James Snyder

James Randall Snyder, born February 7, 1981, in Santa Clara, California, is an American actor and singer whose career spans stage, film, and television. He attended Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento before earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the USC School of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, where he was a member of the SoCal VoCals, USC's a cappella group.

Snyder's pre-Broadway stage work included productions of Rock of Ages, in which he played Drew in the Los Angeles and Las Vegas productions, as well as Happy Days, The Fantasticks, Hamlet, Ray Bradbury's Let's All Kill Constance, Sneaux, Plop, Oklahoma!, and a performance as Luke Skywalker in The Star Wars Trilogy in Thirty Minutes. He originated the role of Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker in Cry-Baby at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, where the production premiered on November 18, 2007. That production transferred to Broadway's Marquis Theatre, beginning previews on March 15, 2008, opening April 24, 2008, and closing June 22, 2008, marking Snyder's Broadway debut. In 2010, he played Marius in the Encores! production of Fanny, and in 2011 he originated the role of Marco Venier in the world premiere of Dangerous Beauty at the Pasadena Playhouse, which ran from February through March of that year. In 2012, he performed the role of Billy Bigelow in Carousel at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut, from July 13 to September 29. He also played Prince Henry in the world premiere of Ever After, the musical based on the 1998 film.

Snyder returned to Broadway in If/Then, a new musical announced on August 7, 2013. The production had a pre-Broadway run at the National Theater in Washington, D.C., from November 5 through December 8, 2013, before opening on Broadway on March 30, 2014. Snyder played Josh, an army doctor who meets and falls in love with the character Liz, portrayed by Idina Menzel. For that role, he won the 2014 Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Onstage Pair, shared with Menzel, and received a nomination for Favorite Supporting Actor in a Musical at the same awards. In November 2016, he originated the role of Nate in In Transit, Broadway's first a cappella musical, at the Circle in the Square Theater. Beginning March 20, 2019, Snyder took on the role of Harry Potter in the Broadway production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. He was suspended from the production in November 2021 following a complaint about his conduct filed by Diane Davis, who portrayed Ginny Potter. The investigation concluded in January 2022, after which Snyder was fired from the production.

On screen, Snyder has accumulated credits in both film and television since 2002. He is best known for his film role as Malcolm in She's the Man, with additional film appearances including Dave in Pretty Persuasion, Jeremy in The Gingerbread Man, Seth in Shuttle, David in An American in China, Ben Carter in Anderson's Cross, and a role in Meth Head, released in 2013. His television work includes appearances on Gilmore Girls, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Without a Trace, Cold Case, Eli Stone, Drop Dead Diva, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Blue Bloods, and The Good Wife, among others.

Snyder's recorded output includes contributions to the studio cast recording of Bare: A Pop Opera, released October 30, 2007, and the original Broadway cast recording of If/Then, released in 2014, which reached number 19 on the Billboard 200. His debut solo album, L.A. Curse, was released on March 20, 2008, and a studio cast recording of Cry-Baby was released in 2015. He also released a single titled "Old River Road" in 2018. In addition to his recorded work, Snyder has participated in benefit concerts including Broadway Rocks Anaheim and Rebuild Japan, and has performed in cabarets in the Los Angeles area.