Brian d'Arcy James (born June 29, 1968) is an American actor and musician. He is known primarily for his Broadway roles, including Shrek in Shrek the Musical, Nick Bottom in Something Rotten!, King George III in Hamilton, and The Baker in Into the Woods. He has received five Tony Award nominations for his work. On-screen, he is known for his recurring role as Andy Baker on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, Officer Krupke in West Side Story, and reporter Matt Carroll in Spotlight.
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Early life and education
James was born in Saginaw, Michigan, the son of Mary (née Kelly), a seller of children's books, and Thomas F James (deceased), a lawyer. His maternal grandfather was Harry Kelly, a former Governor of Michigan. His uncle, Brian Kelly, was an actor featured in the series Flipper and a producer of the movie Blade Runner. He has three siblings: brother Andrew, a portfolio manager; sister Kate, an actress and writer; and sister Anne (Noonan), an actress and teacher. James is of seven eighths Irish and one eighth Welsh descent.
James graduated from Northwestern University's School of Communication.
Career
He received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 2002 for his portrayal of Sidney Falco in Sweet Smell of Success, co-starring John Lithgow. He received an Obie Award for his performance in Conor McPherson's one-man play The Good Thief.
James's additional Broadway credits include Titanic (Frederick Barrett), Lincoln Center's Carousel, and Blood Brothers. His Off-Broadway credits include Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party in 2000 opposite Julia Murney and Idina Menzel, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination, as well as Adam Guettel's Floyd Collins and the Gershwins' Pardon My English. He appeared in Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore on Broadway, replaced Norbert Leo Butz in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and starred in The Apple Tree opposite Kristin Chenoweth. In 2004, James released a Christmas album titled From Christmas Eve to Christmas Morn. On Broadway he played Bob Wallace, a character originated by Bing Crosby, in White Christmas in 2004. He played Dan Goodman in the new musical Next to Normal Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theater in 2008. He then starred opposite Daniel Breaker, Sutton Foster, and Christopher Sieber as the titular character in Shrek The Musical. The show began previews on Broadway November 8, 2008, and opened on December 14 at The Broadway Theatre after a tryout in Seattle. For this role he won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He was also nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his portrayal. He departed the cast after one year in the role and was replaced by Ben Crawford.
James starred in the Broadway play Time Stands Still, which began preview performances on January 5, 2010, and officially opened on January 25 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. The show ended its limited run on March 27, 2010. For this role he won the Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Featured Actor in a Play. He reprised the role of Dan Goodman in the Broadway company of Next to Normal at the Booth Theatre. He replaced J. Robert Spencer on May 17, 2010. James ended his limited engagement on July 18, 2010, and was replaced by Jason Danieley.
On July 19, 2010, James performed in front of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at A Broadway Celebration: In Performance at the White House, which also aired on PBS October 20, 2010. He returned to Time Stands Still when the show returned to Broadway. It closed on January 30, 2011. James was part of the cast of the NBC musical series Smash. NBC officially picked up Smash as a series on May 11, 2011. The program made its series premiere on February 6, 2012. He did not return to the show as a series regular for its second and final season. James starred in Torstein Blixfjord's 2012 short film Bird In A Box.
Personal life
James is married to Jennifer Prescott; the two met when they both performed at Lincoln Center. They have one daughter.
Discography
Cast albums
Days of Wine and Roses [Original Cast Recording]
Into the Woods [Original 2022 Broadway Revival Cast]
Something Rotten! [Original Broadway Cast]
Giant [Original Cast]
Shrek the Musical [Original Broadway Cast]
White Christmas [Original Cast]
Sweet Smell of Success [Original Broadway Cast]
The Wild Party [Original Off-Broadway Cast]
Titanic [Original Broadway Cast]
Dream True [World Premiere Cast]
Brownstone [Studio Cast]
The Stephen Schwartz Album [Studio Cast]
Myths and Hymns [Off-Broadway Original Cast]
Violet [Off-Broadway Original Cast]
Far From the Madding Crowd [Studio Cast]
The Civil War [Studio Cast]
The Stephen Sondheim Album [Studio Cast]
Floyd Collins [Original Cast]
Carousel [Revival Cast]
James and the Giant Peach [Studio Cast]
The Other Josh Cohen [Studio Cast]
Solo recordings
From Christmas Eve to Christmas Morn (debut solo album)
Michigan Christmas (single)
Featured recordings
The Maury Yeston Compilation (featured artist)
Jonathan Franzen's How to Be Alone (featured artist)
Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens New York (featured artist)
