Steven Michael Kazee (born October 30, 1975) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for starring as Guy in the musical ''

Once Once may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Once'' (film), a 2007 Irish musical film by John Carney ** ''Once'' (musical), a 2011 stage adaptation of the film * ''Once'' (TV series), a 2017–2019 Argentine telenovela * Canal Once (Mex ...

'' for which he was awarded the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Kazee began his professional acting career in the mid-2000s, and from 2005 until 2013 acted in a series of Broadway productions including ''

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 ...

'', '' 110 in the Shade'', and ''Once''. Following the success of ''Once'', Kazee acted on multiple television series, most notably playing Gus Pfender in the fifth season of '' Shameless''. Kazee returned to theater in 2018, starring as Edward in the Chicago tryout of '' Pretty Woman: The Musical''.

Early life and education

Kazee was born and raised in

Ashland, Kentucky Ashland is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in Boyd County, Ashland is located upon the southern bank of the Ohio River at the state border with Ohio and near West ...

."Tisch To Honor Oliver Stone At West Coast Benefit Gala"
nyu.edu, October 4, 2013 He is an alumnus of Fairview High School and

Morehead State University Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky, United States. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-yea ...

. Kazee moved 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 ...

in 2002 and received his MFA from the Graduate Acting Program at NYU's

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

in 2005.

Career

Theatre

He appeared in the New York Shakespeare Festival's ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'' in June 2005. He appeared in ''

Seascape A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an example of marine art. The word originated as a formation from landscape, which was first used for images of land in art. By a similar de ...

'' on Broadway in November 2005 as the Leslie understudy. In January 2006, he appeared as Timmy Cleary in '' The Subject Was Roses'', which played 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, ...

. He was later cast as a replacement for Sir Lancelot in ''

'' on Broadway in April 2006. In 2007, he starred as Bill Starbuck in the revival of '' 110 in the Shade'' on Broadway, In 2008, he played Sobinsky in '' To Be Or Not To Be'', which ran from September 16 through November 16 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Kazee starred as Guy in the stage adaptation of ''

'', He originated the role

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 ...

when it opened at the

New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theater noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it h ...

on December 6, 2011. ''

'' began previews on Broadway on February 28, 2012, and opened on March 18, 2012, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. Kazee made several TV appearances promoting ''Once'', including ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'' and ''

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

''. Kazee won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Kazee and the cast of ''Once'' won the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. He is featured on Christina Perri's song " A Thousand Years, Pt. 2", which appears on '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)''. In 2017 it was announced that Kazee would star in the stage adaptation of the 1990 film ''

Pretty Woman ''Pretty Woman'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and written by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), ...

'', opposite

Samantha Barks Samantha Jane Barks (born 2 October 1990) is a British actress and singer who rose to fame after placing third in the BBC talent show-themed television series '' I'd Do Anything'' in 2008. She has released three studio albums: ''Looking in Y ...

in her Broadway debut. The musical, titled '' Pretty Woman: The Musical'', is directed by Jerry Mitchell and premiered in Chicago in March 2018 and later opened on Broadway in August 2018. After performing as Edward in the Chicago production, Kazee left ''Pretty Woman: The Musical'' due to "family reasons." He was replaced by Andy Karl when the production transferred to Broadway.

Television

In 2006, Kazee played Dumas Shepherd in an episode of the television series ''Conviction''. In 2007, he appeared as Michael Barlow in ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Aircraft *Medium bomber, a class of warplane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film * ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...

'' and Mark Green in ''

Numb3rs ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that originally aired on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, with a total of six seasons consisting of 118 episodes. The series was created by Nico ...

''."Kazee TV"
tvguide.com, retrieved November 23, 2017. In 2008, he appeared on ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'' as Michael Locke. In 2009, he played Dominic Humphreys on '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. Kazee had a starring role on the CMT's ''

Working Class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

'' (2011), in which he played Nick Garrett. In 2013 he appeared on '' Elementary'' as Jeff Hines and on '' Drop Dead Diva'' as Dustin Wycott. In 2015, he played Gus Pfender in a recurring role in season 5 and 6 of Showtime's series '' Shameless''.Andreeva, Nellie
"Steve Kazee Joins Showtime’s 'Shameless'"
, deadline.com, May 28, 2014.

Personal life

Kazee was previously in a relationship with actress Megan Hilty from 2005 until 2012. In October 2018, it was confirmed that Kazee was in a relationship with Jenna Dewan. In September 2019, it was announced that the couple were expecting their first child together. In February 2020, he and Dewan became engaged. He and Dewan had their son, Callum Michael Rebel Kazee, on March 6, 2020. In January 2024, it was announced that the couple were expecting their second child together. He and Dewan had their daughter, Rhiannon Lee Kathryn Kazee, on June 14, 2024.

Theatre credits

Sources: Playbill;"Steve Kazee Broadway"
Playbill (vault), retrieved November 23, 2017 BroadwayWorld

Filmography

Television

Awards and nominations

Sources: Playbill; IBDB"Kazee Awards"
ibdb.com, retrieved November 23, 2017

References

External links

* * *
archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kazee, Steve 1975 births Living people Male actors from Kentucky American male television actors American male musical theatre actors Grammy Award winners Morehead State University alumni Musicians from Ashland, Kentucky Tony Award winners Tisch School of the Arts alumni Singers from Kentucky