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Ethan Slater
Ethan Slater Youtube Spongebob Interview.png
Born
Ethan Samuel Slater

(1992-06-02) June 2, 1992 (age 33)
Alma mater Vassar College (AB)
Occupation
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active 2012–present
Spouse(s)
Lilly Jay
(m. 2018; div. 2024)
Partner(s) Ariana Grande (2023–present)
Children 1

Ethan Samuel Slater (born June 2, 1992) is an American actor and singer. He is well-known for playing SpongeBob SquarePants in the musical of the same name. For this role, he won a Drama Desk Award and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2018.

Ethan also had small parts in independent films. His first big movie role was as Boq Woodsman in the musical film Wicked (2024). He will play this role again in the sequel Wicked: For Good (2025).

Early Life and School

Ethan Samuel Slater was born on June 2, 1992, in Washington, D.C.. He is the third child of Jay Slater. His father worked for the Food and Drug Administration. Ethan is Jewish and grew up in the Conservative Jewish faith. He went to Ohr Kodesh in Silver Spring.

After attending Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, his family moved to Silver Spring, Maryland. Ethan's mother passed away when he was seven years old. He has said this was a very important event in his life. Even with few memories, she left a big mark on him.

Slater finished school at Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C. He then studied drama at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. While in college, he tried out for a Shakespeare workshop. This led to an audition with director Tina Landau. Ethan graduated from Vassar in 2014 with a degree in Drama.

Career Highlights

Ethan Slater's first theater show was in July 2015. He played Luis in the musical Claudio Quest at the New York Musical Theatre Festival. He was nominated for an award for his performance. Later that year, he acted in Please Excuse my Dear Aunt Sally. He also joined the Delaware Theatre Company in Wilmington. There, he acted in Barry Levinson's play Diner. During this time, he also appeared in short films like Lightning Bugs in a Jar.

Becoming SpongeBob

In 2016, Ethan Slater was chosen for the main role of SpongeBob SquarePants. This was for Kyle Jarrow's musical The SpongeBob Musical. The show was directed by Tina Landau and first opened in Chicago. The musical was very popular and got great reviews from critics.

Because of its success, the show moved to Broadway in New York. It played at the Palace Theatre from 2017 to 2018. For his amazing performance, Ethan was nominated for a Tony Award in 2018. He won the Outstanding Actor in a Musical at the Drama Desk Awards. He also won the Outer Critics Circle Awards and the Theatre World Award for his Broadway debut.

Other Roles

After his time as SpongeBob, Ethan appeared in several TV shows. These included Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. In 2019, he was cast in a special theater show of Camelot in New York.

From 2021 to 2022, he starred in the musical Assassins. He played Lee Harvey Oswald and was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Awards for his performance. He also played Max Weinbaum in the play Good Night, Oscar in Chicago. From 2023 to 2024, he was in the Broadway show Spamalot.

Ethan played Boq Woodsman in the two-part movie version of the musical Wicked. The first movie, Wicked, came out in 2024. He will be in the second movie, Wicked: For Good, which is expected in 2025.

Personal Life

Ethan Slater married his high school classmate, Lilly Jay, in 2018. Their son was born in August 2022. They separated in 2023, and their divorce was finalized in September 2024. Since 2023, Ethan has been in a relationship with singer Ariana Grande. They met while working on the movie Wicked.

Works

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2012 A Guy Walks Into a Bar Young Man Short film
2015 Lightning Bugs in a Jar Ben Short film
2016 Evol: The Theory of Love Ronny
2017 FunEmployment Issac's Roommate Short film
2022 Intervenors Miles Short film; also writer
2024 Lost on a Mountain In Maine Henry
Wicked Boq Woodsman Also contributed to "Dancing Through Life" on the film's soundtrack
2025 Wicked: For Good Post-production
TBA The Man Behind the Camera Gerald Completed

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2018 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Riley Porter Episode: "Revenge"
Murphy Brown Officer Reynolds Episode: "Thanksgiving and Taking"
2019 Fosse/Verdon Joel Grey Episode: "Me and My Baby"
Instinct Noah Episode: "After Hours"
SpongeBob SquarePants Himself Episode: "SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout"
The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage! SpongeBob SquarePants Television adaptation of The SpongeBob Musical
2023 The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Steven Episode: "Susan"
2025 Elsbeth Officer Reese Chandler 2 Episodes

Web

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015 Redheads Anonymous Sam
New Mayor of New York Nathan

Theatre

Year Production Role Venue Category Ref.
2015 Diner Modell Delaware Theatre Company Regional
Claudio Quest Luis NYMF
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally Cast 59E59 Theatres Off-Off-Broadway
2016 The SpongeBob Musical SpongeBob SquarePants Oriental Theatre Regional
2017 Baghdaddy Jerry Samuel St. Luke's Theatre Off-Broadway
2017–2018 SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical SpongeBob SquarePants Palace Theatre Broadway
2019 Camelot Mordred Lincoln Center Theater
2021–2022 Assassins The Balladeer / Lee Harvey Oswald Classic Stage Company Off-Broadway
2022 Good Night, Oscar Max Weinbaum Goodman Theatre Regional
2023–2024 Spamalot Prince Herbert / The Historian St. James Theatre Broadway
2023 Gutenberg! The Musical! The Producer
(One night cameo)
James Earl Jones Theatre
2024 Edge of the World Ben Lynn F. Angelson Theater Off-Broadway

Music

Cast Recordings

Release Date Title Type Label Ref.
September 22, 2017 SpongeBob SquarePants, The New Musical Original Cast Recording Masterworks Broadway
September 28, 2018 Who's Your Baghdaddy, or How I started the Iraq War Broadway Records
August 6, 2021 Edge of the World Concept Album
March 18, 2022 Assassins 2022 Cast Recording

Solo Music

Release Date Title Notes Ref.
February 5, 2019 Richmond Rewrites Single
July 11, 2019 Wanderer EP
July 21, 2020 Life Is Weird EP

Awards and Nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2015 NYMF Award Outstanding Individual Performance Claudio Quest Nominated
2018 Tony Award Best Actor in a Musical SpongeBob SquarePants Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical Won
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical Won
Broadway.com Audience Awards Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Male) Won
Favorite Leading Actor in a Musical Won
Theatre World Award Honoree
2022 Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical Assassins Nominated
2024 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Best Ensemble Cast Wicked Nominated
Astra Film Awards Best Cast Ensemble Nominated
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Best Ensemble Nominated
Michigan Movie Critics Guild Best Ensemble Nominated
New York Film Critics Online Best Ensemble Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Best Ensemble Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards Best Ensemble Nominated
St. Louis Film Critics Association Best Ensemble Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Acting Ensemble Nominated
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