Isaac Cole Powell (born December 30, 1994) is an American actor and singer. He played the role of Daniel in the Broadway revival of the musical ''

Once on This Island ''Once on This Island'' is a coming-of-age one-act stage musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. It is based on the 1985 novel ''My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl'' by Rosa Guy, a Caribbean-set retel ...

'' and was cast as Tony in the 2020 Broadway revival of ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid- ...

''.

Early life and career

Powell was raised in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

, the youngest of three children born to Terry and Will Powell, a three-time world

CrossFit CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trade ...

champion. His father is Mixed Native American and African-American; his mother is Caucasian. His sister, Jessica Powell, stars on TLC's

My Big Fat Fabulous Life ''My Big Fat Fabulous Life'' is an American reality television series that premiered on January 13, 2015. The series chronicles the life of Whitney Way Thore, a woman who weighed at the beginning of the series (which is partially attributed to ...

and is a Certified

Personal Trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

at their father's fitness studio. Powell began to act in middle school with the Community Theatre of Greensboro.DeCwikiel-Kane, Dawn
"Greensboro native lands big role on Broadway"
''

News & Record The ''News & Record'' is an American, English language newspaper with the largest circulation serving Guilford County, North Carolina, and the surrounding region. It is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and produces local sections for Greensb ...

'', August 6, 2017, accessed June 4, 2018 He attended Philip J. Weaver Academy, a performing arts high school, before transferring to a boarding program at the

University of North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

(UNCSA) during his senior year of high school. He graduated from UNCSA with an acting degree in May 2017. While in college, Powell began to accumulate professional acting credits, playing Nikos in the musical ''

Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith from Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name. It stars Reese Wit ...

'' at the Barn Dinner Theatre. After graduation, in the summer of 2017, he appeared in ''

Newsies ''Newsies'' (released as ''The News Boys'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1992 American musical historical comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and directed by choreographer Kenny Ortega in his film directing debut. Loosely based on t ...

'' and ''

Mamma Mia! Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent *Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...

'' with the

Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (Pittsburgh CLO) is a nonprofit professional theater company based in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Despite its name, the organization presents musical theatre classics rather th ...

and originated the title role in ''Nikola Tesla Drops the Beat'' at the Adirondack Theatre Festival in

Glens Falls Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls re ...

, New York. Powell played the role of Daniel in the 2017 Broadway revival of ''

'', which began previews in November 2017 and opened officially in December. Jesse Green, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called Powell's solo, "Some Girls," a "quietly sensitive rendering." Robert Hofler, in ''

TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009. Awards ''TheWrap'' has won awards for its journalism, incl ...

'', wrote that Powell makes the song "the most poignant moment in this revival."Hofler, Robert
"''Once on This Island'' Broadway Review: A Middling Musical Revival About a Long-Suffering Woman"
''

'', December 3, 2018 TheaterMania's review deemed Powell, "charismatic and silvery-voiced." He recorded his role on the revival's cast album. Powell competed in May 2018 on the live Broadway game show, ''I Only Have Lies for You''. In the spring of 2018, he signed on with the New Pandemics modeling agency and modeled for Palomo Spain's and NIHL's fall 2019 lines at

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...

. In ''

W Magazine ''W'' is an American fashion magazine that features stories about style through the lens of culture, fashion, art, celebrity, and film. W was created in 1972 by James Brady, the publisher of sister magazine '' Women's Wear Daily'' (''WWD''), ...

'', Powell notes that " deling is a new thing ... I've been basically shooting all the gay publications, which is really, really great." He models in addition to acting, and was featured in the final issue of '' Hello Mr.'' Powell played Tony, the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

, in the 2020 Broadway revival of ''

''.Rooney, David
"''West Side Story'' Broadway Revival Cast Unveiled"
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'', July 10, 2019 In November 2020, Powell was cast in

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

and director

Stephen Chbosky Stephen Chbosky (; born January 25, 1970) is an American screenwriter, film producer, film director, novelist, television writer, and television producer. He is best-known for writing the bestselling coming-of-age novel '' The Perks of Being a W ...

's film adaptation of ''

Dear Evan Hansen ''Dear Evan Hansen'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The musical follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety, "who invents an important role for himself in a ...

'' as new character Rhys, a high school jock.

Personal life

Powell is gay and came out at the age of 16. In 2016, Powell met Broadway actor,

Wesley Taylor Wesley Taylor (born August 13, 1986) is an American stage actor and writer, best known for his work in musical theatre and television. Theatre career In summer 2008, Taylor performed in Barrington Stage Company's production of the musical ''See ...

, when Taylor was visiting

where Powell was a junior in the school's theatre program. The two then began a relationship in 2017 and were engaged in May 2019. They ended their relationship in 2021.

Theatre credits

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Resume
at University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Powell sings excerpt from "Some Girls"
''Once on This Island'' (2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Isaac Cole 1994 births 21st-century American male actors African-American male actors African-American male models American male musical theatre actors American male film actors American male television actors American gay actors Gay models LGBT African Americans LGBT people from North Carolina Living people Male actors from North Carolina Male models from North Carolina People from Greensboro, North Carolina University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni 21st-century African-American male singers