Matthew Morrison facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Matthew Morrison
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Morrison at the 2010 Peabody Awards
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Matthew James Morrison
October 30, 1978 Fort Ord, California, U.S.
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| Years active | 1997–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Renee Puente
(m. 2014) |
| Children | 2 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Vocals |
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Matthew James Morrison (born October 30, 1978) is an American actor, dancer, and singer. He is most famous for playing Will Schuester on the Fox TV show Glee from 2009 to 2015.
He has also starred in many plays on Broadway. These include playing Link Larkin in Hairspray (2002) and Fabrizio Nacarelli in The Light in the Piazza (2005). For The Light in the Piazza, he was nominated for a Tony Award, which is a very important award for theater. He also played J.M. Barrie in Finding Neverland (2015-2016).
In 2020, he starred as the Grinch in NBC's Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live!. Matthew Morrison has also been a judge on TV dance shows. These include The Greatest Dancer on BBC One and So You Think You Can Dance on Fox.
Morrison signed with Adam Levine's 222 Records in 2012. He has released three solo albums: Matthew Morrison (2011), Where It All Began (2013), and Disney Dreamin' with Matthew Morrison (2020).
Early Life and Education
Matthew Morrison was born in Fort Ord, California. His parents are Mary Louise (Fraser) and Thomas Morrison. He grew up in Chico. He has Scottish and English family roots.
As a young person, he was part of the Buena Park Youth theater. He also studied at the Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21) and the Orange County School of the Arts. While in high school, he performed in a musical with actress Jodie Sweetin. He attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for two years. He then left college to join the Broadway show Footloose.
Career Highlights
Early Career and Broadway Beginnings
In 1999, while still at NYU, Morrison appeared on TV shows like Late Show with David Letterman. He was part of a pretend boy band called "Fresh Step." The choreographer for "Fresh Step" also worked on the Broadway musical Footloose. This helped Morrison get a role in Footloose later that year. He left NYU to start performing in the show.
In 2001, Morrison joined the boy band LMNT. He was in the band for one year before leaving. He later said that year was "pretty bad" for him.
In 2002, Morrison was in a new version of The Rocky Horror Show. He then starred as Link Larkin in the first cast of Hairspray. He played this role from 2002 to 2004. In 2005, Morrison played Fabrizio Nacarelli in The Light in the Piazza on Broadway. He was nominated for a Tony Award for this role.
Moving to Television and Glee
Morrison started acting on television, appearing in shows like Ghost Whisperer, Numbers, and CSI: Miami. He also had small parts in movies, including Marci X (2003). In 2005, he was Sir Harry in the TV movie Once Upon a Mattress.
In 2007, he was in the Off-Broadway show 10 Million Miles. He also appeared in two films that year: Dan in Real Life and Music and Lyrics. In 2008, he played Lieutenant Cable in a production of South Pacific. He left this show in early 2009 to film the first season of Glee.
Morrison played Will Schuester in the Fox TV series Glee. The show first aired on May 19, 2009. His character, Will Schuester, is a high school teacher who works to make the school's glee club successful again. Morrison also directed one episode of the show in its third season.
Music Albums and Other Projects
In January 2010, Morrison signed a record deal with Mercury Records. His first album, Matthew Morrison, came out on May 10, 2011. This album included songs with famous singers like Elton John and Gwyneth Paltrow.
In March 2012, Morrison performed in a play called 8. This play was about the court case that ended the ban on same-sex marriage in California. The performance was shown online to raise money for equal rights.
In June 2013, Morrison's concert at the Bushnell Center was shown on PBS. On June 4, 2013, his second album, Where It All Began, was released. This album featured songs from musicals and jazz songs.
Morrison returned to Broadway in April 2015 to play J. M. Barrie in Finding Neverland. In July 2016, he performed Broadway songs with The New York Pops.
From 2019 to 2020, Morrison was a "dance captain" on BBC One's The Greatest Dancer. In 2019, he also played Trevor in the TV show American Horror Story: 1984. In December 2020, he starred as The Grinch in NBC's Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live!.
In April 2022, he became a judge for the seventeenth season of So You Think You Can Dance. However, he left the show in May. He later shared that his messages to a contestant were friendly, and he was dismissed for other reasons.
In June 2023, it was announced that Morrison would star in the TV movie A Paris Christmas Waltz. He also appeared in the thriller film From Embers. In April and May 2024, he played Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago during its tour in Japan.
Personal Life
Matthew Morrison was engaged to actress Chrishell Stause in 2006, but their relationship later ended.
In 2011, Morrison started dating Renee Puente. They got engaged in June 2013 with help from Elton John. Morrison and Puente got married on October 18, 2014, in Maui.
They welcomed their first child, a son, on October 22, 2017. On March 16, 2021, Morrison announced that they were expecting their second child. Their daughter was born on June 28, 2021.
Discography
Matthew Morrison has released several albums and singles. His studio albums include Matthew Morrison (2011), Where It All Began (2013), and Disney Dreamin' with Matthew Morrison (2020). He also released an EP (a shorter album) called A Classic Christmas in 2013.
Awards and Nominations
Matthew Morrison has received many awards and nominations for his work in theater, music, and television.
- In 2009, he won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Television Series – Comedy, shared with the cast of Glee. He also won a Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical for Glee.
- In 2010, he won a TV Land Award for Future Classic, also for Glee.
- In 2015, he won two Broadway.com Audience Awards for his role in Finding Neverland. He won for Favorite Actor in a Musical and Favorite Onstage Pair (with Laura Michelle Kelly).
He has also been nominated for several other awards, including:
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for The Light in the Piazza (2005).
- Golden Globe Awards for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical for Glee (2009, 2010).
- Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Glee (2010).
See also
In Spanish: Matthew Morrison para niños
