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]
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
2005–09: Career beginnings and Spring Awakening
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]
His breakout performance occurred in 2006, when Groff originated the lead role of Melchior Gabor in the Broadway production of the rock musical Spring Awakening. The musical tells the story of repressed adolescents in late nineteenth century Germany discovering their sexuality, adapted from
Frank Wedekind's original 1891
play by
Duncan Sheik and
Steven Sater and directed by
Michael Mayer.[25] Groff was first cast in a workshop of Spring Awakening at
Baruch College with
Lea Michele,
John Gallagher Jr., and the rest of the original cast, and the production then moved to the
Atlantic Theater Company for its original
off-Broadway run from May 19 through August 5, 2006, before transferring to Broadway.[26] During the Broadway production at the
Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Groff played the role from its debut on December 10, 2006, through May 18, 2008, when he departed the production with co-star and best friend Lea Michele. The musical achieved great critical acclaim, garnering eleven nominations and winning eight awards, including
Best Musical, at the
61st Tony Awards. The musical was also awarded the
Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, which the Grammys did not award to vocalists at that time.[27]Charles Isherwood of The New York Times called the show a "brave new musical, haunting and electrifying by turns" and praised Groff's "ardency and thoughtfulness".[28]Variety wrote that the performances of "Michele, Groff and Gallagher dominate the young ensemble".[29] Groff was nominated for a
Drama Desk Award, a
Drama League Award, and a
Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his performance. He received the
Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance.
In 2007, Groff played the recurring role of
Henry Mackler for eleven episodes on the
ABC soap opera One Life to Live. His character's storyline about a school shooting was cut due to the
Virginia Tech shooting in April 2007.[30] In November 2007, Groff was cast in the
FX series
Pretty/Handsome, directed and written by
Ryan Murphy, and filmed a pilot, but the series was not picked up.[31]
From July 22 through August 31, 2008, Groff played the lead role of Claude in the
Shakespeare in the Park production of Hair, a rock musical about
hippiecounterculture during the
Vietnam War that was directed by
Diane Paulus.[32] Theater critic
Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote in his review of Hair that "Mr. Groff, who was memorably tormented by young lust in the musical Spring Awakening, is even more affecting here, his open face a shifting map of doubt and affirmation."[33] Groff decided to turn down the opportunity to reprise his role in the Broadway production, choosing instead to make his film debut.[34] In 2009, he appeared as
Michael Lang in
Ang Lee's comedy-drama film Taking Woodstock, about the 1969
Woodstock Festival. While critics found the film "likable" but "underwhelming", Groff's performance was praised for its "crafty, angelic fervor" by Rolling Stone.[35][36][37]
From November 14 to December 21, 2008, Groff appeared as Billy Noone, a closeted gay soldier fighting in Iraq, in the off-Broadway production of Prayer for My Enemy, a play written by
Craig Lucas.[38] The production was directed by
Bartlett Sher and performed at
Playwrights Horizons.[39] Ben Brantley wrote in The New York Times that the play is "muddle-headed" and "disconnected", but Groff "exudes the charismatic aura of distressed youth".[40] From April 10 to May 17, 2009, Groff appeared as Gray Korankyi and Walter Riemann in the off-Broadway production of another Craig Lucas play, The Singing Forest, alongside
Olympia Dukakis at
the Public Theater.[41] The play, directed by
Mark Wing-Davey, was described by critics as "convoluted" in plot but with strong performances, praising Groff for his "natural emotional transparency [that] helps add layers to Gray".[42] For both performances, Groff received an
Obie Award.[43]
Groff starred as
Dionysus in the play The Bacchae opposite
Anthony Mackie from August 11 to 30, 2009; it was directed by
JoAnne Akalaitis and produced as a part of the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park.[44]The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "Groff is surprisingly effective as the Stranger, Dionysus' human guise", but "in the moments when he must be the immortal god and register his full wrath, however, Groff is less successful despite an earnest effort."[45]
2010–16: Glee, Frozen and Hamilton
Starting in 2010, Groff rose to greater prominence as a recurring guest star in the
Fox musical comedy-drama Glee as
Jesse St. James, lead performer in rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline and love interest to
Rachel Berry, played by Lea Michele.[46] He appeared in a total of fifteen episodes over the first, second, third, and sixth seasons of the series. Groff was featured in four of Glee's soundtrack albums and made a special appearance in the concert tour
Glee Live! In Concert! with
Michele at the
Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles and at the
Radio City Music Hall in New York City.[47][48]
From August 21, 2010, to January 15, 2011, Groff made his
West End debut in the London revival of Deathtrap, a play written by
Ira Levin and directed by
Matthew Warchus at the
Noël Coward Theatre.[49] Groff played Clifford Anderson, a young brilliant playwright, starring alongside
Simon Russell Beale as Sidney Bruhl, his professor. The play received positive critical reception; The Spectator called Groff's performance "magnetic" and "deeply charismatic" but found the "relationship between student and professor [to be] unconvincing".[50]
Groff also starred in the off-Broadway world premiere of the play The Submission by Jeff Talbott with
MCC Theater. The production was directed by
Walter Bobbie and performed at the
Lucille Lortel Theatre from September 8 to October 22, 2011.[51] He portrayed Danny Larsen, a white playwright who submits his play under the pen name of an African-American woman, alongside
Rutina Wesley, who played an actress he hires to pose as the writer. The production was met with mostly positive reviews, with The New York Times praising the script for its "self-awareness" but also finding it "too theatrical" and lacking "real emotions".[52] Groff's acting was widely praised, however, with critics calling his performance "exceptional", "deft", and "disarming".[53][54]
From August to October 2012, Groff appeared as Ian Todd, a ruthless political aide, in the second and final season of the
Starz political drama series Boss.[55] The series was not renewed for a third season due to low ratings.[56] Groff then played Ken, an artist's assistant, opposite
Alfred Molina in the
Center Theatre Group production of
John Logan's play Red. The production ran from August 1 through September 9, 2012, and was directed by
Matthew Warchus.[57] From March 14 to 17, 2013, Groff and Molina reprised their roles for six more performances of the play, this time through
L.A. Theatre Works and directed by
Rosalind Ayres.[58]Charles McNulty of the Los Angeles Times praised Groff's performance for its "admirable clarity" and wrote that "he is every bit as effective in revealing the delicate nuances of [his character]."[59]
In 2013, Groff starred in C.O.G., a comedy-drama film adaptation based on
David Sedaris's book of essays, Naked. In the film, Groff plays David, loosely based on Sedaris himself, a young repressed gay man who moves to Oregon in search of a new purpose.[60] The film, directed and written by
Kyle Patrick Alvarez, premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2013, and was released in theaters on September 20, 2013, to mixed but mostly positive reviews, with critics citing a "meandering" plot.[61] As Dan Callahan from RogerEbert.com wrote of Groff's performance, "Groff has an innate sweetness and likability about him no matter what he does, and ... brings a yearning to his role that steadily makes this semi-amusing tale of a fish out of water into a serious and often surprising drama".[62] On June 11, 2013, Groff portrayed Frederic, a pirate apprentice, in a one-night-only Shakespeare in the Park gala production of the comic opera The Pirates of Penzance. The production was directed by
Ted Sperling at the
Delacorte Theater, with other members of the cast including
Kevin Kline,
Martin Short, and
Glenn Close.[63]
From 2014 to 2015, Groff starred as Patrick Murray, a gay video game developer, in the
HBO comedy-drama series Looking, created by
Michael Lannan.[68][69] The first HBO series to center around the lives of gay men,[70] the show depicted a group of gay friends navigating relationships in San Francisco and was praised for its representation of LGBTQ+ characters and experiences.[71] Due to low ratings, the series was canceled after two seasons on March 23, 2015, with the network green-lighting a television film to conclude the story.[72] The film premiered on HBO on July 23, 2016. Groff's performance was well received by critics, with one critic from The New York Times calling Groff's performance "excellent ... Mr. Groff always made his tics, inconsistencies, and operatically scaled mistakes believable."[73]
Groff returned to the London stage on May 19, 2015, to star as J. Pierrepont Finch in a one-night-only concert of the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, at the
Royal Festival Hall alongside
Cynthia Erivo.[75] One critic from BritishTheatre.com wrote that while the concert lacked "consistent careful handling", Groff was "truly terrific" and "exudes a warmth and comic intelligence which makes him impossible not to watch."[76]
Groff also starred in an
Encores! production of the musical A New Brain as Gordon Schwinn, a composer who suffers from
arteriovenous malformation, based on the real-life composer
William Finn. The production, which took place from June 24 to 27, 2015, was presented as part of the
New York City Center's Encores! Off-Center staged concert series and was directed by
James Lapine, with Groff performing alongside
Aaron Lazar,
Dan Fogler, and
Ana Gasteyer.[77] Groff was praised for his performance, as one critic from the New York Post says, "Though the musical is uneven, Groff effortlessly keeps the production together with his supple voice and low-key charm."[78]
On March 3, 2015, Groff joined the cast of the hit musical Hamilton by
Lin-Manuel Miranda and directed by
Thomas Kail, replacing
Brian d'Arcy James in the role of
King George III.[79] Groff held the role for the remainder of the show's off-Broadway production at the Public Theater through May 3, 2015, and he reprised the role in the Broadway production at the
Richard Rodgers Theatre from July 13, 2015, to April 9, 2016.[80] Ben Brantley of The New York Times called Groff's performance "delicious" and wrote that "His is the voice of vintage Britpop, rendered in a leisurely, ironic, condescending vein to a distant population he regards as savages."[81]Hamilton achieved high critical and commercial success, winning eleven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and eight Drama Desk Awards. Groff, along with the rest of the cast, won a
Grammy Award for
Best Musical Theater Album for appearing as a featured performer on the
original Broadway cast recording. He was also nominated for the
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as the king.[82]
2017–present: Career expansion
In October 2017, Groff starred in the
Netflix crime thriller series Mindhunter, created by
Joe Penhall and executive produced by
David Fincher and
Charlize Theron.[83] In the series, Groff portrays
Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Holden Ford, a
serial killer profiler in the
Behavioral Science Unit interviewing and investigating real-life serial killers and murder cases.[84] His character is loosely based on the real-life
John E. Douglas, one of the first criminal profilers in FBI history.[84] Groff and co-stars
Holt McCallany and
Anna Torv also starred in the second season of the series, which premiered on August 16, 2019.[85] The series and Groff's performance were critically acclaimed. RogerEbert.com called it "Netflix's best drama", and Collider wrote that Groff's performance was "exceptionally affecting as Holden" and that "Groff has always had a talent for making his characters empathetic."[86][87] For his performance, Groff won a
Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series.[88] Season three has since been put on hold indefinitely as Fincher, who directed and produced much of the series, elected to focus on other projects, although he may one day revisit the project.[89]
In July 2017, Groff starred as Jase in the first podcast musical, 36 Questions, written by Chris Littler and Ellen Winter based on The New York Times article "The 36 Questions That Lead to Love" and a 1997 psychological study on interpersonal closeness. The three-act podcast, released by Two-Up Productions, follows the story of an estranged husband and wife trying to salvage their marriage with the titular set of 36 questions.[90]
On July 23, 2017, Groff performed in a one-night only symphonic concert production of Sondheim on Sondheim at the
Hollywood Bowl.[91] From January 20 to 22, 2018, Groff starred as the titular character in the off-Broadway production of The Bobby Darin Story, a three-day concert and biographical retelling of the life of 1950s singing icon
Bobby Darin, presented as part of the Lyrics & Lyricists series at 92nd Street Y and directed by
Alex Timbers.[92] The production was met with great critical reception, with
Michael Ridel writing in the New York Post that Groff "moves with the ease and slyness of Darin".[93]
In November 2019, Groff reprised his role as Kristoff in the sequel film Frozen II, singing a solo song for the movie titled "
Lost in the Woods". In January 2020, Frozen II surpassed the first installment, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time.[100] Groff also reprised the character in the 2017 short Olaf's Frozen Adventure and the video game Kingdom Hearts III in 2019.[101][102]
In 2021, it was announced Groff would be executive producing a concert documentary following the fifteen-year reunion of the original Broadway cast of Spring Awakening.[111]
The documentary, entitled Spring Awakening: Those You've Known, premiered on
HBO on May 3, 2022.[112] In addition, he hosted the documentary Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age on PBS.[113]
In March 2021,
Netflix announced Groff would star in the live-action/animation hybrid series Lost Ollie directed by
Peter Ramsey based on
William Joyce and
Brandon Oldenburg's book Ollie's Odyssey. The series premiered on Netflix on August 24, 2022. Groff voices the title role of Ollie, a lost toy searching for the boy who lost him.[114]
Groff publicly
came out as gay when asked by a Broadway.com reporter during the
National Equality March in October 2009.[125] He later shared his experience with coming out, discussing the pain of being closeted and the knowledge that disclosing his sexuality could have negative ramifications on his career.[126][8] He has also expressed how much he values being a role model for young people as an out actor,[126] and has advocated for the importance of sharing coming out stories.[127]
Groff was initially hesitant to accept the lead role in the gay television series Looking, citing insecurities around being
typecast in gay roles, but he ultimately found the experience rewarding: "living in that world and talking about gay issues was truly life-altering for me and made me so much more comfortable in my own skin".[8] On June 29, 2014, Groff was a
Grand Marshal at the
New York City Gay Pride parade.[128]
In April 2015, Groff was honored by the
Point Foundation with the Point Horizon Award honoring a "trailblazer who has taken a leadership role as an advocate" of
LGBTQIA communities.[129] In December 2015, he was honored by
Equality Pennsylvania with the
Bayard Rustin Award, which "recognizes a Pennsylvanian who is continuing the work to ensure that the LGBT community will be visible, accepted, and celebrated in our society".[130] In 2017, Groff was named
Out100's Entertainer of the Year, celebrating impactful LGBTQ+ public figures.[131]
While Groff was beginning his professional career in theater, he volunteered for the nonprofit
Broadway Cares, and he has continued to perform in and support fundraisers for the organization throughout his career.[135] Groff is a longtime supporter of the
Elton John AIDS Foundation, serving as an Event Chair for the charity's 14th Annual New York Benefit Gala in 2015.[136] Other charities he has supported include the Point Foundation,[137]Habitat for Humanity,[138]Actors Fund of America,[139]Theatre Development Fund,[140] Hispanic Federation Emergency Assistance Fund, and
Color of Change,[141] through which he participates in benefit performances and fundraisers, often recording personal voicemails as his Frozen characters Kristoff and Sven for auction winners.[142] In August 2020, Groff joined the Hamilton cast in organizing the virtual fundraiser event Ham4Change for organizations working to end systemic racism, raising over $1 million for the
Equal Justice Initiative,
African American Policy Forum, Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective,
Black AIDS Institute, Color of Change, Dance4Hope, Know Your Rights Camp, Law Enforcement Accountability Project, Until Freedom, and When We All Vote.[143]
On October 3, 2020, Groff participated in a virtual event for the
Pennsylvania Democratic Party.[153] On October 16, 2020, Groff, along with the rest of the original Hamilton cast, participated in a virtual fundraiser event for the Biden Victory Fund, in support of
Joe Biden for the
2020 presidential election.[154] On December 13, 2020, Groff and fellow Hamilton cast-member
Sasha Hutchings hosted a virtual holiday concert fundraiser to support the campaigns of
Jon Ossoff and
Raphael Warnock in the Georgia
Senate Runoff elections.[155]
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"Broadway 'Awakening'". LancasterOnline.
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^Michaels, Melissa (September 25, 2014).
"'Sophie', A Review". L'Etage Magazine.
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"Like a Prayer" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart":
"Discography Glee Cast". Australian-Charts.com. Archived from
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