Caesar Samayoa is an American stage actor.

Early life and education

Samayoa's parents immigrated to the United States from Guatemala. He grew up in

Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the east ...

, and attended school in

Emerson, New Jersey Emerson is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, a suburb in the New York City metropolitan area. Emerson is the most southern municipality in an area of the county known as the Pascack Valley. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

. He became interested in theater after seeing

Anna Deavere Smith Anna Deavere Smith (born September 18, 1950) is an American actress, playwright, and professor. She is known for her roles as National Security Advisor Dr. Nancy McNally in ''The West Wing'' (2000–06), hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus i ...

perform in '' Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992''. After first attending

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

, Samayoa transferred to

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca (town), New York, Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a Music school, conservatory of music. Ithaca College is known for its media-related programs and entertainment program ...

, where he graduated with a degree in drama.

Career

Samayoa's first theater role in New York City was in 1997 in Joe Calarco’s ''Shakespeare's R&J'', where he played Juliet, Benvolio, and Montague''.'' When Samayoa was first offered the opportunity to join '' Come From Away'', he was skeptical, having heard it pitched as a "

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

musical". In addition to the event's influence on American society, Samayoa had been in New York City on the day of the attacks. However, he changed his mind after reading the show's script at the request of his agent. Samayoa began performing as part of ''Come from Away's'' cast in 2015, and originated the roles of Kevin J. and Ali in the 2017 Broadway production. He remained with the show until 2022. In 2023, Samayoa originated the role of Dr. Amigo in the Broadway production of '' How to Dance in Ohio.'' In 2025, Samayoa originated the role of Don Kirshner and others in the Broadway production of the Bobby Darin bio-musical Just in Time''.''

Roles

Awards

Personal life

Samayoa, who is

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

, married talent agent Christopher Freer in June 2022. Outside of theater, he enjoys cooking.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samayoa, Caesar Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Manhattan American gay actors American musical theatre actors American people of Guatemalan descent American stage actors Hispanic and Latino American male actors Ithaca College alumni LGBTQ people from New York (state) People from East Harlem