Steven Michael Kazee (born October 30, 1975) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for starring as Guy in the musical ''

Once Once means a one-time occurrence. Once may refer to: Music * ''Once'' (Pearl Jam song), a 1991 song from the album ''Ten'' * ''Once'' (Roy Harper album), a 1990 album by Roy Harper * ''Once'' (The Tyde album), a 2001 debut album by The Tyd ...

'' for which he was awarded the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Kazee began his professional acting career in the mid 2000s, and from 2005 until 2013 acted in a series of Broadway productions including ''

Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion pictu ...

'', '' 110 in the Shade'', and ''Once''. Following the success of ''Once'', Kazee acted on multiple television series, most notably playing Gus Pfender in the fifth season of '' Shameless''. Kazee returned to theater in 2018, starring as Edward in the Chicago

tryout ''Tryout'' was an amateur press journal published from 1914 to 1946 by Charles W. Smith of Haverhill, Massachusetts. It was connected to the National Amateur Press Association. Smith (1852–1948) was a friend and correspondent of H. P. Lovecraf ...

of '' Pretty Woman: The Musical''.

Early life and education

Kazee was born and raised in

Ashland, Kentucky Ashland is a home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The largest city in Boyd County, Ashland is located upon a southern bank of the Ohio River at the state border with Ohio and near West Virginia. The population was 21,6 ...

."Tisch To Honor Oliver Stone At West Coast Benefit Gala"
nyu.edu, October 4, 2013 He is an alumnus of Fairview High School and

Morehead State University Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-year residential ...

. Kazee moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 2002 and received his MFA from the Graduate Acting Program at

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

in 2005.

Career

Theatre

He appeared in the

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions ar ...

's ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 h ...

'' in June 2005. He appeared in ''

Seascape A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an example of marine art. The word originated as a formation from landscape, which was first used of images of land in art. By a similar dev ...

'' on Broadway in November 2005 as the Leslie understudy. In January 2006, he appeared as Timmy Cleary in ''

The Subject Was Roses ''The Subject Was Roses'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning 1964 play written by Frank D. Gilroy, who also adapted the work in 1968 for a film with the same title. Background The play premiered on Broadway at the Royale Theatre on May 25, 1964, s ...

'', which played at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

. He was later cast as a replacement for Sir Lancelot in ''

'' on Broadway in April 2006. In 2007, he starred as Bill Starbuck in the revival of '' 110 in the Shade'' on Broadway, In 2008, he played Sobinsky in ''

To Be Or Not To Be To Be or Not to Be may refer to: * ''To be, or not to be'', the soliloquy from ''Hamlet''. Films and TV, theatre and books * ''To Be or Not to Be'' (1942 film), directed by Ernst Lubitsch * ''To Be or Not to Be'' (1983 film), a remake produced ...

'', which ran from September 16 through November 16 at the

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, formerly the Biltmore Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 261 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the neo-Renais ...

. Kazee starred as Guy in the stage adaptation of ''

'', He originated the role

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

when it opened at the

New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it hou ...

on December 6, 2011. ''

'' began previews on Broadway on February 28, 2012, and opened on March 18, 2012, at the

Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (formerly the Royale Theatre and the John Golden Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 242 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the theat ...

. Kazee made several TV appearances promoting ''Once'', including ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...

'' and '' Today Show''. Kazee won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Kazee and the cast of ''Once'' won the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. He is featured on

Christina Perri Christina Judith Perri (born August 19, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. After her debut single "Jar of Hearts" was featured on the television series '' So You Think You Can Dance'' in 2010, Perri signed with Atlantic Records and relea ...

's song " A Thousand Years, Pt. 2", which appears on '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)''. In 2017 it was announced that Kazee would star in the stage adaptation of the 1990 film ''

Pretty Woman ''Pretty Woman'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall, from a screenplay by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance) ...

'', opposite Samantha Barks in her Broadway debut. The musical, titled '' Pretty Woman: The Musical'', is directed by Jerry Mitchell and premiered in Chicago in March 2018 and later opened on Broadway in August 2018. After performing as Edward in the Chicago production, Kazee left ''Pretty Woman: The Musical'' due to "family reasons." He was replaced by Andy Karl when the production transferred to Broadway.

Television

In 2006, Kazee played Dumas Shepherd in an episode of the television series ''Conviction''. In 2007, he appeared as Michael Barlow in ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation * Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium ...

'' and Mark Green in ''

Numb3rs ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, for six seasons and 118 episodes. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heu ...

''."Kazee TV"
tvguide.com, retrieved November 23, 2017. In 2008, he appeared on '' NCIS'' as Michael Locke. In 2009, he played Dominic Humphreys on ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

''. Kazee had a starring role on the CMT's ''

Working Class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

'' (2011), in which he played Nick Garrett. In 2013 he appeared on ''

Elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...

'' as Jeff Hines and on ''

Drop Dead Diva ''Drop Dead Diva'' is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that aired on Lifetime from July 12, 2009, to June 22, 2014. The series was created by Josh Berman and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It stars Brooke Elliott ...

'' as Dustin Wycott. In 2015, he played Gus Pfender in a recurring role in season 5 and 6 of Showtime's series '' Shameless''.Andreeva, Nellie
"Steve Kazee Joins Showtime’s 'Shameless'"
deadline.com, May 28, 2014.

Personal life

Kazee was previously in a relationship with actress

Megan Hilty Megan Kathleen Hilty (born March 29, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She rose to prominence for her roles in Broadway musicals, including her performance as Glinda the Good Witch in '' Wicked'', Doralee Rhodes in '' 9 to 5: The Musical' ...

from 2005 until 2012. In October 2018, it was confirmed that Kazee is in a relationship with

Jenna Dewan Jenna Lee Dewan (; born December 3, 1980) is an American actress and dancer. She started her career as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson, and later worked with artists including Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Missy Elliott. She is known for her r ...

. In September 2019, it was announced that the couple were expecting their first child together. In February 2020, he and Dewan became engaged. He and Dewan welcomed their son on March 6, 2020.

Theatre credits

Sources: Playbill;"Steve Kazee Broadway"
Playbill (vault), retrieved November 23, 2017 BroadwayWorld

Filmography

Television

Awards and nominations

Sources: Playbill; IBDB"Kazee Awards"
ibdb.com, retrieved November 23, 2017

References

External links

* * *
archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kazee, Steve 1975 births Living people Male actors from Kentucky American male television actors American male musical theatre actors Grammy Award winners Morehead State University alumni Musicians from Ashland, Kentucky Tony Award winners Tisch School of the Arts alumni Singers from Kentucky