Christian Borle

Borle was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Andre Bernard Borle (1930–2011), a professor of physiology at the University of Pittsburgh.

His love for Star Wars and drawing made him dream of becoming a comic book artist when he grew up, but it was only when a friend convinced him to audition for a school play in his second year at Shady Side Academy that he began to develop an interest in acting.

Christian Dominique Borle (born October 1, 1973) is an American actor and singer.

He is a two-time Tony Award winner for his roles as Black Stache in Peter and the Starcatcher and as William Shakespeare in Something Rotten!.

Borle also originated the roles of Prince Herbert, et al. in Spamalot, Emmett in Legally Blonde, and Joe in Some Like It Hot on Broadway.

Borle attended the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University, graduating in 1995.

After he graduated, he moved to New York City and landed his first acting job.

He worked as an elf at Macy's Santaland.

Soon after moving to New York City, Borle was cast in the German production The Who's Tommy.

Returning to the states, he joined the national tour of West Side Story in 1996, as a replacement for the role of Riff.

Borle was next cast as Willard Hewitt in the first national tour of Footloose, which opened on December 15, 1998, at the Allen Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio.

After his tenure as Willard, Borle made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of the 2000 revival of Jesus Christ Superstar.

He left the production after two months to reprise his role of Willard Hewitt (succeeding Tom Plotkin) in the Broadway production of Footloose in June 2000.

Soon after joining the company, the show received its closing notice, and Borle remained with the show for a few weeks through its final performance on July 2, 2000.

The musical is based on MGM's 2001 film of the same name.

He was the dance captain and understudy for several characters for the short-lived 2002 musical Amour.

Borle appeared in a 2003 advertisement for the California-based online auction company eBay.

In the 30-second TV spot, Borle plays a store clerk who breaks into song and dance when asked about a product.

The song, "That's on eBay", was a parody of the Dean Martin standard "That's Amore".

Also in 2003, he replaced Gavin Creel in the role of Jimmy in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

His performance earned him a 2005 Drama Desk Award nomination as Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical and a Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical.

He is known for originating the role of Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde on Broadway, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

He married his co-star, actress Sutton Foster, who had played Millie, in September 2006.

He was featured in the Encores! staged concert version of On the Town as Ozzie in November 2008.

Borle and Foster divorced in 2009.

Borle performed in Monty Python's Spamalot, in which he originated a number of roles, including Prince Herbert, the Historian, Not Dead Fred, A French Guard, and Sir Robin's Minstrel.

He appeared in a workshop production of a new play titled Peter and the Starcatcher in 2009.

He played Bert in the Broadway production of Mary Poppins, replacing Adam Fiorentino in the role on October 12, 2009, and then left the cast on July 15, 2010.

In 2010, he played a golf caddy in the film The Bounty Hunter.

In Fall 2010/Winter 2011, Borle played the role of Prior Walter in Signature Theatre Company's 20th anniversary production of Tony Kushner's Angels in America.

On February 25, 2011, it was announced that Borle had joined Steven Spielberg's new NBC pilot Smash with Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston, Katharine McPhee, Brian d'Arcy James, and Megan Hilty.

The series follows a cross-section of characters who come together to mount a Marilyn Monroe-themed musical (which is called Bombshell) on Broadway.

In May 2011, it was reported that NBC had picked up the show as a series for the 2011–2012 season.

Borle was a member of the original cast in the Regional and Off-Broadway productions of Peter and the Starcatcher that ran until April 24, 2011.

In March 2012, NBC announced it would renew the series for a second season with 15 episodes.

The show was officially cancelled by NBC in May 2013.

He starred as Marvin in the 2016 Broadway revival of Falsettos.

He also starred as Tom Levitt on the NBC musical-drama television series Smash, and Vox in the adult animated musical animated series Hazbin Hotel.

He has been nominated for five Tony awards, including Legally Blonde, Peter and the Starcatcher, Something Rotten!, Falsettos, and Some Like It Hot.

He won a Grammy in 2024 for the original cast recording of 'Some Like It Hot' in the Best Musical Theater Album category.