19 TV Stars You Didn’t Know Had a Musical Background (PHOTOS)
![Uzo Aduba Peter Gallagher Iain Glen TV Stars Broadway Musical](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/tv-stars-theatre-cover-image-1014x570.jpg)
![Peter Gallagher Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/peter-gallagher-zoeys-380x570.jpg)
Peter Gallagher
Peter Gallagher is finally giving TV audiences a taste of his musical talent as Mitch Clarke on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. But Broadway audiences have known for years, as he’s appeared in favorites like Grease and Guys and Dolls.
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Sundays, 9/8c, NBC
![Melissa Benoist Supergirl Kara Danvers](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/melissa-benoist-supergirl-1014x570.jpg)
Melissa Benoist
Before she was Supergirl, Melissa Benoist got her BFA in theatre, which eventually landed her a role on Glee. Benoist returned to the stage in 2018, playing Carole King in Beautiful.
Supergirl, Sundays, 9/8c, The CW
![Josh Segarra Colin Donnell Arrow Chase Tommy](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/arrow-josh-segarra-colin-donnell-1014x570.jpg)
Josh Segarra & Colin Donnell
Speaking of DC, casting all around the Arrowverse has drawn heavily from Broadway: Segarra recently played Emilio Estefan in On Your Feet, and Donnell has been in the musicals Holiday Inn and Violet, among others.
Arrow, Streaming Now, Netflix
![Michael McKean in Better Call Saul](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/michael-mckean-better-call-saul-1014x570.jpg)
Michael McKean
Before Michael McKean’s Emmy-nominated role in Better Call Saul, he appeared on Broadway — in full drag, no less! — in Hairspray.
Better Call Saul, Mondays, 9/8c, AMC
![Chandra Wilson Sara Ramirez T.R. Knight Grey's Anatomy](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/greys-anatomy-2-1014x570.jpg)
T.R. Knight, Sara Ramirez & Chandra Wilson
There’s musical as well as medical talent on Grey’s Anatomy. Knight and Wilson have each appeared in several musicals in New York and L.A., while Ramirez won a Tony for her role in Spamalot.
Grey’s Anatomy, Thursdays, 9/8c, ABC
![Casey Cott Riverdale](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/casey-cott-riverdale-404x570.jpg)
Casey Cott
Musical talent runs in the family of Riverdale‘s Casey Cott: Casey studied musical theater at Carnegie Mellon, while his brother Corey has starred in Broadway productions of Newsies and Bandstand
Riverdale, Wednesdays, 8/7c, The CW
![Diana Rigg Jonathan Pryce Iain Glenn Game of Thrones](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/game-of-thrones-1-1014x570.jpg)
Diana Rigg, Jonathan Pryce and Iain Glen
Westeros is alive with the sound of music! Although none of them got to sing on the show, Game of Thrones actors Diana Rigg (Olenna Tyrell), Jonathan Pryce (The High Sparrow) and Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont) all have professional musical theater experience. Glen starred in the original West End production of Martin Guerre, while Diana Rigg recently scored a Tony nomination for her role in the 2018 Broadway revival of My Fair Lady, and Pryce won one for Miss Saigon in 1991.
![Ross Lynch Chilling Adventures of Sabrina](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ross-lynch-sabrina-1014x570.jpg)
Ross Lynch
Pop music fans know Chilling Adventures of Sabrina‘s Ross Lynch as lead vocalist of the band R5, but he’s also taken his talent to the stage, playing Mark in the Hollywood Bowl production of A Chorus Line.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Part 4, Coming Soon, Netflix
![Joe Morton God Friended Me](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/joe-morton-god-friended-me-1014x570.jpg)
Joe Morton
Joe Morton is a TV mainstay, most recently winning an Emmy for his role as Olivia Pope’s dad on Scandal and playing Reverend Finer on God Friended Me. But Morton has also appeared in Broadway musicals like Hair and was nominated for a Tony for his role in the musical Raisin.
God Friended Me, Sundays, 8/7c, CBS
![Gaten Matarazzo in Stranger Things](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/gaten-matarazzo-stranger-things-1014x570.jpg)
Gaten Matarazzo
Stranger Things‘ Matarazzo has a long resume for his age: aside from the Netflix hit and his upcoming Quibi show, he’s starred in Les Miserables and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert on Broadway and Into the Woods at the Hollywood Bowl.
Stranger Things, Season 4, Coming Soon, Netflix
![Orange is the New Black](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/orange-is-the-new-black-1014x570.jpg)
Basically the Whole Cast of Orange is the New Black
With the dozens of characters on Orange is the New Black, it’s no surprise that many of them come from the world of theatre. Danielle Brooks (Taystee) and Beth Fowler (Sister Ingalls) are both Tony nominees, while Uzo Aduba appeared in Godspell before she was cast as Crazy Eyes. And even though she barely says a word on the show as mostly-mute Norma, Annie Golden has appeared in upwards of 20 Broadway and Off-Broadway productions.
Orange is the New Black, Streaming Now, Netflix
In this day and age, there’s a revolving door between Hollywood and Broadway.
Musical theater’s biggest names, from Ben Platt to Kristen Chenoweth, continue to grace the small screen, while TV actors and personalities make their way onto the stage.
Click through the gallery above for 19 familiar faces from 11 TV shows — including the Arrowverse, Game of Thrones, and Grey’s Anatomy — you might not realize got their start in the theater… and have killer pipes to prove it.
Arrow
Arrowverse
Better Call Saul
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Game of Thrones
God Friended Me
Grey's Anatomy
Orange Is the New Black
Riverdale
Stranger Things
Supergirl
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
Beth Fowler
Casey Cott
Chandra Wilson
Colin Donnell
Danielle Brooks
Diana Rigg
Gaten Matarazzo
Iain Glen
Joe Morton
Jonathan Pryce
Josh Segarra
Melissa Benoist
Michael McKean
Peter Gallagher
Ross Lynch
Sara Ramirez
T.R. Knight
Uzo Aduba
![Most Popular Stories on TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/themes/tv/images/titlebar-most-popular-stories.png)
![Daniel Ezra and Samantha Logan; Bre-Z and Chelsea Tavares; Michael Evans Behling and Greta Onieogou on 'All American'](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/all-american-couples-450x289.jpg)
![Dermot Mulroney attends Columbia Pictures'](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/dermot-mulroney-anyone-but-you-premiere-450x289.jpg)
![Mitchell Kolinsky and Sydney Errera; Meghan Baker and Hunter Grayson of 'Farmer Wants a Wife'](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/farmer-wants-a-wife-couples-450x289.jpg)
![Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/oprah-winfrey-gayle-king-450x289.jpg)
![Luke Mitchell as Dr. Mitch Ripley, Jessy Schram as Dr. Hannah Asher in 'Chicago Med' Season 9 Episode 13](https://www.tvinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chicago-med-913-ripley-hannah-450x289.jpg)