Jason Pennycooke

Jason Pennycooke is a British actor and choreographer whose career spans musical theatre performance, choreography, and screen work. He was raised in Leeds and pursued formal training at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds and at the London Studio Centre.

Pennycooke's early West End work included choreographing and starring in The Big Life at the Apollo Theatre in 2005. That production earned him a nomination for Best Choreographer in a Musical at the 2006 WhatsOnStage Awards, which he won, and a nomination for Best New Musical at the 2006 Laurence Olivier Awards. The following year, his choreography for Porgy and Bess at the Savoy Theatre brought a further Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best New Musical in 2007. Also at the Savoy, he provided choreography and musical staging for Soul Sister, which originated at the Hackney Empire in 2012 before its West End run and a UK tour.

His performing work generated multiple Laurence Olivier Award nominations for acting. In 2008, he played Jacob in the Menier Chocolate Factory production of La Cage aux Folles, which transferred to the Playhouse Theatre in the West End and earned him a nomination for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical. He received the same award nomination for his portrayal of Bobby in the West End production of Memphis in 2014. In March 2016, he joined the West End revival of Guys and Dolls at the Phoenix Theatre, playing Benny. His most prominent West End role came when he was cast in the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the original West End cast of Hamilton, which began previews in December 2017. That performance brought him another Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical, alongside cast members Cleve September and Michael Jibson.

Pennycooke continued to take on significant West End roles in subsequent years, playing Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge! at the Piccadilly Theatre in 2022 as part of the show's original West End cast, with the production running through July of that year. His screen credits include the role of Wilson in the 2019 musical drama Rocketman, JJ in the 2020 BBC Comedy TV Pilot Bumps, and Other Samuel in the 2023 BBC One miniseries Boat Story.

In 2025, Pennycooke made his Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends.