Matthew James Morrison (born October 30, 1978) is an American actor and singer. He known for his multiple performances on Broadway and off-Broadway and as a main character on Glee.
Personal Life[]
Young Matthew
As a self-professed theatre geek from sunny Fort Ord in California, the young Matthew Morrison spent his school years much like the glee performers from the show, starring in school musicals and plays. The budding star was also voted class president and prom king. Morrison then attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts but grew disenchanted and dropped out, only to land himself a role in the Broadway version of Footloose. Briefly a member of the boy band LMNT, he quit for a role in the stage revival of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Morrison dated Glee co-star and friend, Lea Michele, back in the day for a "Broadway beat."[1] Morrison was engaged to actress, Chrishell Stause, from December 9, 2006 to 2007.[2][3]
Morrison married girlfriend, Renee Puente, in Kihei on the island of Maui, Hawaii in October 2014.[4] The couple have two children, Revel "Rev" (born in October 2017) and Phoenix (born in June 2021).
Career[]
In January 2003, he starred as Link Larkin in the Broadway musical Hairspray. Hairspray was his big break into Broadway. To this day, he is still best friends with his co-star Marissa Jaret Winokur.
In September 2004, he appeared in an ABC made for TV movie, Once Upon a Mattress with Carol Burnett, Denis O'Hare, Tracy Ullman, and Zooey Deschanel.
In April 2005, he starred in the Tony-nominated musical The Light in the Piazza, a musical by Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel. He received a Tony nomination for his role as Fabrizio Naccarelli. In October 2005, he performed in the comedy A Naked Girl on the Appian Way. From October to November 2006, he starred on the daytime soap opera As The World Turns as Adam Hughes Munson. He appeared in the movie Music and Lyrics in February 2007 as Ray, the manager of Cora Corman, and as Evan Webber, a professional dancer in the 2012 film What To Expect When You're Expecting.
While performing as Lieutenant Cable in the 2008 Broadway revival of South Pacific, Matthew got the call about a musical television show - Glee. He auditioned with the song Over The Rainbow and got the part that would change his life forever: Will Schuester, the optimistic high school teacher and coach of the newly revived glee club, New Directions.
In April 2011, he recorded a song with Sting called Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot.[5] which was featured on his debut solo album released in May 2011. On June 4, 2013, Morrison released his second studio album, Where It All Began. It was released through Maroon 5's lead singer Adam Levine's own record label, 222 Records (his first PBS special, Where It All Began: Live at the Bushnell, aired three days prior to the album's release). Later in 2013, he released A Classic Christmas, a digital EP of Christmas music
It was officially announced on November 10, 2014 that he would be returning to Broadway as J.M. Barrie in the musical version of the 2004 movie Finding Neverland, which opened on April 15, 2015. He received a Drama Desk and Drama League Award nomination, and won two Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards (for Favorite Leading Actor in a Musical and shared Favorite Onstage Pair with Laura Michelle Kelly) as well as a BroadwayWorld.com Audience Award. His run came to an end on January 24, 2016.
In January 2019, he joined the judging panel of the new BBC competition series The Greatest Dancer alongside former Girls Aloud member and X Factor UK judge Cheryl and Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse. The show was picked up for a second season. Later that year, he worked with Ryan Murphy once again playing the role of Trevor in American Horror Story: 1984. He also hosted the three Disney Christmas specials on ABC alongside Emma Bunton.
His third studio album, Disney Dreamin' with Matthew Morrison, was released in 2020. The first single, "Go the Distance" from the movie Hercules, was released on January 10.
Glee[]
Morrison was discovered by creator of Glee, Ryan Murphy. Murphy had spent three months scouting for performers to join his cast, and Morrison filled the multi-talented bill for teacher, Will Schuester. In 2010, he was rated 79th on the most sexiest TV actors list. People magazine named him as one of the Sexiest Men Alive in 2009 (along with co-stars Cory Monteith and Mark Salling) and 2010, and in 2012 was named one of the World's Most Beautiful (along with frequent guest star Kristin Chenoweth). For his work on Glee, he has been honored with a Satellite Award, two Golden Globe nominations and an Emmy nomination.
Filmography[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Relativity | Dr. Alexander | ("Hearts and Bones") |
| 1999 | Bob Rizzo's Simply Funk with Suzanne | Himself | as Matthew J. Morrison |
| Sex and the City | Young Busboy | ("They Shoot Single People, Don't They?") | |
| 2003 | Marci X | Boyz R Us | as Matthew J. Morrison |
| Hack | Sam Wagner | ("Blind Faith") | |
| Dectivive Fiction | Young Jack | ||
| 2005 | Once Upon A Mattress | Sir Harry | |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Chance Slaughter | ("Proud Fresh") |
| As the World Turns | Adam Munson #4 | recurring role (17 episodes) | |
| Blinders | Scott | short | |
| 2007 | Music and Lyrics | Ray | |
| Dan in Real Life | Policeman | ||
| I Think I Love My Wife | Salesman #2 | ||
| Ghost Whisperer | Matt Sembrook | ("Bad Blood"); as Matthew J. Morrison | |
| CSI: Miami | Jesse Stark | ("Bloodline") | |
| 2008 | Numb3rs | Officer Blaine Cleary | ("Power") |
| 2009 | Taking Chance | Robert Rouse | |
| Glee | Will Schuester | series regular, 2009 - 2015 | |
| 2011 | The Cleveland Show | Will Schuester | voice ("How Do You Solve a Problem Like Roberta?") |
| 2012 | What to Expect When You're Expecting | Evan | |
| 2014 | Space Station 76 | Daniel | |
| 2015 | Underdogs | Jake | voice |
| 2016 | The Good Wife | Connor Fox | recurring role (6 episodes) |
| Younger | Sebastian | ("The Good Shepherd") | |
| After the Reality | Scottie | ||
| 2017 | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Paul Stadler | 2017 - 2018 (4 episodes) |
| Tulip Fever | Mattheus | ||
| 2019 | American Horror Story: 1984 | Trevor Kirchner | main role (8 episodes) |
| Crazy Alien | Captain Zach Andrews | ||
| 2020 | The Grinch Musical! | The Grinch | |
| 2022 | So You Think You Can Dance | Himself | Judge (Season 17, 4 episodes) |
Discography[]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2002 | Hairspray: Original Broadway Cast Album |
| 2005 | The Light in the Piazza: Original Broadway Cast Album |
| 2007 | This Ordinary Thursday: The Songs of Georgia Stitt (performing "One Day More") |
| 2008 | South Pacific: The New Broadway Cast Album |
| 2011 | Matthew Morrison |
| 2013 | Where It All Began |
| 2013 | A Classic Christmas (EP) |
| 2015 | Finding Neverland: The Album (performing "We Own The Night") |
| 2015 | Finding Neverland: Original Broadway Cast Album |
| 2020 | Disney Dreaming with Matthew Morrison |
Trivia[]
- He uses Lubriderm in his hair.[6]
- His nicknames are "Matty Fresh", "Fresh", "Fresh Step" and "Matty too Fresh."[7]
- He has been engaged twice. The first engagement ended in 2007 and the second engagement started in 2013.
- His favorite curse word is "motherf***er".
- He is the first cast member to perform his own song in a Glee episode.
- He is the eighth Glee actor to be featured in a season of American Horror Story, having appeared as Trevor Kirchner in 1984 (season 9). He is preceded by Tanya Clarke (Mary Evans), Matt Bomer (Cooper Anderson), Neil Patrick Harris (Bryan Ryan), Cheyenne Jackson (Dustin Goolsby), Darren Criss (Blaine Anderson), Jacob Artist (Jake Puckerman), and Dot-Marie Jones (Sheldon Beiste).
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Brunette Ambition, p. 485 (iBooks version). Lea Michele. 2014.
- ↑ CURTAIN CUTIE: MATTHEW MORRISON June 2007.
- ↑ Matthew Morrison Opens Up About His Engagment to Chrishell Stause. July 2013,
- ↑ [http://www.people.com/article/matthew-morrison-marries-renee-puente Matthew Morrison Marries Renee Puente] October 2014.
- ↑ Youtube
- ↑ Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith, Lea Michele Radar Interview 1:20 - 1:24 mintues in.
- ↑ 'Glee' cast share their nicknames 0:42 - 0:49 mintues in.