Aaron Tveit
Actor and singer
2003–present
Tveit originated the lead role of Christian in the stage adaptation of Moulin Rouge! on Broadway, a performance for which he won the 2020 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and received a 2020 Grammy Award nomination. His other work on the Broadway stage includes originating the roles of Gabe in Next to Normal and Frank Abagnale Jr. in Catch Me If You Can, as well as performing the roles of Fiyero Tigelaar in Wicked, Link Larkin in Hairspray, and the title role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He also played John Wilkes Booth in an Off West End production of Assassins.
Tveit has also portrayed several musical theatre roles on screen, such as Enjolras in the film adaptation of Les Misérables (2012), as well as Danny Zuko in Fox's Grease: Live (2016). Tveit is also known for his work in television, including the roles of Gareth Ritter on BrainDead, Tripp van der Bilt on Gossip Girl, Mike Warren on Graceland, and Danny Bailey/Topher in Schmigadoon!.
Early life and education[edit]
Tveit was born in Middletown, Orange County, New York, to Posie and Stanley Tveit.[2][3] His brother, Jon, is five years younger[4] and a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of New York.[5] His surname is Norwegian.[6]
Tveit graduated from Middletown High School in 2001,[7] where he was active both in chorus and sports, playing golf, soccer and basketball; he also starred in all four of his school's musical theater productions: Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors in 9th grade, Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees in 10th grade, Tony in West Side Story in 11th grade, and Huck in Big River in 12th grade.[8][9][10][11] As a child, he played the violin and French horn.[12] He turned down business school scholarships to major in vocal performance at Ithaca College, a decision his parents supported, before switching to musical theater after his first year because he missed acting and theater.
Career[edit]
2003–2007: Early career and Broadway debut[edit]
Tveit began his professional career in 2003 when he joined the national tour of Rent as Steve and the understudy for Roger/Mark. He was in his second year of studying at Ithaca College at the time; nine years later, in 2012, Tveit completed his college degree, when he was given college credit for his theatre roles.[13]
Following Rent, he returned to school briefly but left to play Link Larkin in the first national tour of Hairspray. He made his Broadway debut in this role in 2006.[14] In the following two years, he performed in regional productions including as Matt in Barrington Stage Company's Calvin Berger in July 2007 and as D'Artagnan in a musical adaptation of The Three Musketeers which played at the North Shore Music Theatre from August to September 2007, before returning to the Broadway production of Hairspray.[15][16] Other credits include an early workshop of The Black Suits.[17] Tveit made his film debut in Ghost Town (2008), as a young anesthesiologist.[18]
2008–2011: Rise to prominence[edit]
In 2007, Tveit originated the role of Gabe in the Off-Broadway production of the musical Next to Normal. The production ran from January 16 through March 16, 2008, at the Second Stage Theater.[19] Tveit received a nomination for the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actor for this role.[20] In the interim time before the out-of-town production of Next to Normal, Tveit played Dean in the musical theatre adaptation of the film Saved!, which ran for a limited engagement at Playwrights Horizons in June 2008.[21] Also in June 2008, Tveit took over the role of Fiyero in Wicked on Broadway.[22] He left the show in November to reprise his role in the Arena Stage production[23] of Next to Normal, for which he won the 2009 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Non-Resident Production.[24]
Tveit returned to Wicked as Fiyero in January 2009. However, he left once again on March 8, 2009, after only a couple of months, to join the Broadway production of Next to Normal, which began previews in March 2009 and officially opened on April 15.[25] His performance as Gabe earned him the Clarence Derwent Award from the Actors' Equity Association.[26] Tveit was included on AfterElton.com's 2009 list of the "37 Hottest Guys in Theater".[27]
Tveit left Next to Normal on June 6, 2009, to prepare for Catch Me If You Can, where he played Frank Abagnale Jr. The musical was performed at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle from July 28 through August 16, 2009.[28] Tveit returned to Next to Normal from September 7 through January 3, 2010.[29][30] In August, he also starred in the Hollywood Bowl's production of Rent directed by Neil Patrick Harris, as Roger Davis.[31] He took part in the MCC Theater Miscast Gala in 2009 and 2010.[32][33]
Tveit played Frank Abagnale Jr in the Broadway production of Catch Me If You Can, opening on April 10, 2011, and closing on September 4, 2011.[34] For this role he was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical,[35] the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance,[36] and the Fred Astaire Award for Best Male Dancer on Broadway.[37]
During the Broadway production of Next to Normal, Tveit also had a recurring role in the CW series Gossip Girl as Tripp van der Bilt, the cousin of Nate Archibald.[38] During this period, Tveit appeared in an episode of the television series Ugly Betty titled "All the World's a Stage" as Zachary Boule, Betty Suarez's boyfriend.[39] He appeared in Rob Epstein's Howl, a biopic about the Allen Ginsberg poem and the controversy and trial that ensued after its publication. Tveit played Peter Orlovsky, Ginsberg's longtime partner, opposite James Franco.[40] He was also a guest star on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on April 21, 2010, as Jan, an animal-loving yoga instructor who is questioned about the death of his girlfriend, and then again on September 28, 2011, as Stevie Harris, a man with substance abuse issues who accuses his well-respected former basketball coach of sexual abuse.[41]
Personal life[edit]
Tveit moved to Manhattan in 2006 where he first lived in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood.[87][88] From 2007 to 2020, he lived in Astoria, Queens.[73][89][90]