Spotlight on HAMILTON: Catching Up with Jonathan Groff
What Has Jonathan Groff Done Since Hamilton?
By: Nicole Rosky Jun. 27, 2020
The original Broadway cast appearing in the Hamilton film include Tony Award winners Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr; Tony Award nominees Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jonathan Groff as King George; Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton; and Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; and Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton.
History may have its eyes on Hamilton, but today, we have our eyes on the history of its stars. Below take a deep dive into the career of Jonathan Groff, both before and after his Tony-nominated turn in as King George III!
Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Groff initially intended to attend Carnegie Mellon University, but deferred his admission for a year when he was cast as Rolf in a Non-Equity national tour of The Sound of Music. After the tour, he instead stayed in New York City, and in 2005, he made his Broadway debut as an understudy and swing in In My Life.
Groff rose to prominence in 2006 for his performance in the lead role of Melchior Gabor in the original Broadway production of Spring Awakening, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He departed the production on May 18, 2008.
In 2007, he appeared on multiple episodes of One Life to Live as Henry Mackler. He also appeared as Michael Lang in Ang Lee's comedy-drama film Taking Woodstock.
In summer 2008, he starred as Claude in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Hair. He also appeared in the off-Broadway production of the play Prayer for My Enemy by Craig Lucas and in The Bacchae as Dionysus, as a part of Shakespeare in the Park the following summer.
In 2010, he guest-starred in eight episodes of the Fox musical comedy-drama Glee as Jesse St. James alongside friend and fellow Spring Awakening veteran Lea Michele.
In August 2010, he made his West End debut in Deathtrap, at the Noël Coward Theatre, directed by Matthew Warchus. He later portrayed Ken in the Center Theatre Group's production of the play Red, alongside Alfred Molina.
In 2013, Groff voiced Kristoff, a rugged mountain man and ice trader, in Disney's animated feature Frozen. He would go on to voice the character in several animated shorts and the sequel- Frozen II.
Groff starred as Patrick Murray, a gay video game developer, in HBO's comedy-drama series Looking, which premiered in 2014.
Groff joined the cast of Hamilton while the show was still off-Broadway, replacing Brian d'Arcy James as King George III. He went on to originate the role on Broadway that summer and earned his second Tony nomination for his performance in 2016.
He also led A New Brain as Gordon, presented as part of the New York City Center's Encores! Off-Center staged concert series in summer 2015.
Groff leads the Netflix series Mindhunter, executive produced by David Fincher and Charlize Theron. The series was released in October 2017, and he portrays Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Holden Ford, a serial killer investigator in the Behavioral Science Unit. The second season premiered in August 2019.
Sign up for Disney+ today for your chance to catch Leslie and even more of the original cast of Broadway's biggest hit from home on July 3!
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