He has been nominated for five Tony awards and won twice, and he also won a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album for the original cast recording of Some Like It Hot in 2024.
Early life
Borle was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Andre Bernard Borle (1930–2011),[3] a professor of physiology at the University of Pittsburgh.[4] 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.[5]
Borle attended the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University, graduating in 1995.[6][7] After he graduated, he moved to New York City and landed his first acting job. He worked as an elf at Macy's Santaland.[8]
Career
1995–2004: Early career, Broadway debut and Thoroughly Modern Millie
Soon after moving to New York City, Borle was cast in the German production The Who's Tommy.[9] Returning to the states, he joined the national tour of West Side Story in 1996, as a replacement for the role of Riff.[10] 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.[11]
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.[12] 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.[13]
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. He married his co-star, actress Sutton Foster, who had played Millie, in September 2006.[14][15][16] Borle and Foster divorced in 2009.[17]
2005–2010: Spamalot, Legally Blonde and Mary Poppins
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. 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. The musical is based on MGM's 2001 film of the same name.[18]
He was featured in the Encores! staged concert version of On the Town as Ozzie in November 2008.[19] He appeared in a workshop production of a new play titled Peter and the Starcatcher in 2009.[20] He played Bert in the Broadway production of Mary Poppins, replacing Adam Fiorentino in the role on October 12, 2009,[21] and then left the cast on July 15, 2010.
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.[23] In May 2011, it was reported that NBC had picked up the show as a series for the 2011–2012 season.[24] In March 2012, NBC announced it would renew the series for a second season with 15 episodes.[25] The show was officially cancelled by NBC in May 2013.[26]
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.[27] 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.[28] He ended his run in the Broadway production of Peter and the Starcatcher on June 30, 2012, ahead of taping for Smash, which began in August 2012.[29]
Borle played Max Dettweiler in the live television production of The Sound of Music Live!, which aired on NBC on December 5, 2013.[30][31] He played Mr. Darling and Mr. Smee in the live TV production of Peter Pan Live!, which aired on NBC on December 4, 2014.[32]
2015–2018: Something Rotten!, Falsettos and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
He won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for Something Rotten!,[33] playing the role of William Shakespeare, which opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on March 23, 2015, in previews and officially on April 22, 2015.[34] Borle provided the voice of Mr. Bungee on the cast recording of Encores! A New Brain.Dan Fogler, who played the part onstage, was unable to record the album as he was busy filming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.[35]
Borle played Marvin in the limited Broadway revival of Falsettos, directed by James Lapine, alongside Andrew Rannells and Stephanie J. Block who played Whizzer and Trina, respectively.[36] Borle left the cast of Something Rotten! on July 16, 2016, to prepare for Falsettos, which opened in previews on September 29, 2016, and officially on October 27, 2016.[37][38] Borle was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance. The show closed on January 8, 2017, after 30 previews and 84 performances.[39]
Borle also made an appearance with his former wife, Sutton Foster, in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. His musical talents were used in Episode 3 for the Star's Hollow musical, which walked through the history of the quirky small town. The two had "found Gilmore Girls together and became fans of the show long before there were talks of a revival. For both actors, being a part of the Stars Hollow world was a special experience because they already loved the show before they became involved with it."[40]
Borle made his directorial debut with Popcorn Falls, which premiered at the Riverbank Theatre in Marine City, Michigan.[44] The show ran from August 18–27, 2017. It was such an unexpected success that the theatre had to add extra performances to keep up with demand.
In March 2018, it was announced that Borle would again reunite with Sutton Foster, this time for two episodes of her TV show Younger as a journalist named Don Ridley.[45] He was also announced as the lead in the Encores! production of Me and My Girl, alongside former Mary Poppins co-star Laura Michelle Kelly.[46]
2019–present: Little Shop of Horrors and Some Like It Hot
In August 2021, it was announced that Borle would star in the 2022 Encores! season. Borle was cast as the Baker in Into the Woods, running from May 4–15, 2022. This would have been his third show in the 2022 Encores! season.[51] Borle was ultimately replaced by Neil Patrick Harris.[52]
In March 2022, it was announced that Borle was cast in a workshop for the new musical Some Like It Hot, an adaptation of the 1959 film of the same name, as Joe/Josephine. He originated this role on Broadway through the show's end on December 30, 2023, at the Shubert Theatre. He won a Grammy in 2024 for the original cast recording of Some Like It Hot in the Best Musical Theater Album category.[53]
Borle also voices the character Vox in the 2024 adult animated series Hazbin Hotel.
In the fall of 2024, he starred as Jim Bakker in the Broadway transfer of Tammy Faye. He took over the role from his Falsettos co-star Andrew Rannells who originated the role in London and dropped out of the Broadway production before it opened.[54]
Personal life
Borle met actress Sutton Foster in college and they married on September 18, 2006.[55] They divorced in 2009.[17][56] In 2012, Foster said that she and Borle remain friends[57] and continue to support and appear in each other's work.[58][59]
^Dimola, Audrey (January 16, 2004). "You Just Can't Forget About the Boy!". Columbia.edu. Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Archived from the original on December 14, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
^Smith, Liz. "IN NEW YORK", Daily Variety, September 19, 2006, p. 4 wrote: "BROADWAY BABY Sutton Foster, whose most recent triumph is "The Drowsy Chaperone (five Tony wins and a nomination for Sutton), was wide awake Monday when she wed longtime boyfriend Christian Borle of "Spamalot" fame. The couple met and worked together on Sutton's first smash, Thoroughly Modern Millie, which brought her the theater's highest honor. Sutton and Christian recently bought their first home. In fact, the deal was closed the day "Drowsy" opened."
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