Isaac Powell

Isaac Cole Powell, born December 30, 1994, is an American actor and singer who appeared on Broadway between 2017 and 2020. He grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, the youngest of three children born to Terry and Will Powell. His father is Black and his mother is white. Will Powell is a three-time world CrossFit champion, and Powell's sister, Jessica Powell, is a certified personal trainer at their father's fitness studio and appears on TLC's My Big Fat Fabulous Life as a fitness trainer to Whitney. Powell came out as gay at the age of 16.

Powell began acting in middle school through the Community Theatre of Greensboro. He went on to attend Philip J. Weaver Academy, a performing arts high school, before enrolling in a boarding program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts during his senior year of high school. He earned an acting degree from UNCSA in May 2017. While still a student, he accumulated professional credits, including the role of Nikos in a production of Legally Blonde at the Barn Dinner Theatres. In the summer following his graduation, he appeared in Newsies and Mamma Mia! with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and originated the title role in Nikola Tesla Drops the Beat at the Adirondack Theatre Festival in Glens Falls, New York.

Powell made his Broadway debut in the 2017 revival of Once on This Island, playing the role of Daniel. The production began previews in November 2017 and opened officially in December of that year. His performance drew notice from several critics: Jesse Green of The New York Times described his solo "Some Girls" as a "quietly sensitive rendering," while Robert Hofler of TheWrap wrote that Powell made the song "the most poignant moment in this revival." TheaterMania called him "charismatic and silvery-voiced." He recorded his performance on the production's cast album.

In May 2018, Powell competed on the live Broadway game show I Only Have Lies for You. That same spring, he signed with the New Pandemics modeling agency and modeled for Palomo Spain's and NIHL's fall 2019 lines at New York Fashion Week. He was also featured in the final issue of Hello Mr. magazine.

Powell returned to Broadway as Tony in the 2019 revival of West Side Story, directed by Ivo van Hove. The production began previews on December 10, 2019, and officially opened on February 20, 2020, at the Broadway Theatre. It closed on March 11, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, he was cast in Universal Pictures' film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen, directed by Stephen Chbosky, playing Rhys, a new character described as a high school jock. On August 29, 2021, he appeared in a PBS concert celebrating the musical Wicked, hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, alongside performers including Rita Moreno, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana DeBose, Ali Stroker, Amber Riley, Mario Cantone, Jennifer Nettles, Stephanie Hsu, Alex Newell, Gavin Creel, and Gabrielle Ruiz. In the summer of 2024, Powell starred as Jay Gatsby in the world premiere of Florence Welch's Gatsby: An American Myth at the American Repertory Theatre. He is also set to appear in the upcoming film The Moment.

In 2016, Powell met Broadway actor Wesley Taylor when Taylor visited UNCSA while Powell was a junior in the theatre program. The two began a relationship in 2017, became engaged in May 2019, and ended their relationship in 2021.