lipstick Jungle, Life on Mars, and Ugly Betty, and was featured in a prominent guest role during Season 8 of Curb Your Enthusiasm. His character "Terry" was the personal trainer to Larry David and Wanda Sykes. On March 15, 2010, Jackson made his guest-starring debut on the NBC series Law & Order in an episode entitled "Innocence".

In 2008, Jackson played series lead Sebastian Kinglare for the Lifetime Television pilot Family Practice opposite Anne Archer and Beau Bridges. The series was not picked up for distribution.

In 2010, Jackson filmed a sitcom pilot for ABC-TV called It Takes a Village, co-starring Leah Remini, which was not picked up for the fall 2010 season.

In 2012, Jackson and Nathan Lane were cast as series leads in the USA Network comedy pilot Local Talent. The series was not picked up for distribution.

Additionally, Jackson guest starred on the pilot episode of NBC's revamp of The Munsters, Mockingbird Lane, written by Bryan Fuller and directed by Bryan Singer. Jackson portrayed Scout Master Steve, a competing love interest for Portia de Rossi's character Lily Munster; the show also stars Eddie Izzard and Jerry O'Connell. NBC aired the pilot as a Halloween special on October 26, 2012.

Jackson also appeared in the fifth season of American Horror Story as one of the leads alongside Lady Gaga and Matt Bomer. Jackson returned to the show's sixth season to play Network Executive Sidney Aaron James as well as the seventh season to play psychiatrist Dr. Rudy Vincent Anderson and the eighth season of the show to play warlock John Henry Moore.

Jackson made several appearances on RuPaul's Drag Race. He also appeared in the tenth episode of Season 2 of Sense8 as Blake Huntington, an award-winning actor who is cast opposite Miguel Ángel Silvestre's Lito Rodríguez in a Hollywood film. In 2019, he played the role of Hades, Mal's father in the Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants 3.

Jackson has starred in several notable webisode series including Cubby Bernstein opposite Nathan Lane, Legally Brown with Allison Janney, and The [title of show] Show from the meta-fictional Broadway musical [Title of Show].

Since 2020, Jackson costars as Max in the Fox comedy series Call Me Kat opposite Mayim Bialik and Kyla Pratt.

In 2022, Jackson competed in season seven of The Masked Singer as "Prince" of Team Good. He finished in third place.

Musical career

Early in his career, Jackson worked as a back-up singer for Vanessa Williams and Heather Headley.

In March 2009, Jackson made his nightclub debut at Feinstein's at Loews Regency with a sold-out one-man show titled Back to the Start. He later teamed up with Michael Feinstein to create a well-received nightclub act titled "The Power of Two". A CD of the show was released on November 3, 2009.

The Power of Two, a concert reuniting Jackson and Feinstein, was presented at Carnegie Hall on October 29, 2010. Jackson was the guest artist performing with the New York Pops in concert, Cheyenne Jackson's Cocktail Hour: Music of the Mad Men Era, at Carnegie Hall on November 18, 2011. Joe Dziemianowicz of The New York Daily News wrote, "There, in Judy (Garland)'s spot singing Joni (Mitchell)'s song, (Cheyenne) Jackson turned the bittersweet ballad into a beautiful highlight in an evening filled with luscious moments with the New York Pops."

On December 31, 2012, Jackson reprised Music of the Mad Men Era at The Kennedy Center Concert Hall with 96 members of the National Symphony Orchestra, and his special musical guest, Tony winner Nina Arianda. The concert sold out within days and was hailed by critics as stunning, surprising, and a cool way to ring in 2013.

In March 2012, Jackson was signed to Sony/ATV publishing as a songwriter and given a developmental artist deal through Sony/ATV's Hickory Records and Red Distribution.

On May 10, 2012, Jackson released his single "Drive", his first non-theatrical single and his first music video release. The video was directed by Austrian music video director Christian Hörlesberger and the track produced by Thomas "Tawgs" Salter. It was the first single released from I'm Blue, Skies, which was eventually released in June 2013. The album was co-written by Jackson with Sia, Stephen "Stevie" Aiello, and Charlotte Sometimes.

On July 10, 2012, Jackson released his second single from I'm Blue, Skies, "Before You", also produced by Salter. In August 2012, "Before You" reached a peak of #31 on the Hot 100 AC chart. The music video for the single was directed by Nick Everhart and also stars Rachel Dratch and Christina Cole. It was inspired by the 1960s monster TV shows The Addams Family and The Munsters as well as classic cinema of the '30s, '40s, and '50s. The director said the film was a tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood.

In 2013, he released three singles, "She's Pretty, She Lies", "Look at Me", and "I'm Blue, Skies", followed in 2015 with the single "Don't Wanna Know", all accompanied by music videos. On June 3, 2016, Jackson released Renaissance, an album on the PS Classics record label, adapted and expanded from his solo concert Music of the Mad Men Era.

In the media

Jackson appeared on the March 26, 2008, cover of The Advocate. The magazine used the caption: "Hello, gorgeous! For leading man Cheyenne Jackson, coming out is a beautiful thing." In 2008, he was named "Entertainer of the Year" by Out and appeared alongside Gus Van Sant, Katy Perry, and Sam Sparro on the magazine's commemorative 100th issue in December. In April 2010, he appeared on the cover of Canadian fab magazine under the title "Cheyenne Jackson: I Love New York" with photographs by Mike Ruiz. He also appeared on Out's November 2010 issue. In July 2012, he appeared on the cover of attitude.

Charity work

Jackson is an LGBT rights advocate. He is an international ambassador for amfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research).

Jackson is also a national ambassador and spokesperson for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, a non-profit organization devoted to serving the needs of LGBT youth.

Personal life

Jackson is gay. He began dating Monte Lapka, a physicist, in 2000. The two married on September 3, 2011, in New York City. In July 2013, they announced plans to divorce. They filed for divorce in September 2013.

In October 2013, Jackson announced he was dating actor Jason Landau on his official Instagram account. They announced their engagement in February 2014 and married in Encino, California, in September 2014. Jackson and Landau became the parents of twins, a girl named Willow and boy named Ethan, in October 2016.

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Peak positions Notes
US Heat
US Jazz
2009 The Power of Two (with Michael Feinstein)
  • Released: November 3, 2009
  • Label: Qualiton Imports, Harbinger Records
  • Formats: CD, digital download
17 15
2013 I'm Blue, Skies
  • Released: June 25, 2013
  • Label: Shiny Boy Music LLC
  • Formats: CD, digital download
- -
No. Title Length
1. "Before You"   2:50
2. "I'm Blue, Skies"   3:43
3. "Any Day Now"   3:55
4. "She's Pretty, She Lies"   3:50
5. "Drive"   4:05
6. "Mr. Lonely Boy"   3:45
7. "Don't Wanna Know"   3:50
8. "Back Pocket"   3:36
9. "Not Ready to Let You Go"   2:59
10. "Don't Look at Me"   3:33
11. "You Get Me" (feat. Charlotte Sometimes) 3:25
12. "Drive (Conaire Remix)"   6:47
2016 Renaissance
  • Released: June 3, 2016
  • Label: PS Classics
  • Formats: CD, digital download
- 9
No. Title Length
1. "Feeling Good"    
2. "Americano"    
3. "Angel Eyes"    
4. "Bésame Mucho"    
5. "Somethin' Stupid"    
6. "I (Who Have Nothing)"    
7. "A Case of You"    
8. "Walkin' My Baby Back Home"    
9. "Red Wine Is Good for My Heart"    
10. "A Song for You"    
11. "A Change Is Gonna Come"    
12. "Your Song"    
Original Broadway cast albums
  • All Shook Up (2005)
  • Xanadu (2007)
  • Finian's Rainbow (2009)
Soundtrack appearances
  • Julie and the Phantoms: Music from the Netflix Original Series (2020)

Singles

  • 2012: "Drive"
  • 2012: "Before You"
  • 2013: "Don't Wanna Know"
  • 2015: "Find the Best of Me"

Music videos

  • 2012: "Drive"
  • 2012: "Before You"
  • 2013: "Don't Wanna Know"
  • 2013: "Don't Look at Me"
  • 2013: "She's Pretty, She Lies"
  • 2013: "I'm Blue, Skies"

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Curiosity Luke Short film
2006 United 93 Mark Bingham
2010 Photo Op Zig Short film
Hysteria Scott
2011 The Green Daniel
Smile Doctor Steve Short film
2012 Price Check Ernie
Lola Versus Roger
2013 Mutual Friends Christoph
2014 The One I Wrote for You Ben Cantor
Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks Michael Minetti
Dragula Mr. Newton
Love Is Strange Ted
Lucky Stiff MC
2015 A Beautiful Now David
Day Out of Days Phil
2016 Bear with Us Hudson
Opening Night Eli Faisel
2017 Hello Again Robert (The Writer)
2018 Hurricane Bianca 2: From Russia with Hate Boris
2021 Werewolves Within Devon
TBA Borderlands Jakobs Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Lipstick Jungle Bryce Episode: "Chapter Fifteen: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Prada"
Family Practice Sebastian Kinglare Television film
2009 Life on Mars Sebastian Grace Episode: "Let All the Children Boogie"
Ugly Betty Timothy D'Artagnan Episode: "Sugar Daddy"
2009–2012 30 Rock Danny Baker 12 episodes
2010 Law & Order Jon Sorrentino Episode: "Innocence"
It Takes a Village Scott Unsold television pilot
2010–2011 Glee Dustin Goolsby 3 episodes
2011 Curb Your Enthusiasm Terry Episode: "Car Periscope"
2012 Mockingbird Lane Steve Unsold television pilot
2013 Onion News Empire Cameron Grey Unsold television pilot
Behind the Candelabra Billy Leatherwood Television film
Full Circle Peter Barlow 3 episodes
2014 HR Tim Harcourt Unsold television pilot
Royal Pains Sam Episode: "Oh, M.G."
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Nebula1 Episode: "Kitty"
2015–2016 American Horror Story: Hotel Will Drake 9 episodes
2016 American Horror Story: Roanoke Sidney Aaron James 7 episodes
American Housewife Johnny Diamond Episode: "Disconnected"
2017–2019 RuPaul's Drag Race Himself 3 episodes
2017 The Real O'Neals Mr. Peters Episode: "The Real Mr. Nice Guy"
Sense8 Blake Huntington Episode: "If All the World's a Stage, Identity Is Nothing But a Costume"
American Horror Story: Cult Dr. Rudy Vincent 9 episodes
Modern Family Max Episode: "In Your Head"
2018 American Woman Greg Parker 7 episodes
Will & Grace Michael Episode: "The Beefcake & the Cake Beef"
American Horror Story: Apocalypse John Henry Moore 4 episodes
2019 Descendants 3 Hades Television film
The Morning Show Himself 1 episode
Watchmen Hooded Justice 3 episodes
2020 Descendants Remix Dance Party Hades Television special
Equal Dale Jennings Docuseries
Julie and the Phantoms Caleb Covington 5 episodes
Saved by the Bell René 3 episodes
2021–2023 Call Me Kat Max Main role
2021 RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars Himself Special guest, Episode: "Snatch Game of Love"
Descendants: The Royal Wedding Hades (voice) Animated television film
2022 The Masked Singer Prince Third place

Stage credits

Year Title Role Venue Notes
2002-03 Thoroughly Modern Millie Dishwasher / Ensemble

u/s Jimmy Smith
u/s Mr. Trevor Graydon III

Marquis Theatre Broadway
2003 Aida s/b Radames Palace Theatre
2004 Altar Boyz Matthew Puerto Rican Traveling Theater New York Musical Theatre Festival
2005 All Shook Up Chad Palace Theatre Broadway
On the Twentieth Century "Life is Like a Train" Porter New Amsterdam Theatre
The 24 Hour Plays Kevin American Airlines Theatre
2006 The Agony and The Agony Chet Vineyard Theatre Off-Broadway
2007-08 Xanadu Sonny Malone Helen Hayes Theatre Broadway
2008 D*** Yankees Joe Hardy New York City Center Off-Broadway
Encores!
2009 Finian's Rainbow Woody
2009-10 St. James Theatre Broadway
2011 8 Paul Katami Eugene O'Neill Theatre
2012 The Heart of the Matter Him Lucille Lortel Theatre Off-Broadway
2013 The Performers Mandrew Longacre Theatre Broadway
2014 The Most Happy Fella Joe New York City Center Off-Broadway
Encores!
2016 The Secret Garden Dr. Neville Craven Lincoln Center 25th Anniversary Concert
2019 Into the Woods The Wolf / Cinderella's Prince Hollywood Bowl July 26–28
2022 St. James Theatre Broadway

Awards and honors

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2005 Drama League Award Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor All Shook Up Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor Nominated
Theatre World Award Outstanding Broadway Debut Nominated
2006 Boston Society of Film Critics Best Ensemble Cast United 93 Won
2008 Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Award Xanadu Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical Nominated
2010 Finian's Rainbow Nominated
2015 Grammy Award Best Musical Theater Album West Side Story Nominated
2021 Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Daytime Fiction Program Julie and the Phantoms Nominated
2023 Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards Favorite Replacement (Male) Into the Woods Nominated

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Cheyenne Jackson para niños

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