William Frederick Roland (born March 5, 1989) is an American actor and singer, best known for originating the role of Jared Kleinman in the

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 ...

musical ''

Dear Evan Hansen ''Dear Evan Hansen'' is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Pasek and Paul, 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 rol ...

'', for which he received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

and

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

. On film, he is known for his role in the drama film '' One Penny''. Most recently, he played the lead role of Jeremy Heere in the musical ''Be More Chill'' both

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 ...

and on Broadway.

Early life and education

William Frederick Roland was born on March 5, 1989 was born in

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 ...

. After initially living in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, his family moved to Locust Valley,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, when he was eight years old. He attended Friends Academy for middle school and high school. Roland graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 2011 with a degree in musical theater from

Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development The New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development (commonly referred to as NYU Steinhardt) is the education school of New York University. The school was founded as the School of Pedagogy in 1890. Prior to ...

Career

Roland's first professional role after graduating from college was in 2011, where he played the role of Ian DeForge in ''The Bus'' at

59e59 Theaters 59E59 Theaters is a venue presenting a year-round curated program of live theater. The three theater building is located in New York City. It shows both off-Broadway (in Theater A) and off-off-Broadway plays (in Theaters B and C). The complex is ...

. The show opened on October 4, 2011, and closed on October 31, 2011. In 2012, Roland played the role of Nato Obenkrieger from August 16, 2012, to September 2, 2012, in a staged workshop of ''The Black Suits'', a musical by

Joe Iconis Joseph Peter Philip Iconis (born September 22, 1981) is an American composer, lyricist, and playwright. He is best known for writing the music and lyrics to the Broadway musical '' Be More Chill'', for which he was nominated for the Tony Award ...

The Berkshires The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

at the Barrington Stage Company. In this production, he played alongside

Ben Platt Benjamin Schiff Platt (born September 24, 1993) is an American actor and singer. The son of film and theater producer Marc Platt (producer), Marc Platt and philanthropist Julie Platt, he began his acting career in musical theater as a child and ...

, who he would again star beside in ''

''. Roland reprised this role in 2013 from October 27, 2013, to November 24, 2013, in

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, ...

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 ...

, for the show's world premiere at the

Center Theatre Group Center Theatre Group is a non-profit arts organization located in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the largest theatre companies in the nation, programming subscription seasons year-round at the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre and th ...

. In April 2013, Roland participated in the first reading of '' Be More Chill'', in which he read the role of Michael. He then departed the production and re-auditioned for the lead in 2015 when it was casting for its world premiere, whereupon he did not get cast. Around this time, he also became involved in the as then ''Untitled PPL Project''. Starting in July 2014, Roland participated in readings and workshops of the show that would become ''

'', playing the role of Jared Kleinman. The show made its premiere in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

at the Arena Stage and ran from July 10, 2015, to August 23, 2015. While in Washington, D.C. for the workshop and original production of ''Dear Evan Hansen'', and Roland was also cast as Collin in the independent film '' One Penny''. Principal photography occurred in 2015. The film premiered at the

DC Independent Film Festival The DC Independent Film Festival (DCIFF) is a film festival in Washington, D.C. Launched in 1999, DCIFF exhibits features, animation, shorts and documentaries from around the world, focusing on cutting-edge ideas, new visions and advances in the c ...

in February 2017. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Northern Virginia International Film and Music Festival in 2017. In 2016, Roland reprised his role as Jared when ''Dear Evan Hansen'' went

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 ...

for a limited engagement run at the

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 ...

. Previews began March 26, 2016. The show opened on May 1, 2016, and ran until May 29, 2016. After selling out its Off-Broadway run, the show then transferred to

at the

Music Box Theatre The Music Box Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 239 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1921, the Music Box ...

. Previews began November 14, 2016 and the show opened on December 4, 2016. Roland departed the show on June 10, 2018. In 2017, Roland was approached by the showrunners of '' Billions'' after seeing his performance in ''Dear Evan Hansen''. He was offered an audition for a guest role, which turned into the recurring role of Winston, who Roland portrayed starting in season 3 of ''Billions''. On April 13, 2018, it was announced that Roland would play the role of Jeremy Heere in Joe Iconis' '' Be More Chill'' Off-Broadway limited engagement run at the

Pershing Square Signature Center The Pershing Square Signature Center is a complex of three Off-Broadway theatres in the Theatre Row section of West 42nd Street in New York City. It is on the first floors of the 43-floor MiMa Building apartment complex. Pershing Square Signat ...

. Previews began July 26, 2018. The show opened August 9, 2018 and closed on September 30, 2018, after a one-week extension. Through

Ghostlight Records Sh-K-Boom Records is an independent record label and producer of recorded and live entertainment, which was founded in 2000 by Kurt Deutsch with the mission of bridging the gap between pop music and theater. In 2004 Sh-K-Boom created their seco ...

, Roland released a new song called "Loser Geek Whatever" that had been introduced to the show as the new act 1 finale for its Off-Broadway run. After its sold out Off-Broadway run, Roland reprised the role when the show then transferred to Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre. Previews began February 13, 2019. The show opened March 10, 2019 and closed August 11, 2019. In 2021, he played the role of Zeke Matthews in the studio cast recording of Goosebumps The Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium. He starred alongside Krystina Alabado and Noah Galvin. In 2023, he starred in the world premiere of the musical ''

Summer Stock In American theater, summer stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock ...

'' at the Goodspeed Opera House. Also in 2023, Roland was in the studio cast recording of 17 Again: The Musical.

Personal life

On November 7, 2018, Roland became engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Stephanie Wessels. They were married in June 2022.

Credits

Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roland, Will 1989 births 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male stage actors American male television actors Grammy Award winners Living people Male actors from Manhattan People from the East Village, Manhattan People from Locust Valley, New York Singers from New York City Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni