Joseph Morales

Joseph Alexander Morales is an American stage and television actor born in New Mexico. Of mixed heritage, Morales is half-Mexican through his biological father, one-quarter German-Irish, and one-quarter Japanese. The father who raised him, Command Sgt. Major James Blankenbecler, was killed in action in 2003 while serving in the U.S. Army during the Iraq War. Growing up in a military family, Morales lived in Virginia, Texas, and Hawaii before a high school trip to Medford, Oregon introduced him to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, an experience that led him to enroll in the theater program at Southern Oregon University. After one year of study, he left the program to pursue auditions in New York.

Morales entered the professional theater world through Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical In the Heights, joining its national tour in October 2009 as an ensemble member and understudy for the roles of Usnavi, Piragua Guy, and Sonny. In July 2010, he was cast as Miranda's replacement in the lead role of Usnavi for the show's first national tour, a position he held through April 3, 2011. He subsequently toured in the cast of Bombay Dreams before joining the national tour of If/Then, which ran from October 2015 to August 2016.

Morales's Broadway appearances span 2009 to 2018, encompassing his work in In the Heights, If/Then, and Hamilton. On March 10, 2017, he joined the Chicago company of Hamilton as an alternate in the title role of Alexander Hamilton. Later that year, producer Jeffrey Seller announced that Morales would lead the musical's second national tour, known as the Philip Tour, in the role of Alexander Hamilton, appearing alongside Nik Walker as Aaron Burr. He assumed the title role on that tour beginning February 6, 2018, in Seattle.

In addition to his stage work, Morales has television credits that include Colony in 2016 and Chicago Med in 2017. His film appearances include Indigo in 2003 and Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds in 2006, in which he played a character named Derek.