James Monroe Iglehart (born September 4, 1974)"Igleharts Wish Granted"
nypost.com, March 9, 2014 is an American actor, singer and

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

writer. He is perhaps best known for his

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-winning performance as the

Genie GEnie (General Electric Network for Information Exchange) was an online service provider, online service created by a General Electric business, GEIS (now GXS Inc., GXS), that ran from 1985 through the end of 1999. In 1994, GEnie claimed around ...

in the original Broadway production of ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

''. Iglehart assumed the roles of the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

and

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

in the Broadway cast of ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

'' in April 2017. He recreated the role of

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

in the 2023 Broadway revival of ''

Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot: A Musical (Lovingly) Ripped Off from the Motion Picture ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail) is a musical theatre, stage musical with score by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, with lyrics and book ...

'', created the role of

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

in the Broadway company of ''A Wonderful World'' and played Billy Flynn in ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

''. He can be heard as super producer Steve Jones in ''As The Curtain Rises'', Broadway's first original podcast soap opera. More recently, Iglehart joined the casts of animated webseries

Helluva Boss ''Helluva Boss'' is an American adult animated musical black comedy web series created by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano. It revolves around the misadventures of the employees of I.M.P., a company in Hell that offers hitman services in the real ...

(as both the Demon Lord of Lust Asmodeus/Ozzie and hellhound bodyguard Vortex) and

Hazbin Hotel ''Hazbin Hotel'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Musical theatre, musical comedy television series created by Vivienne Medrano, Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano. The series revolves around Charlie Morningstar, crown princess, princes ...

(as Zestial), as well having written for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

, primarily one-shots featuring

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

Early life

James Monroe Iglehart was born in Hayward, California on September 4, 1974.

Career

Iglehart attended Cal State Hayward, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in theatre. He started his career in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, performing in ''Bat Boy'' at TheatreWorks in

Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

and as Teen Angel in ''Grease'' at the American Musical Theatre in San Jose. In 2005, he directed '' Bat Boy: The Musical'' at Ray of Light Theatre. He has played Mitch Mahoney in ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, with a book written by Rachel Sheinkin, created by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional ...

'' on Broadway as a replacement starting in April 2007. He originated the role of Bobby in '' Memphis'' on Broadway in October 2009. Iglehart performed the role of the Genie in ''

'' on Broadway, a performance for which he won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for this role. When asked about the role, he said, "It's not as exhausting as you think. I'm kind of an energetic guy in general, so basically I'm kind of being me with the volume turned up." Iglehart departed the company of ''Aladdin'' in February 2017 to begin rehearsals in the role of

in the Broadway company of ''

''. He also performed in '' Freestyle Love Supreme'' on Broadway. Iglehart guest starred in four episodes of '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' as Coriolanus Burt, the rival of male protagonist Titus Andromedon. Iglehart voices Vortex and Asmodeus in ''

'', Lance Strongbow in '' Tangled: The Series'', Captain James Hook in '' Cheshire Crossing'' by

Andy Weir Andrew Weir (; born June 16, 1972) is an American novelist. His 2011 novel '' The Martian'' was adapted into the 2015 film of the same name directed by Ridley Scott. He received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2016 and his 2 ...

, Bronzino in '' Elena of Avalor'', Oscar in '' Vampirina'' and Taurus Bulba in ''

DuckTales DuckTales refers to: Film and television * ''DuckTales'' (1987 TV series), original TV series ** '' DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp'' * ''DuckTales'' (2017 TV series), reboot TV series Video games * ''DuckTales'' (video game) ...

''. In January 2022, Iglehart took over the role of Billy Flynn in ''

''. In May 2023 he starred as

in ''

'' at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

. In November of that year the show transferred to Broadway where he reprised his role. In October 2023, Iglehart assumed the lead role of '' A Wonderful World'', a new musical based on the life of

, in its pre-Broadway New Orleans and Chicago engagements. In February 2024, it was announced the show would be transferring to Broadway with Iglehart in the lead role. He also served as a co-director of the production. Igleheart received a Tony nomination for his portrayal of Armstrong.

Personal life

He was raised in

Hayward, California Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California, United States, in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area, and the third largest in ...

, with his brother. His mother is a former high school choir teacher. His father James Iglehart is a former minor league baseball player and actor.Showtickets.com, June 2, 2016
10 Things You May Not Know: James Monroe Iglehart of ‘Aladdin’ ''Category Broadway'' , ''by'' Karu Daniels
He met his wife Dawn Phelps in the Mt. Eden High School show choir and they married in 2002.Blank, Matthew
"The Genie of Broadways Aladdin James Monroe Iglehart"
playbill.com, March 18, 2014

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Stage credits

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *
archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iglehart, James Monroe 1974 births 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors Audiobook narrators California State University, East Bay alumni Drama Desk Award winners Living people Male actors from California People from Hayward, California Tony Award winners