Nathan Lane facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nathan Lane
|
|
|---|---|
Nathan Lane after a performance of Angels in America in August 2018
|
|
| Born |
Joseph Lane
February 3, 1956 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
|
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1975–present |
|
Works
|
Full list |
| Spouse(s) |
Devlin Elliott
(m. 2015) |
| Awards | Full list |
Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is a famous American actor. He has been acting on stage and in movies and TV shows since 1975. He is known for both funny and serious roles.
Nathan Lane has won many awards for his acting. These include three Tony Awards, which are like the Oscars for theater. He also won seven Drama Desk Awards and a Laurence Olivier Award. He has won three Emmy Awards for his TV work.
In 2006, he got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2008, he was added to the American Theater Hall of Fame. The New York Times newspaper called him "the greatest stage entertainer of the decade" in 2010.
Lane first acted professionally in 1978. It was in a play called A Midsummer Night's Dream. He later got a role in a Broadway play in 1982. This started his long career on stage. He also worked closely with playwright Terrence McNally for many years.
Contents
Nathan Lane: A Talented Actor
Nathan Lane has been nominated for the Tony Award six times. He has won three of these awards. He won for his roles in the musicals A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1996) and The Producers (2001). He also won for a play called Angels in America (2018).
He has been in many other Broadway shows. Some of these include Guys and Dolls (1992) and The Addams Family (2010). He has been in 25 Broadway productions in total.
Lane has also acted in many popular movies. He voiced Timon in The Lion King (1994). He was also in The Birdcage (1996) and Mouse Hunt (1997). More recently, he appeared in Beau is Afraid (2023).
On TV, he won an Emmy Award in 2022. This was for his guest role in the show Only Murders in the Building. He has also been nominated for Emmys for shows like Frasier and Modern Family. He played important roles in The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016) and The Gilded Age (2022–).
Early Life and Education
Nathan Lane was born Joseph Lane on February 3, 1956. He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. His mother, Nora Veronica, was a housewife and secretary. He has two older brothers, Daniel Jr. and Robert.
His grandparents were immigrants from Ireland. Lane was named after his uncle, who was a priest. He went to Catholic schools in Jersey City. He attended St. Peter's Preparatory School. There, he was voted Best Actor in 1974.
Lane was offered a drama scholarship to Saint Joseph's University. But he found out the scholarship would not cover all his costs. So, he decided to work for a year instead. He wanted to earn money before going to college.
He changed his name to Nathan because there was already an actor named Joseph Lane. He chose the name Nathan after the character Nathan Detroit from the musical Guys and Dolls.
Acting Career Highlights
Early Roles and Stage Success
.jpg)
Nathan Lane moved to New York City to start his acting career. He first tried stand-up comedy with a partner. Then, he began acting in Off-Broadway plays. These are plays performed in smaller theaters.
He made his first appearance on Broadway in 1982. This was in a play called Present Laughter. He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for this role. After that, he appeared in other Broadway shows. These included the musical Merlin and Wind in the Willows.
Lane also acted in many Off-Broadway plays. He worked with director Joseph Papp in Central Park. He also started working with composer Stephen Sondheim. Their first project was a reading of the musical Assassins in 1989.
In 1992, Lane starred in a popular revival of Guys and Dolls. He played the character Nathan Detroit, who he named himself after. For this role, he received his first Tony Award nomination. He also won other awards like the Drama Desk Award.
He had a close friendship and worked often with playwright Terrence McNally. They met in 1987. Lane appeared in many of McNally's plays. These included The Lisbon Traviata and Love! Valour! Compassion!. For these roles, he won several awards.
The early 1990s were a very successful time for Lane on Broadway. In 1993, he starred in Neil Simon's play Laughter on the 23rd Floor. In 1996, he starred in the hit musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He won his first Tony Award for this performance.
Breakthrough and Acclaim
In 1994, Nathan Lane became widely known for his voice work. He voiced Timon, the meerkat, in Disney's animated movie The Lion King. He also voiced Timon in the movie's sequels.
In 1996, Lane appeared in the movie The Birdcage. He starred alongside Robin Williams and Gene Hackman. The movie was a big success. Lane received his first Golden Globe nomination for this role. He also worked with Stephen Sondheim again on the musical The Frogs in 2004.
He also voiced Snowbell in the family film Stuart Little (1999). He continued his voice work in animated TV shows. These included Teacher's Pet and Timon & Pumbaa. He won Daytime Emmy Awards for these voice roles.
Lane hosted Saturday Night Live in 1997. He also hosted the Tony Awards multiple times. From 1998 to 1999, he starred in the TV show Encore! Encore!. He also received Emmy nominations for guest roles on Frasier and Mad About You.
In 2001, Lane starred as Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers. He acted alongside Matthew Broderick. Critics loved his performance. He won his second Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for this role.
He reprised his role as Snowbell in Stuart Little 2 (2002). He also appeared in the film Nicholas Nickleby. In 2004, he starred in The Frogs on Broadway. He later played Max Bialystock in The Producers in London. For this, he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He also got another Golden Globe nomination for the film version of The Producers (2005).
In 2005, Lane and Matthew Broderick reunited for the play The Odd Couple. In 2006, Lane took on a serious role in the play Butley. Lane and Broderick received stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. In 2008, Lane was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. He also appeared in shows like Sex and the City and 30 Rock.
Established Actor and Recent Work
In 2009, Lane starred as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family musical. He continued this role on Broadway in 2010. He received nominations for Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards.
From 2010 to 2019, Lane played Pepper Saltzman in the TV show Modern Family. He received three Emmy nominations for this role. From 2012 to 2014, he played Clarke Hayden in the legal series The Good Wife. He also received an Emmy nomination for this.
In 2013, Lane returned to Broadway in the play The Nance. He received Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for his performance. In 2014, he appeared in the play It's Only a Play with many other stars.
In 2016, Lane played F. Lee Bailey in the TV series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. His performance was praised by critics. The series won an Emmy for Outstanding Limited Series. In late 2016, he returned to Broadway in The Front Page. He received another Tony nomination for this role.
After that, he played Roy Cohn in the revival of Angels in America in 2018. He won the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Featured Actor in a Play for this role. In 2019, Lane starred in the play Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus.
Since 2020, Lane has continued to act in TV and movies. He played Lewis Michener in Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (2020). He has a recurring role in the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building. For this role, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2022. He holds the record for the most nominations in this Emmy category.
He also plays Ward McAllister in the HBO series The Gilded Age. In 2023, Lane returned to Broadway in his 25th show, Pictures from Home. He also co-starred in the film Beau Is Afraid (2023). He will be in the animated film Spellbound and the TV miniseries Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Awards and Honors
Nathan Lane has received many awards for his acting. He has been nominated for six Tony Awards and won three times. These wins were for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1996), The Producers (2001), and Angels in America (2018).
He has also won seven Drama Desk Awards and six Outer Critics Circle Awards. Other theater honors include two Obies and the Laurence Olivier Award. In 2024, he received the Stephen Sondheim Award.
For his film work, Lane has received two Golden Globe Award nominations. He won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Performance by a Cast for The Birdcage. On television, he has received eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He won an Emmy for Only Murders in the Building. He also won two Daytime Emmy Awards for his voice work in Timon & Pumbaa and Teacher's Pet.
See also
In Spanish: Nathan Lane para niños
- LGBT culture in New York City
- List of LGBT people from New York City
