Christian Borle Biography

Christian D. Borle was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Borle attended St. Edmund’s Academy in the Pittsburgh area, where he played Scrooge in a 1987 production of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. He graduated from Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh and attended Carnegie Mellon University before moving to New York in September 1995. He made his performing debut in the Offenbach, Germany production of The Who’s Tommy in 1995. He then went on to perform in the national tour of West Side Story in 1998, and had his Broadway debut in 1998, understudying the role of Willard in the stage adaptation of the film Footloose. He was featured as a disciple in the 2000 revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, and was the dance captain and understudy of several characters for the short-lived 2002 musical Amour.

In 2003, he replaced Gavin Creel as the lead role of Jimmy Smith in Thoroughly Modern Millie alongside then girlfriend Sutton Foster. The two met in college and were initially pushed together by friends. They were reacquainted after college, and married on September 18, 2006. Their separation was confirmed in 2010; however, despite the divorce, Borle and Foster still remain good friends, continuing to support each other in their various undertakings.

In 2005, he originated multiple roles in the Tony Award-winning hit musical Monty Python’s Spamalot, including (but not limited to) Not Dead Fred and Prince Herbert. He won two Broadway.com awards, for Favorite Featured actor in a Broadway Musical and Favorite Onstage pair (with Hank Azaria). He also won a Clarence Derwant Award for Spamalot. During his run in the show, Tony-award winning choreographer Jerry Mitchell approached him about doing the reading for a new show he was working on. The show was Legally Blonde. Mitchell wanted Borle to play the role of Emmett Forrest, and at first, Borle thought he was kidding.

From a comedic turn in Spamalot, Borle went on to graduate to romantic lead, originating the role of Emmett Forrest, in the Tony-nominated hit musical Legally Blonde, a musical is based on MGM’s 2001 film of the same name. His performance as the awkward yet charismatic Emmett Forrest earned him a nod for Best Featured Actor in a Musical at the 2007 Tony Awards. He was also nominated for a Drama Desk award for the same role.

When the musical closed in October of 2008, he began rehearsals for the Encores! concert revival of the hit show On the Town. He played the role of Ozzie.

Borle also starred as Bert in Mary Poppins, replacing Adam Fiorentino for the role on October 12, 2009, and then left the cast July 15, 2010. He was succeeded by Nicolas Dromard.

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. His dramatic performance as the AIDS-stricken Walter earned him a Drama League nomination.

On February 25, 2011, it was announced that Borle had joined Steven Spielberg’s new NBC pilot Smash with Debra Messing, Anjelica Houston, 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. Borle plays the role of Tom Levitt, a successful gay composer and one half of the dynamic songwriting duo opposite Debra Messing. In May 2011, it was reported that NBC had picked up the show as a series for the 2011-2012 season, and in March 2012, NBC announced it would be renewing the series for a second season with 15 episodes.

At this point in time, Borle was most remembered as “that guy who had to juggle his schedules to accommodate both a TV series taping (“Smash”) and a Broadway show (“Peter and the Starcatcher”).” In the words of Borle, it was a “high class problem.”

Borle was a member of the original cast in the Regional and Off-Broadway productions of Peter and the Starcatcher that ran in 2009 until April 24, 2011. He reprised the role of Black Stache on Broadway in April 2012, where his performance earned him his second Tony Award nomination and first win as Best Featured Actor in a Play. Borle ended his run in the Broadway production of Peter and the Starcatcher on June 30, 2012, to take a break before taping for the second season of Smash began on August 2012. Borle played Max Dettweiler in The Sound of Music Live!, which aired on December 5, 2013. He also played Mr. Darling and Mr. Smee in Peter Pan Live!, which aired on December 4, 2014.

He appears in a new musical on Broadway, Something Rotten!, for which he received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

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