Will Swenson

Will Swenson is an American actor and singer born on October 26, 1972, in Provo, Utah, whose Broadway career has spanned from 1995 to 2022. He is best known for his work in musical theatre, with principal roles across numerous Broadway and West End productions, and has also pursued a parallel career in film, including work in LDS cinema.

Swenson's family background includes a notable theatrical lineage: two of his grandparents, James Nathan Hale and Ruth Hale, were playwrights, and Ruth also worked as an actor. He relocated frequently during childhood before attending Brigham Young University. Following his graduation, he served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Guayaquil, Ecuador, though by 2008 he was no longer practicing the faith. He launched his professional performance career by earning his Equity card through Disney at Walt Disney World, where he performed in Beauty and the Beast Live: On Stage and the Hoop Dee Doo Review.

Early in his career, Swenson became recognized within LDS communities for playing Jonathan Jordan in the LDS cinema film The Singles Ward (2002) and its sequel, The Singles 2nd Ward (2007). He also co-wrote, directed, and acted in the LDS cinema mockumentary Sons of Provo (2004). On the theatrical side, he performed the role of Chris in the second national tour of Miss Saigon and Sir Sagramore in Camelot at Lincoln Center before accumulating Broadway credits that include Lestat, 110 in the Shade, and Brooklyn. Off-Broadway, he originated the role of Stacee Jaxx in Rock of Ages but departed the production when he was cast in the starring role of Berger in the Broadway revival of Hair.

Swenson's portrayal of Berger became a defining chapter of his career. He first played the role in the off-Broadway 40th Anniversary Concert of Hair opposite Karen Olivo, then reprised it in The Public Theater's 2008 Central Park revival. When the production transferred to Broadway in March 2009, Swenson's performance earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical as well as a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He subsequently brought the role to the West End, where the revival ran from April 1 to May 29, 2010. He and actress Audra McDonald also reprised their respective roles in a two-week fundraising production of 110 in the Shade at the Hale Center Theater in Orem, Utah.

In 2010, Swenson traveled to Toronto to play the lead role of Tick/Mitzi in the pre-Broadway North American company of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. He later returned to Broadway in the 2014 revival of Les Misérables, having been cast as Inspector Javert in October 2013; the production opened in March 2014 at the Imperial Theatre. His subsequent Broadway appearances included Waitress and Assassins. In 2018, he played Satan in the New Group's off-Broadway production of Jerry Springer: The Opera, and in 2020 he appeared as Pan in the Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

In June 2022, Swenson began performing the role of Neil Diamond (Then) in A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston. The production moved to Broadway and officially opened on December 4, 2022, at the Broadhurst Theatre. Swenson has noted that Diamond's music was a fixture of his upbringing, as the singer was among his father's favorites, and that he spent years singing those songs until he could reproduce Diamond's vocal sound. Looking ahead, Swenson is scheduled to star as Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at the La Mirada Theatre in California in January and February 2026, followed by a return to A Beautiful Noise in Australia at the Princess Theatre in August of that year.

In his personal life, Swenson met his first wife, Amy Westerby, while both were performing in a comedy written by his grandmother, Hopsville Holiday. The two have sons named Bridger and Sawyer and have since divorced. Swenson and actress Audra McDonald became engaged in January 2012 and married on October 6, 2012; in October 2016, they welcomed a daughter, Sally. In October 2020, Swenson participated in a virtual letter-writing event organized by the nonpartisan voter advocacy group VoteRiders, aimed at educating at-risk voters in Florida and Wisconsin ahead of the general election.