Matthew Morrison

Matthew Morrison Headshot

Actor • Dancer • Singer • Songwriter

Birth Date: October 30, 1978

Age: 45 years old

Birth Place: Fort Ord, California

Making a splash on Broadway in the musical adaptation of John Waters' "Hairspray," Matthew Morrison would go on to become one of the hottest young talents on Broadway in the first years of the 21st century. A rare musical theater specialist able to parlay his skills into television stardom, Morrison found his voice amidst an itinerant youth as a proverbial "Army brat," eventually passing through the foremost cauldron of theatrical talent, NYU, on the way to a pre-graduation discovery by Broadway producers. His first major television role in ABC's all-star restaging of the Broadway classic "Once Upon a Mattress" (2005), as well as both Tony and Drama Desk nominations for his New York theatrical work, made him an entertainer to watch. On the heels of the phenomenal success of Disney's "High School Musical" franchise, he struck hot iron with his casting on Fox's more comedic look at the music nerd side of high school, "Glee," a fall 2009 premiere that quickly gathered a rabid cult following, spurring a separate recording career for Morrison. A triple threat forecast to be one of the breakout talents of the 2009-2010 television season, Morrison put himself well on the road in his aspirations of becoming a contemporary Gene Kelly.

He was born Matthew James Morrison Oct. 30, 1978, at Fort Ord, a U.S. Army base near Monterrey, CA. With both parents serving as military nurses, the family moved frequently per their assignments, eventually settling in Southern California's Orange County when he was around 10 years old. On summer vacation of that year, he went to visit relatives in Arizona, where he and a cousin participated in a youth theater production called "The Herdmans Go to Camp." When he returned home, he informed his parents that he wanted to continue in the performing arts as a serious career endeavor. He participated in more youth theater closer to home, performing with older kids who attended the selective Orange County High School of the Arts. Once Morrison came of age, he was accepted into the school and became a standout in his junior and senior productions.

Upon graduation, he was accepted into an even more prestigious performing arts school, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. But after two years in attendance, he won a part in the musical "Footloose" and left school to work on the Broadway run of the show, as well as in its touring production. His career took a curious turn when he joined the tour of a prefab boy band called LMNT, hitting the road for a year - an experience that soured him to that aspect of performing. Even so, it was a gig that dovetailed with his first feature film, a bit part as a boy band member in "Marci X" (2003), the ill-conceived tale of a daffy rich woman who inherits a hip urban record label. Meanwhile, Morrison established a professional relationship with that film's choreographer, theatrical producer-choreographer Jerry Mitchell, who would cast him in his revival of the stage version of the "The Rocky Horror Show."

The connection would pay off when Mitchell tapped Morrison to be teen heartthrob Link Larkin in the 2002 musical adaptation of John Waters' 1960s rock & roll-themed feature comedy "Hairspray" (1988), a prominent enough supporting role to garner critical attention. His stage work in this show proved a launch pad for his first featured television role in the ABC production of the musical comedy classic, "Once Upon a Mattress." In it, Morrison played opposite Zo y Deschanel as one-half of the starry-eyed fairy tale couple, with Carol Burnett returning to the play she had starred in during its original 1960 Broadway run. Also in 2005, Morrison went for a less whimsical project with the play "The Light in the Piazza," in which he played a young Italian man romancing an American woman on vacation with her skeptical mother. His performance earned him a Tony Award nomination, which he followed up with a non-musical outing in "A Naked Girl on the Appian Way," opposite Jill Clayburgh.

In 2006, Morrison joined the CBS soap "As the World Turns" (1956-2010) for a month-long stint. A year later, he took the lead in the off-Broadway production of "10 Million Miles," a musical about a young couple's cross-country sojourn which earned him a Drama Desk award nomination. Also that year, he netted a prominent role in another ABC television movie, the corporate office comedy "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office" (2007), before appearing in a succession of supporting parts in the features "Music & Lyrics" (2007), "I Think I Love My Wife" (2007) and "Dan In Real Life" (2007); the latter featuring him prominently in the ad campaign as the cop who continually pulls over star Steve Carell. Slowly but surely, Morrison was making his presence known.

As an affirmation of his growing status as a leading light on Broadway, Morrison took the role of Lt. Cable in the New York revival of "South Pacific" in 2008. Fresh off that success, early 2009 would afford Morrison a shot at the most unlikely showcase for his "triple threat" skills, prompting his jump to a regular TV gig. Ryan Murphy, creator of FX's dark, salacious "Nip/Tuck" (2003-2010), had concocted a pilot about an oddball group of high school losers whose Spanish teacher helps them reform the school's fallow glee club in spite of the conniving of "cooler" forces in the school. Morrison won the role of the glee club coach, and Fox picked up the show, going so far as to preview its first episode on the night of the final episode of the network's hit singing competition, "American Idol." A self-aware blend of both musical-theater geekiness and a tongue-in-cheek satire on said geeks and the social Darwinistic cliques who prey on them, the show piqued enough interest that, when it debuted as series in September, it picked up a sizeable following, ranking 51st in overall Nielsen network ratings in its first weeks, though scoring higher amongst key younger demographics.

By the time the series had established a solid following only a few episodes into its first season, Morrison was finding himself on magazine covers and, along with co-star and possible love interest, Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays), the subject of endless blog discussions on "will they or won't they?" discussions. The show's impact had a more curious manifestation, with its advance digital releases of cast cover tunes abruptly showing up on pop music listings, notably 10 "Glee" recordings winding up in the top 200 songs downloaded off Apple's iTunes store, plus four of them winning slots on the Billboard Hot 100 list of singles. All of this crossover medium success portended a possible "Glee" cast live tour for summer 2010 - though Morrison said he would likely not participate in that. Instead, the latest love interest for starry-eyed music geeks announced he would be working on his first album as a solo vocalist. In the meantime, Morrison was honored by the Hollywood Foreign Press for his role on "Glee," earning Golden Globe nominations in 2009 and 2010 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy, as well as an Emmy nod for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2010.

Credits

A Paris Christmas Waltz

Actor
Leo Monroe
Movie
2023

Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical!

Actor
Grinch
Special
2020

Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical!

Producer
Special
2020

Celebrity Supply Teacher

Host
Show
2020

Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade

Host
Show
2019

Disney Channel Holiday Party @ Walt Disney World

Host
Show
2019

The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration

Host
Show
2019

The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration

Music Performer
Show
2019

American Horror Story: 1984Stream

Actor
Trevor Kirchner
Series
2019
88%

The Greatest Dancer

Host
Show
2019

Crazy Alien

Actor
Captain Zach Andrews
Movie
2019

Tulip Fever

Actor
Mattheus
Movie
2017

Match GameStream

Guest
Game Show
2016

After the Reality

Actor
Scottie
Movie
2016

After the Reality

Executive Producer
Movie
2016

Broadway at the White House

Host
Show
2015

The 69th Annual Tony Awards

Music Performer
Show
2015

Late Night With Seth MeyersStream

Guest
Talk
2014

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonStream

Guest
Talk
2014

Matthew Morrison: A Classic Christmas Live From the Bushnell

Music Performer
Show
2013

Glee: Extras

Actor
Show
2013

Hollywood Game Night

Guest
Game Show
2013

Matthew Morrison: Where It All Began -- Live From the Bushnell

Music Performer
Show
2013

Underdogs 3D

Voice
Jake
Movie
2013

Live! With Kelly and Michael

Guest
Talk
2012

Live! With Kelly and Michael

Music Performer
Talk
2012

Oscar Hammerstein II -- Out of My Dreams

Host
Show
2012

CBS This Morning

Guest
Show
2012

What to Expect When You're ExpectingStream

Actor
Evan
Movie
2012
23%

Sunday Brunch

Guest
Show
2011

LIVE with Kelly

Host
Talk
2011

A Capitol Fourth 2011

Music Performer
Show
2011

Matthew Morrison: Album Sneak Peek

Music Performer
Show
2011

Matthew Morrison: Matthew Morrison Talks Summer Rain

Music Performer
Show
2011

Matthew Morrison: Summer Rain Tour Rehearsal

Music Performer
Show
2011

Matthew Morrison: Tour Preview

Music Performer
Show
2011

ConanStream

Guest
Talk
2010

The Talk

Guest
Talk
2010

The Talk

Music Performer
Talk
2010

Access Hollywood Live

Guest
Show
2010

Lorraine

Guest
Show
2010

The 64th Annual Tony Awards

Music Performer
Show
2010

Who Do You Think You Are?Stream

Guest
Reality
2010

The 32nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors

Music Performer
Show
2009

The Cleveland ShowStream

Guest Voice
Will Schuester
Series
2009

The Good WifeStream

Guest Star
Connor Fox
Series
2009
93%

Watch What Happens Live With Andy CohenStream

Guest
Talk
2009

GleeStream

Actor
Will Schuester
Series
2009
70%

Chelsea Lately

Guest
Talk
2007

The Better Show

Guest
Show
2007

Music and Lyrics

Actor
Ray
Movie
2007

Rachael Ray ShowStream

Guest
Talk
2006

Blinders

Actor
Scott
Movie
2006

Made in Hollywood

Guest
Series
2005

Ghost WhispererStream

Guest Star
Series
2005

So You Think You Can DanceStream

Judge
Reality
2005

Grey's AnatomyStream

Guest Star
Paul Stadler
Series
2005
84%

NUMB3RSStream

Guest Star
Series
2005

Once Upon a Mattress

Actor
Sir Harry
Movie
2005

The Insider

Guest
Show
2004

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Guest
Talk
2003

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Music Performer
Talk
2003

Jimmy Kimmel Live!Stream

Guest
Talk
2003

Hack

Guest Star
Show
2002

CSI: MiamiStream

Guest Star
Series
2002

Law & Order: Criminal IntentStream

Guest Star
Series
2001

Live With Regis and Kelly

Guest
Show
2001

Live With Regis and Kelly

Music Performer
Show
2001

The View

Music Performer
Talk
1997

Access Hollywood

Guest
News
1996

Extra

Guest
News
1994

Inside the Actors Studio

Guest
Talk
1994

Late Show With David Letterman

Guest
Talk
1993

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno

Guest
Talk
1992

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno

Music Performer
Talk
1992

The Oprah Winfrey ShowStream

Guest
Talk
1986

EastEndersStream

Actor
Actor
Soap
1985

Entertainment Tonight

Guest
News
1981

CBS News Sunday Morning

Guest
News
1979

Good Morning America

Guest
News
1975

Good Morning America

Music Performer
News
1975

Today

Guest
News
1952

Today

Music Performer
News
1952

News aboutMatthew Morrison