Rory James O'Malley (born December 23, 1980) is an American actor, best known for his performance as Elder McKinley in ''The Book of Mormon'', for which he was nominated for the

Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality featured roles in a musi ...

at the 65th Tony Awards in 2011. He is a co-founder of the

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

activist group Broadway Impact.

Early life

Rory O'Malley was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

; he grew up with his single mother, who is of Irish ancestry. They are

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He graduated from Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland. O'Malley is a 1997 YoungArts alumnus. In 2003, he received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in acting from

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

. O'Malley became good friends with actors

Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise and playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon''. For his role as Olaf, Gad won two Annie ...

and

Leslie Odom Jr. Leslie Lloyd Odom Jr. (; born August 6, 1981) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. He made his acting debut on Broadway in 1998 and first gained recognition for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the musical ''Hamilton'', which earned him ...

at Carnegie Mellon University.

Career

Film and television

O'Malley had a small cameo appearance in ''On the Run'' in 2004. His best-known screen appearance was in the 2006 film adaptation of ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. It is based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, and p ...

''.Gottfried, Marvin (2007). "Introduction". ''Dreamgirls: The Movie Musical''. New York: Newmarket Press. p.15 He also performed the song "Cadillac Car" on the soundtrack, '' Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture''. In 2018, he became a series regular on Lifetime's '' American Princess''.

Theatre

O'Malley starred as

Charlie Brown Charles "Charlie" Brown is the Protagonist, principal character of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', syndicated in daily newspaper, daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser", Charlie Brown ...

in the 2004 Falcon Theatre production of ''

Snoopy! The Musical ''Snoopy: The Musical'' is a 1975 musical comedy with music by Larry Grossman, lyrics by Hal Hackady, and a book by Warren Lockhart, Arthur Whitelaw, and Michael Grace. The characters are from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip '' Peanuts''. Th ...

'', which ran from June 24 to July 18, 2004, in Los Angeles. He starred as

Richie Cunningham Richard J. Cunningham is a fictional character in the 1970s TV sitcom ''Happy Days,'' played by Ron Howard. Richie is Howard and Marion Cunningham's son and Joanie Cunningham and Chuck Cunningham's brother. He is friends with Fonzie, Ralph Mal ...

in the 2006 Los Angeles premiere of ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...

'', as well as the 2007

Goodspeed Opera House Goodspeed Musicals is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, located in East Haddam, Connecticut. Its landmark Goodspeed Opera House is a distinctive feature of ...

production.Finkle, David
"Review-'Happy Days – The Musical' at PaperMill"
Theatermania.com, October 2, 2007 In October 2008, he appeared alongside Colin Donnell and

Laura Osnes Laura Ann Osnes (born November 19, 1985) is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in '' Grease'' as Sandy, '' South Pacific'' as Nellie Forbush, '' Anything Goes'' as Hope Harcour ...

in the then

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 ...

-bound musical ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is the second published novel (but third to be written) by English author Jane Austen, written when she was age 20-21, and later published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabe ...

'' as Charles Bingley, at the

Eastman Theatre Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre is the largest performance venue at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, located in downtown Rochester, New York, United States. The theatre was established by industrialist George Eastman and ...

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. O'Malley's first appearance on Broadway was in the musical ''

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 ...

'', replacing actors in the roles of Leaf Coneybear, William Barfee, and Douglas Panch. Regionally, he has appeared in '' Kiss of the Spider Woman'' as Valentín Arregui, a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

revolutionary; in ''

Charley's Aunt ''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot in ...

'' as Charley Wykeham, and '' Santa Claus Is Coming to Motown'' as Kris Kringle. His first appearance

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 ...

was the 2009 revival of '' Newsical'', directed by Mark Waldrop. He originated the role of Elder McKinley in the musical ''

The Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

'', which opened on Broadway on March 24, 2011.

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

reviewer wrote, "But allow me to single out my personal favorites. 'Turn It Off' is a hilarious chorus-line piece about repression, performed by the (all-male

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

) missionaries and destined to make a star of its lead singer and dancer, Rory O'Malley (whose character is repressed in his own special way)." For this role, O'Malley was nominated for the 2011 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, and was also nominated for the

at the 65th Tony Awards. On July 18, 2011, O'Malley participated in a reading of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

's play, ''

Fanny's First Play ''Fanny's First Play'' is a 1911 play by George Bernard Shaw. It was first performed as an anonymous piece, the authorship of which was to be kept secret. However, critics soon recognised it as the work of Shaw. It opened at the Little Theatre ...

'', a satire of theater critics, at the Players Club in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

. He appeared as Frank Hoover in ''

Little Miss Sunshine ''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road movie, road film directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (in their directorial debut) from a screenplay written by Michael Arndt. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of G ...

'' at the Off-Broadway

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a non-profit theater company that presents work by living American writers both on and off Broadway. It is based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and is affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1979 ...

from October 2013 to December 2013. O'Malley also participated in the

Dustin Lance Black Dustin Lance Black (born June 10, 1974) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBT rights activist. He is known for writing the film ''Milk'', for which he won the Oscar for best original screenplay in 2009. He has also subsequen ...

play '' 8'', a chronicle reenactment of the federal

case Case or CASE may refer to: Instances * Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design * Special case, an instance that differs in a certain way from others of the type Containers * Case (goods), a package of relate ...

that overturned California's

Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage. It passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned by the ...

. He replaced

Jonathan Groff Jonathan Drew Groff (born March 26, 1985) is an American actor and singer. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he has received several awards including a Tony Award and a Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

in the role of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

in the original Broadway production 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 ...

'' from April 11, 2016, through January 16, 2017, performing the role on the national tour following his nine-month stint on Broadway.

Podcasts

O'Malley is the creator and host of the podcast ''Living the Dream with Rory O'Malley'', where he talks to fellow industry people about the reality of being an actor. He created it after joining the ''Hamilton'' cast; he realized that young fans of the show were seeing an unrealistic and cultivated depiction of the life of a Broadway actor. The podcast is currently on an indefinite hold, but O'Malley has expressed plans to resume making it. O'Malley is the host of the

Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse is a not-for-profit theater company founded in Los Angeles, California by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhous ...

's ''Unscripted''.

Charity work

O'Malley is an active supporter of gay rights, establishing the activism group Broadway Impact in 2009 with

Gavin Creel Gavin James Creel (April 18, 1976 – September 30, 2024) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter best known for his work in musical theater. Over his career he received a Grammy Award, a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards and a Laurence O ...

and Jenny Kanelos. O'Malley said in late 2010: "Since its first year, Broadway Impact has held massive rallies for equality in New York City, made thousands of calls through phone banks and even organized 25 buses to Washington, D.C. so that 1,400 people could attend the National Equality March for free. This year we were honored to receive the 2010

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for L ...

Community Award and even participated in the ING New York City Marathon as a charity team. Our team of 12 runners, including myself, raised $38,440 for Broadway Impact!" On August 15, 2010, O'Malley performed in the benefit concert Sing for the Cure, at Don't Tell Mama in New York City. He was also featured in a Broadway Impact fundraiser on November 2, 2010, hosted by Gavin Creel. Another concert, also benefiting Broadway Impact was held on July 25, 2010. O'Malley participated in the Broadway Sings for Pride concert in June 2011. On July 9, 2011, he joined

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whic ...

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo concerts and released reco ...

and others in the 2011 Broadway Barks adopt-a-thon. In the same year, he was named a Givenik Ambassador. In 2012, he and his spouse Gerold Schroeder were featured in a GAP ad, cheek to cheek, with the caption "BE ONE." In October 2020, O'Malley joined many other Broadway stars in a virtual voter education and letter-writing party sponsored by VoteRiders to raise awareness about voter ID requirements.

Personal life

A gay man, O'Malley

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

at the age of 19. On July 21, 2013, O'Malley announced his engagement to boyfriend Gerold Schroeder via

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

, and they married on September 28, 2014. Gerold Schroeder is one of three sons of Peter Schroeder, a partner in the law firm Norris Choplin Schroeder in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. Via posts on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

, Facebook, and

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, O'Malley announced on November 22, 2018, "after more than two years of paperwork, home studies, joy, heartache, and grace" he and Schroeder had adopted a newborn baby boy. Their son Jimmy O'Malley's adoption was finalized on September 7, 2019.

Filmography

Theatre credits

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Omalley, Rory 1980 births American gay actors American LGBTQ rights activists American male musical theatre actors American people of Irish descent Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni LGBTQ people from Ohio Living people Male actors from Cleveland