John Lloyd Mills Young (born July 4, 1975) is an American actor. In 2006, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer and occasional actor, best known as the frontman (lead singer) of The Four Seasons (band), the Four Seasons. He is known for ...

in Broadway's ''

Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and breakup of the 1960s rock 'n' roll group The Four Seasons. The mus ...

''. He is the only American actor to date to have received a Lead Actor in a Musical Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

for a Broadway debut. Young sang lead vocals on the Grammy Award-winning ''

'' cast album, certified Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. Young reprised his role as Frankie Valli in Warner Brothers' film adaptation of ''Jersey Boys'', directed and produced by

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

and released June 20, 2014. Young was appointed by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

to the

President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) was an advisory committee to the President of the United States on cultural issues. It works directly with the White House and the three primary cultural agencies: the National End ...

. He was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice

Elena Kagan Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was Elena Kagan Supreme Court nomination ...

on November 21, 2013. He resigned from the President's Committee in August 2017, co-signing a letter of resignation that said in reference to President Trump, "Ignoring your hateful rhetoric would have made us complicit in your words and actions."

Early life

Young was born in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, the son of Rosemarie Joan (Cianciola) and Karl Bruce Young, a Strategic Air Command tanker-squadron commander. His mother died when he was two years old. His father had English, Welsh and German ancestry, and his mother was of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

descent. He was raised partly in

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The population of the sur ...

, attending Plattsburgh High School and acting in their drama department. He is a graduate of Brown University.

Career

After moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Young worked his way up through the ranks of the theater scene with roles in numerous regional and

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 tha ...

plays, including the New York-area premiere of Michael Healey's ''The Drawer Boy'' with actor

John Mahoney Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 – February 4, 2018) was an English-American actor. He played retired police officer Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, receiving nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two P ...

; "Charlie" in Julia Jordan's '' The Summer of the Swans''; "Moritz" in the Douglas Langworthy translation of Wedekind's '' Spring Awakening''; and "Claudio" in

Rinne Groff Rinne Groff (aka Rinne Becker Groff) is an American playwright and performer. Biography Groff was trained at Yale University and New York University Tisch School of the Arts, where she currently teaches. A founding member of Elevator Repair Serv ...

's ''The Five Hysterical Girls Theorem'' for the Target Margin Theatre. He was named one of the Best Featured Actors in a Play by the

New Jersey Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

as "Danny Saunders" in Aaron Posner and Chaim Potok's dramatic adaptation of Potok's book, The Chosen, opposite

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He made his stage debut in '' Tevye the Milkman'' in Mandatory Palestine, where he lived as ...

, directed by David Ellenstein. He failed to land the part of

in the pre-Broadway run of ''

'', but a year later and after several more auditions, he was asked to headline the show on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

, where he played the role for over two years. During his tenure at ''

'', which now has several companies playing worldwide, Young performed at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

, the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 fini ...

, New Year's Eve in Times Square,

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

and

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the American-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States ...

. Young's run with

concluded on November 9, 2007, followed shortly thereafter by a sold-out-in-a-day solo concert debut at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

. After moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Young starred as Marius in an all-star production of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

and was the first guest star invited to appear on ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

''.

Young debuted his visual art in May 2010 in "Food for Thought", a show benefiting AIDS Project Los Angeles, at Willis Wonderland, the home of Young's friend, Grammy-winning songwriter Allee Willis. Young's art is represented by

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

's Hamilton-Selway Fine Art Gallery. His first art commission was for famed Beverly Hills, CA, restaurant, Spago. Young's debut album, "My Turn...", was released on July 3, 2012. The album was executive-produced by Dona R. Miller and Young's Under the Skyway Productions, with production from

Tommy Faragher Thomas Edward Faragher is an American producer, composer, songwriter, singer, and arranger. He is originally from Redlands, California. Performer Faragher started his career as a singer and keyboardist with his family, who formed a group called ...

FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

's hit show, ''

'', whose cover of " Teenage Dream" was the first song from the show to reach NO. 1 on the

Billboard Charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...

. The album was expanded and re-released with eight new tracks in 2014. John Lloyd Young

He made his debut at New York's Cafe Carlyle in February 2013. Young reprised his Frankie Valli role in the Broadway production of ''Jersey Boys'' from July 3 - September 30, 2012. In March 2014, Young made his West End Theatre debut, starring in the musical's London production. He reprised the role in director Clint Eastwood's film adaptation of ''

'', which was released in June 2014. Young's extensive charity work includes frequent appearances with and support of

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) is an American nonprofit organization that raises funds for AIDS-related causes across the United States, headquartered in New York City. It is the theatre community's response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. ...

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States established to provide the means to cure cystic fibrosis (CF) and ensure that those living with CF live long and productive lives. The Foundation pro ...

, amfAR, Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang, AIDS Project Los Angeles and the United Service Organization (

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

). Young has been a member of the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

since 1995. He is a practitioner and student of Chinese Chan Buddhism.

Filmography

* ''

'' (2009) * '' Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!!'' (2009) * ''

'' (2014)

Awards and nominations

Tony Awards

* Winner - 2006 Best Actor in a Musical ''

Drama Desk Awards

* Winner - 2006 Best Actor in a Musical ''

Outer Critics Circle Awards

* Winner - 2006 Best Actor in a Musical ''

Theatre World Awards

* Winner - 2006 Outstanding Broadway Debut ''

Grammy Awards

* Winner - 2006 Best Show Album ''

Drama League Award

* Nomination - 2006 Performer of the Year ''

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, John Lloyd American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male television actors American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Italian descent American people of Welsh descent Drama Desk Award winners Living people Tony Award winners 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Sacramento, California University of Salamanca alumni 1975 births Theatre World Award winners Brown University alumni