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Andrew Rannells

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Andrew Rannells
Rannells at the PaleyFest 2015
Born (1978-08-23) August 23, 1978 (age 45)
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
EducationCreighton Preparatory School
Alma materMarymount Manhattan College
Occupation(s)Actor, voice actor, singer
Years active1995–present
Known forThe Book of Mormon
Falsettos
The Boys in the Band
TelevisionThe New Normal
Girls
Black Monday
PartnerTuc Watkins (2019-present)
AwardsGrammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album
The Book of Mormon

Andrew Scott Rannells (born August 23, 1978) is an American actor, voice actor, and singer.

Rannells was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his performance as Elder Price in the 2011 Broadway musical The Book of Mormon. He won the 2012 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album as a featured soloist on the musical's original Broadway cast recording. 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, Hamilton, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Jersey Boys, and The Boys in the Band.

Early life

Rannells was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Charlotte and Ronald Rannells.[1] He is the fourth of five siblings, with three sisters and an older brother.[1][2] His ancestry is Polish and Irish.[3]

Rannells attended Our Lady of Lourdes grade school in Omaha, and then Creighton Preparatory School,[1] an all-boys Roman Catholic school in Omaha.[2][4] His family lived in the Hanscom Park neighborhood in Omaha.[1]

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.[1][5]

Rannells was 11 when he acted in his first play. He did community theater with fellow Omahan and Creighton Prep alumnus Conor Oberst.[6] He did voice-over work and commercials, including a 1996 Grease spoof with Amy Adams.[2]

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.[7]

Career

Rannells played the character James in Pokémon Live! from September 2000 to August 2001. When asked about his experience in 2014, he jokingly said that he would have rather starred in a porn film or snuff film instead and that he only took the job for the pay.[8][9]

Rannells worked with the New York City animation production company 4Kids Entertainment from 2001 to 2004. He also directed a small number of video games, "Kirby" and "Sonic the Hedgehog".[1]

As a voice actor, Rannells appeared in several 4Kids and DiC television programs and video games, such as Yu-Gi-Oh!.[6]

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.[10]

For his turn as Hedwig at the Zachary Scott Theater Center in Austin, Texas, in 2002,[11] he won best actor in a musical at the B. Iden Payne Awards in September 2002, which honor outstanding achievements in Austin theater.[12]

In 2002, Rannells earned the role of Link Larkin in the Broadway production of Hairspray.[13] This was his first Broadway show. Rannells followed this with some regional performances.[2]

Rannells in 2009

Rannells 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.[14]

Rannells 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.[15]

Rannells played a stripper in the 2012 film Bachelorette[16] and played a lead character, Bryan Collins, in the 2012-13 television series The New Normal.[17][18]

Rannells played the recurring role of Elijah on the HBO television series Girls.[19]

Rannells 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.[20]

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.[21] The musical ran from October 27, 2016 (with previews beginning September 29), to January 8, 2017.[22][23]

Rannells 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 filmed version for Netflix, which was released on September 30, 2020.

Rannells currently plays 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 is set to premiere in 2021.[24]

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.[25]

Rannells played Trent Oliver in Netflix's 2020 movie musical The Prom, an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name.[26]

Personal life

Rannells is openly gay.[27] Rannells has said he has known he is gay since high school.[2] He came out to his family when he was eighteen, and by then they had already figured it out.[28] He also came out to his theater friends, but not his all-boys Catholic school.[2] As of 2014, he lives in New York City after temporarily residing in Los Angeles to film The New Normal.[2]

Since 2019, he has been in a relationship with actor Tuc Watkins.[29] They met while both were in the cast of The Boys in the Band for its 50th anniversary Broadway show in 2018.[30] They also worked together on Black Monday and reprised their roles for Netflix’s film version of TBITB (2020).[30] The couple lives together in Los Angeles with Watkins’s twins whom they homeschooled through part of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.[30]

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

Television

Year Title Role Notes
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 Drunk History John A. Roebling Episode: "Landmarks"
2017 Will & Grace Reggie Episode: "Grandpa Jack"
2017-present Big Mouth Mathew MacDell 33 episodes
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race Himself / Guest Judge Episode 8 (season 10)[31]
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)[32]
2019–present Black Monday Blair Pfaff 20 episodes

Animation

Year Title Role Notes
1995–97 Street Sharks Streex, Shrimp Louie
1999 Archie's Weird Mysteries Archie Andrews
2001 Cubix Connor
2002 Liberty's Kids Alexander Hamilton
2003–09 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Additional characters
2016 The Simpsons Himself Episode: "How Lisa Got Her Marge Back"
2016–18 Sofia the First Morris / Skye 5 episodes
2017–18 Welcome to the Wayne Andrei 4 episodes
2017 Vampirina King Peppy Episode: "The Plant Predicament/Mummy Mayhem"
2017–present Big Mouth Matthew 32 episodes
2018 Bob's Burgers Hayden Episode: "Just One of the Boyz 4 Now for Now"
2020 Central Park Griffin 2 episodes
2020 Invincible William Cockwell Upcoming

Anime

Year Title Role Notes
2000–2006 Pokémon Morty, Harley, Additional characters English dub
2001–2005 Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Mako Tsunami, Noah Kaiba, Leon von Schroeder / Leon Wilson English dub
2005 Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys Gurū English dub
2001 Shaman King Len Tao English dub
2002 Kinnikuman Additional characters English dub
2002 Knight Hunters Eternity Toudou Hijiri
2002 Tokyo Mew Mew Dren, Wesley J. Coolridge III English dub
2003–06 Sonic X Narrator, Decoe, Bokkun, Mr. Stewart, E-102 "Gamma", Additional characters English dub
2005 Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Wheeler the Chimpanzee, Belowski, Additional characters English dub

Video games

Year Title Voice role Notes
2004 Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monster Coliseum Mako Tsunami English dub
2005 Shadow the Hedgehog[33] Additional characters English dub
2006 Bully Bif Taylor

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes
2000–01 Pokémon Live! James Baritone/Tenor
2002 Hairspray Fender, Link Larkin Replacement roles[34]
2006 The 60's Project Performer Chester, CT (Regional): World Premiere
2007 Jersey Boys Bob Gaudio US Tour: 1st National Tour, replacement role[35]
2010 Lysistrata Jones Michelangelo "Mick" Jackson Originated role[36]
2011 The Book of Mormon Elder Kevin Price Originated role
2014 Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig Replacement
2015 Hamilton King George III Temporary five-week replacement for Jonathan Groff
(Oct 27, 2015 - Nov 29, 2015)
2016 Falsettos Whizzer Brown Broadway revival
2018 The Boys in the Band Larry[37] 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
[38]
2017 Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical Falsettos Won
Tony Award Best Performance by Featured Actor in a Musical Nominated

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Fischbach, Bob (May 1, 2011). "He has drive — and now Broadway". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Taylor, Aisha (February 11, 2014). "girl on guy 126: andrew rannells" (audio podcast). girl on guy. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  3. ^ https://mobile.twitter.com/AndrewRannells/status/81386126954344448
  4. ^ Miller, Bruce R. (2011). "'Nebraska native finds stardom in 'Book of Mormon'". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  5. ^ Francke, Warren (September 9, 2012). "Omaha's Andy Now in New Normal: Oompa-Loompa Before Mormon Missionary". The Reader (Omaha). Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  6. ^ a b Rapkin, Mickey (June 9, 2011). "Q&A: The Book of Mormon's Andrew Rannells". GQ. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  7. ^ Yi, David (June 9, 2011). "'The Book of Mormon' star Andrew Rannells: college dropout turned actor gets suited up for the Tonys". NY Daily News. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  8. ^ Levitt, Hayley (July 15, 2016). "Flashback Friday: When Andrew Rannells Helped Pokémon Meet Broadway". TheaterMania. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  9. ^ Lazarus, Catie (26 November 2014), "Andrew Rannells On Touring With Pokemon | Employee of the Month", YouTube, retrieved 2019-11-09.
  10. ^ Broadway.com Staff (December 30, 2008). "Andrew Rannells Tapped to Play Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys". Broadway Buzz. Broadway.com. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  11. ^ Brenner, Wayne Alan (8 February 2002). "Hedwig and the Angry Inch". The Austin Chronicle.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Faires, Robert (October 4, 2002). "Articulations". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved May 17, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Truitt, Brian (June 9, 2011). "Rannells relishes first Tony nomination". USA Today. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  14. ^ Desk, BWW News. "Andrew Rannells Is New Bob Gaudio In 'JERSEY BOYS' Starting 1/13". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  15. ^ Hetrick, Adam (June 6, 2012). "'Two By Two': Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells Will Be Succeeded By Jared Gertner and Nic Rouleau in Book of Mormon". Playbill. Retrieved 14 December 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ Gans, Andrew (August 10, 2012). "Book of Mormon's Andrew Rannells Takes It Off in "Bachelorette" Film; Comedy Available on VOD Aug. 10". Playbill. Retrieved 14 December 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (February 22, 2012). "'The Hangover Star Joins NBC's Ryan Murphy Comedy". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  18. ^ Miller, Bruce (November 24, 2012). "Andrew Rannells sends up boss in 'New Normal'". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  19. ^ Lynch, Matthew (April 28, 2011). "Andrew Rannells: Keeping the Faith". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  20. ^ Webber, Imogen Lloyd (8 October 2015). "Tony Nominee Andrew Rannells Will Step In for Jonathan Groff in Hamilton on Broadway". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2015-11-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ Paulson, Michael. "‘Falsettos’ Revival Casts Its Leads: Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells and Stephanie J. Block" The New York Times, March 31, 2016.
  22. ^ Gans, Andrew (27 October 2016). "Falsettos Revival, Starring Christian Borle, Stephanie J. Block, Andrew Rannells, Opens". Playbill.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ Hetrick, Adam (29 December 2016). "13 Shows Close as Broadway Gears Up for a Packed Spring". Playbill.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ Iannucci, Rebecca (2020-10-15). "Black Monday Renewed for Season 3". TVLine. Retrieved 2020-11-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ^ Brenner, Joanna. "Andrew Rannells's New Memoir Is All About the Perks of Being a Late Bloomer". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  26. ^ Lefkowitz, Andy (25 June 2019). "The Prom Film to Star Meryl Streep, James Corden, Andrew Rannells & Nicole Kidman". Broadway.com. Retrieved 15 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ^ Siegel, Miranda (May 29, 2012). "Andrew Rannells on His Girls Character, Slapping Marnie, and His New Ryan Murphy Show". Vulture-New York. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  28. ^ Martin, Denise (January 29, 2013). "Andrew Rannells: The Boy Scout With the Dirty Mouth". Vulture-New York. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  29. ^ "Andrew Rannells and Tuc Watkins Make Their Relationship 'Instagram Official'". Towleroad Gay News. 2019-09-22. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
  30. ^ a b c Broverman, Neal (2020-10-01). "Andrew Rannells and Tuc Watkins: The Couple That Plays Together". www.out.com. Retrieved 2020-10-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ^ Rudolph, Christopher (8 March 2018). "Shania Twain, "Broad City" Stars And More Join The Judges' Panel On "Drag Race" Season 10". www.newnownext.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  32. ^ "Andrew Rannells in Concert". Live from Lincoln Center: Stars in Concert. Season 1. 2018. PBS. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  33. ^ "Andrew Rannells". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 16 September 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. ^ Joy, Cara (November 11, 2005). "Andrew Rannells to Star as Hairspray's Next Link Larkin". Broadway.com. Retrieved 2014-05-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  35. ^ Aradi, Cathi (March 3, 2008). "JBB EXCLUSIVE: Interview With Andrew Rannells!". jerseyboysblog.com. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  36. ^ Liner, Elaine (January 28, 2010). "The Dallas Theater Center's World Premiere, Give It Up! Asks The Audience To Give Up More Than Two And A Half Hours To Its Redbull-buzzed Idiocy". Dallas Observer. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  37. '^ Clement, Olivia (December 15, 2017). "The Leftovers Charlie Carver Joins Matt Bomer, Andrew Rannells, and More for Broadway's The Boys in the Band". Playbill. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  38. ^ "Vote Now! Hamilton Breaks Record for Most Broadway.com Audience Choice Award Nominations". Broadway.com. April 29, 2016.
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