Jeremy Pope (born July 9, 1992) is an American actor and singer. Pope is the sixth person in Tony Award history to be nominated in two categories for separate performances during the same year, having received nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his role as Pharus Jonathan Young in Choir Boy and Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his role as Eddie Kendricks in Ain't Too Proud, the latter of which also earned him a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
In 2020, Pope starred in the Netflix miniseries Hollywood, which earned him a nomination for a 2020 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. In 2023, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in the film The Inspection.
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Life and acting career
A native of Orlando, Florida, Pope attended Timber Creek High School and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. He made his Broadway debut in 2018 as Pharus Jonathan Young in the play Choir Boy, soon followed by a role as Eddie Kendricks in the jukebox musical Ain't Too Proud. In 2019, he became the sixth actor in Tony Award history to be nominated in two categories during the same year, garnering nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his role as Pharus Jonathan Young in Choir Boy and for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his role as Eddie Kendricks in Ain't Too Proud. In 2019, he landed a lead role in Ryan Murphy's new Netflix series Hollywood, for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. In 2021, he also had a main role as Christopher, Blanca's boyfriend in the third and final season of Murphy's TV series Pose. In 2022, Pope returned to the theater, starring as painter Jean-Michel Basquiat opposite Paul Bettany as pop artist Andy Warhol in The Collaboration.
That same year, Pope starred in Elegance Bratton's semi-autobiographical film The Inspection as Ellis French, a young man who enlists in the United States Marine Corps. His performance earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.
In 2024, Pope expanded his work as a filmmaker with the short film God Is Good, which he wrote and starred in and was directed by C Prinz. The film incorporates music, monologue, and dance and explores themes of faith, identity, masculinity, and self-acceptance. God Is Good was acquired by The Criterion Collection for streaming on the Criterion Channel.
In 2026, Pope starred as Jeremy in the FX television series The Beauty, created by Ryan Murphy and Matthew Hodgson, and also served as an executive producer on the series. He also made his Broadway producing debut as a co-producer of Cats: The Jellicle Ball. The production received nine Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, for which Pope was among the nominated producers, and won three awards.
Personal life
Pope was born and raised in Orlando, Florida, in a close-knit family and religious household. His father, a pastor and professional bodybuilder, was an early influence on Pope's understanding of faith, discipline, and masculinity. Pope grew up singing in church and has described his upbringing and family as formative influences on his development as an artist.
Pope has spoken about navigating the expectations of the church while developing his own understanding of faith, sexuality, masculinity, and self-expression. He has described these experiences, as well as growing up as a Black man in the American South, as influences on his personal and artistic development.
Pope has also spoken about the personal significance of portraying Pharus Jonathan Young in Choir Boy, which he first began performing early in his career, and how his experiences with identity and self-acceptance have informed his work.
Acting credits
Music
Pope is a singer, songwriter, and multidisciplinary artist whose work spans music, acting, photography, and filmmaking. Raised in Orlando, Florida, he began singing in church and writing and recording music as a teenager.
Pope independently released his debut EP, Last Name: Pope, in 2024. The project incorporates elements of R&B, soul, funk, gospel, and house music and explores themes including identity, faith, sexuality, masculinity, love, and self-discovery.
The EP includes the single "Worth a Million", which explores themes of identity, vulnerability, and self-worth. Pope also released "Uptown Apartment", a funk-influenced collaboration featuring Earth, Wind & Fire bassist Verdine White.
Pope's music has also intersected with his work as a filmmaker and visual artist. He wrote and starred in the autobiographical short film God Is Good, directed by C Prinz. The film explores themes of Blackness, queerness, Christianity, gender, and self-acceptance. In 2024, the film was acquired by The Criterion Collection for streaming on the Criterion Channel.
Pope is also a principal soloist on the Broadway cast recordings of The View UpStairs and Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations. His work on the latter earned him a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2020.
Accolades
In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade, Queerty named him among the fifty heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people".
