Jeremy Kushnier

Jeremy Kushnier is a Canadian actor, singer, and songwriter born on September 30, 1975, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He trained at Miles MacDonell Collegiate, the Winnipeg School of Performing Arts, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, all in Winnipeg. He is the brother of actor Serge Kushnier and musician Bryce Kushnier, who is associated with the electronic project Vitaminsforyou. Kushnier made his first stage appearance as Oliver Twist in Oliver! at Rainbow Stage in Winnipeg in 1988.

Kushnier traveled by bus from Toronto to New York City in 1997 to audition for Footloose, ultimately originating the role of Ren McCormack when the production opened on Broadway on October 22, 1997. He remained with the show until July 2, 2000. Prior to that Broadway debut, he had appeared in the Toronto production and Canadian tour of The Who's Tommy in 1995. He returned to Broadway as Roger Davis in Rent, a role he played from November 2003 through January 2005, having previously performed the same role on the US Tour in 2001 and later on the World Tour in 2006. He also toured nationally as Radames in Disney's Aida from 2002 to 2003.

His portrayal of Tommy DeVito in Jersey Boys became one of his most sustained engagements. Kushnier joined the Chicago cast in 2007, which earned recognition as one of the top ten great Chicago performances of that year, and subsequently opened the Las Vegas production. He took over the role in the Toronto engagement of the North American tour on August 21, 2008, and later brought the character to Broadway, where he performed from October 2012 through February 2013. Between his regional and touring work in Jersey Boys and his Broadway run, he played Freddie Trumper in Chess at the Signature Theatre in 2010 and Dr. Fine and Dr. Madden in the first national tour of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Next to Normal from 2010 to 2011.

On Broadway, Kushnier appeared in the 2012 revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, where he played a priest and understudied the roles of Judas, Jesus, and Pilate, running from March through July of that year. He had previously played Pilate in the pre-Broadway La Jolla Playhouse production in 2011 and Judas in a 2005 production at the Kansas City Starlight Theatre. In 2013, he appeared at the Stratford Festival in two productions, as Mordcha in Fiddler on the Roof and as Captain Walker in The Who's Tommy. He received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical in 2015.

Kushnier joined the Broadway cast of Cirque du Soleil's Paramour in 2016, replacing Bradley Dean in the role of AJ following creative differences, and remained with the production through April 2017. In 2018, he originated the role of Basilius in Head Over Heels on Broadway, running from June 2018 through January 2019. He returned to Broadway as an understudy for the role of Aldous Huxley in Flying Over Sunset from November 2021 through January 2022, and appeared as Bishop Maffeo Barberini in Galileo in 2026, a role he had first played at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2024. Other notable stage work includes Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show at Bucks County Playhouse from 2013 to 2014, Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in 2017, and Rev. Shaw Moore in Footloose at The Muny in 2019. In February 2025, he joined the Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors as Orin Scrivello.

As a recording artist, Kushnier released his debut album In Time in 2002, followed by a self-titled EP in 2006 produced by Jonathan Dinklage, described as an acoustic blend of rock and pop. One of his songs, "Allison," was performed on a 2006 episode of the television series One Tree Hill. He also appeared in the film The Adulterer in 2000. Kushnier was previously married to Jenny Lee Stern and has two daughters.