Jonathan Drew Groff (born March 26, 1985) is an American actor and singer. He got his big break on Broadway as Melchior Gabor in Spring Awakening, which he is best known for.
Early Life[]
Born and raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Groff began his theatre career in his teens as he participated in a high school theatre festival, where he directed and starred in a production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. He also starred in musicals such as The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Evita, Peter Pan, and Ragtime. He has portrayed Egar in Bat Boy: The Musical and Ugly in Honk!. Graduating from Conestoga Valley High School in 2003, and intended to attend college at Carnegie Mellon University, and deferred admission for a year to join the cast of the Non-Equity national tour of The Sound of Music as Rolf.
Career[]
Shortly after finishing the national tour, Groff moved to New York City to begin his acting career. Prior to earning his Actors' Equity Association card in 2005, with the musical Fame at the North Shore Music Theatre, he worked as a waiter at Chelsea Grill and made his Broadway debut as a dance captain and understudy in the musical All My Life. However, his breakthrough role was that of Melchior Gabor in the Broadway production of the rock musical Spring Awakening. This was followed by more production on and off Broadway with shows, like Hair, The Submission, The Singing Forest, Deathtrap, The Pirates of Penzance, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, A New Brain, Sondheim on Sondheim, Little Shop of Horrors, and originating the role of King George III in Hamilton, and as Franklin "Frank" Shepeard in the 2022 Off-Broadway production, and reprised the role in the 2023 Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along. Groff's performance earned him his third Tony Award nomination and first win for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He will next star in the jukebox musical Just in Time playing singer Bobby Darin.
On film and television, Groff is perhaps known for his recurring role of Jesse St. James in seasons 1 through 3 and 6 of The Fox Comedy-Drama Musical series Glee and as the voice of Kristoff in Disney's Frozen, its sequel Frozen II and its Spinoffs. Other film credits include Taking Woodstock, The Conspirator, American Sniper, The Matrix Resurrections, The Normal Heart, C.O.G, and Lost Ollie.
Personal Life[]
Groff is ordained by the Universal Life Church and has officiated weddings of his fellow co-stars including Lindsay Mendez's nuptials to actor J. Alex Brinson. He has also credited Sutton Foster as one of his greatest influences and idols