Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Drew Groff (born March 26, 1985)[1] is an American actor and singer. He began his career on Broadway, rising to prominence for his portrayal of Melchior Gabor in the original production of Spring Awakening (2006–08), for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He returned to Broadway to portray King George III in the original production of Hamilton (2015), for which he earned a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He currently stars opposite Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez in the first Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along.[2]
This article is about the actor. For the comedy writer and showrunner, see Jonathan Groff (writer).
Jonathan Groff
Groff made his film debut in Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock (2009), and became a recurring guest star in the Fox musical-comedy series Glee (2009–15) as Jesse St. James. He voiced the roles of Kristoff and Sven in Disney's Frozen franchise, including Frozen (2013) and Frozen II (2019). Groff starred as Patrick Murray in the HBO comedy-drama series Looking (2014–15), the network's first series centering on the lives of gay men, as well as its subsequent television film, Looking: The Movie (2016), and portrayed FBI Special Agent Holden Ford in the Netflix period crime drama Mindhunter (2017–19), for which he won a Satellite Award. In 2021, he received a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Anthology Series or Movie for his performance in the Disney+ live stage recording of Hamilton.
Groff starred in the fourth installment of the Matrix franchise – The Matrix Resurrections (2021) – as Smith. In 2022, he executive produced the HBO documentary film Spring Awakening: Those You've Known, which saw the 15 year reunion of the original cast of the musical.
Early life and education[edit]
Jonathan Drew Groff was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to Julie (née Witmer), a physical education teacher, and Jim Groff, a harness horse trainer.[3] He has one older brother, David, who is president and COO of WebstaurantStore.[4] He is a first cousin of singer James Wolpert, a semi-finalist on the fifth season of The Voice.[5] Groff is of German descent.[6] His father is Mennonite, and his paternal grandfather, J. Wade Groff, was a Mennonite minister.[7] Groff's mother is Methodist, and Groff was raised in the Methodist faith.[8] He grew up among Amish communities in Ronks, Pennsylvania, spending his teenage years driving around his Amish neighbors, who were not allowed to use electricity or drive cars.[9][10]
Groff's roots in theater and acting began at an early age. When he was three years old, Groff fell in love with Julie Andrews' performance as Mary Poppins, and growing up, he and his brother put on childhood home productions, such as a performance of The Wizard of Oz in his father's barn, where he played Dorothy.[11][12] Groff credits Sutton Foster as one of his greatest influences and idols, and as a young aspiring actor, he would wait at the stage door after her performances to get her autograph.[13] Groff joined his middle school and high school drama departments, and it was there that he became inspired to start a career in theater.[14]
In his adolescence, Groff took part in many community productions in his hometown of Lancaster. At seventeen years old, he directed and starred in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown at a high school theatre festival at the Fulton Opera House, for which he won a community award.[15][16] He also performed in The Sound of Music, Ragtime, Cyrano, Evita, My Fair Lady, Peter Pan, The Pirates of Penzance, and Rags at the Fulton Opera House, as well as starring as Edgar in Bat Boy: The Musical and Ugly in Honk! at The Ephrata Performing Arts Center.[17]
Groff graduated from Conestoga Valley High School in 2003 and intended to attend Carnegie Mellon University, but he deferred his admission for a year when he was cast as Rolf in a Non-Equity national tour of The Sound of Music.[18][19] After the tour, Groff decided to move to New York City instead of attending college and begin his career.[20]
Acting career[edit]
2005–09: Career beginnings and Spring Awakening[edit]
Groff started out waiting tables at the Chelsea Grill in New York City before earning his Actors' Equity Association card in 2005, with the musical Fame at the North Shore Music Theatre, where he played Nick Piazza.[21][22] That same year, he made his Broadway debut as an understudy for the lead role (played by Christopher Hanke), swing, and dance captain for the musical In My Life by Joseph Brooks, opening on October 20 and closing on December 11, 2005, after 61 performances.[23] The musical was panned by critics, with a review from Broadway.com calling the production "undoubtedly the most bizarre, misguided Broadway musical of the millennium".[24]
Footnotes