Jonathan Groff

Groff earned his Actors' Equity Association card in 2005, with the musical Fame at the North Shore Music Theatre. That same year, he made his Broadway debut as an understudy for the lead role and a swing for the musical In My Life by Joseph Brooks.[10] 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 19th century Germany discovering their sexuality, adapted from the original 1891 play. He played the role from its debut on December 10, 2006, through May 18, 2008, when he departed the production with his co-star and best friend Lea Michele. He had previously played the role in the original Off-Broadway production earlier in the summer of 2006.[11] The musical was ground-breaking at the time, garnering 11 nominations at the 61st Tony Awards and being awarded the Tony Award for Best Musical, Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, Tony Award for Best Original Score, and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album, which the Grammys did not award to vocalists at that time. Groff's performance was also met with high acclaim. He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his 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.[12] From July 22 through August 31, 2008, Groff played as Claude in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Hair. He also appeared as Michael Lang in Ang Lee's comedy-drama film Taking Woodstock, about the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Starting November 14, 2008, Groff next appeared in the off-Broadway production of the play Prayer for My Enemy by Craig Lucas. In August 2009, Groff performed in The Bacchae as Dionysus, as a part of the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park.

Groff in 2010

Starting in 2010, Groff appeared as a recurring guest star in fifteen episodes of the Fox musical comedy-drama Glee as Jesse St. James, lead performer in rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline, alongside Lea Michele.[13] In August 2010, he made his West End debut in Deathtrap as Clifford Anderson, at the Noël Coward Theatre, directed by Matthew Warchus.[14]

From August to October 2012, Groff appeared as Ian Todd in the second and final season of the Starz series Boss.[15] Groff then portrayed Ken in the Center Theatre Group's production of the play Red, alongside Alfred Molina. The show ran from August 1 through September 9, 2012.[16] In March 2013, Groff and Molina reprised their roles for six more performances of the play, this time in the L.A. Theatre Works. These performances were recorded for broadcast on radio.[17]

In 2013, Groff voiced Kristoff and Sven in Disney's animated feature Frozen. Kristoff is a rugged mountain man, ice trader, and love interest to Anna, played by Kristen Bell, and Sven is his reindeer. The film premiered on November 19, 2013.[18][19] Following the film's massive commercial success and its ranking as the highest-grossing animated film of all time, the fifteenth highest-grossing film of all time, and the highest-grossing film of 2013, Groff reprised his role in the short film sequel Frozen Fever, which premiered on March 13, 2015.[20]

Groff starred as Patrick Murray, a gay video game developer, in HBO's comedy-drama series Looking.[21][22] On March 23, 2015, HBO cancelled Looking after its second season but greenlit a television film to conclude the story.[23] The series and film were 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."[24] In April 2013, Groff joined another HBO production, playing Craig Donner in the film adaptation of Larry Kramer's play The Normal Heart, a film that depicts the New York City AIDS crisis in the 1980s.[25] The Normal Heart won the Critics' Choice Award for Best Movie and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie. He returned to the London stage on May 19, 2015, to star in a one-night-only concert of the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, at the Royal Festival Hall.[26]

Groff starred in a production of the musical A New Brain as Gordon Schwinn, a composer who suffers from arteriovenous malformation, presented as part of the New York City Center's Encores! Off-Center staged concert series. The show was directed by James Lapine and took place from June 24 through June 27, 2015.[27] Groff was again 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."[28]

On March 3, 2015, he joined the cast of the hit musical Hamilton, replacing Brian d'Arcy James in the role of King George III. He held the role for the remainder of the show's off-Broadway production, through May 3, 2015.[29] He reprised the role in the Broadway production, which started performances July 13, 2015.[30] Theater critic Ben Brantley of The New York Times called Groff's performance "delicious ... His is the voice of vintage Britpop, rendered in a leisurely, ironic, condescending vein to a distant population he regards as savages."[31] 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.

In October 2017, Groff starred in the Netflix series Mindhunter, executively produced by David Fincher and Charlize Theron.[32] 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.[33] His character is loosely based on the real-life John E. Douglas, one of the first criminal profilers in FBI history.[34] Groff also starred in the second season of the series, which premiered on August 16, 2019.[35] The series and Groff's performance were critically acclaimed, with Collider calling his performance "exceptionally affecting as Holden. Groff has always had a talent for making his characters empathetic."[36] Season 3 has since been put on hold indefinitely as Fincher continued with other projects, although he may one day revisit the series.[37]

In July 2017, Groff starred in the first podcast musical, 36 Questions, as Jase, whose estranged wife Judith tries to salvage their marriage after she had been lying about her identity.[38] In October 2019, Groff starred in the Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors as Seymour Krelborn, a florist who raises a plant with a thirst for human flesh.[39] The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Groff was "never-better ... hilarious, endearing and in tremendous voice" and that he "disappears into a role he was born to play."[40] Groff is currently nominated for the 63rd Grammy Awards for Best Musical Theater Album as part of the cast recording of Little Shop of Horrors.[41]

In November 2019, Groff reprised his role as Kristoff in Frozen II. He sang 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.[42]

Groff's Broadway performance of King George III in Hamilton has been featured in the film production on Disney+ as of July 3, 2020.[43]

In December 2019, it was announced Groff would join the cast for The Matrix 4, the fourth installment of The Matrix franchise, alongside Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, expected to be released in late 2021.[44] In November 2020, it was also announced Groff would star in Molly and the Moon, a musical film, alongside Kristen Bell.[45]