Zachary James

Zachary James is an American actor, singer, and bass-baritone born on December 7, 1981, in Providence, Rhode Island, who grew up in Spring Hill, Florida. The son of a professional jazz guitarist, James played percussion in his youth and served as drum major in his high school marching band. Though his initial ambition was to become a band director, an interest in musical theater drew him toward performance. Inspired by actor Nathan Lane, he pursued a degree in musical theatre at Ithaca College before relocating to New York City.

James made his Broadway debut and went on to appear on Broadway between 2007 and 2011, accumulating credits that include the drama The Family, the play Coram Boy, and the Tony Award-winning revival of South Pacific. His most prominent Broadway role came when he originated the part of Lurch in the musical The Addams Family, a role he played from 2010 through the end of 2011 as part of the original cast.

Beyond Broadway, James has built a substantial career in opera. He created the role of Abraham Lincoln in Philip Glass's opera The Perfect American at the Teatro Real in Madrid, a production broadcast on Medici TV. He also created the speaking role of The Scribe and Amenhotep III in Phelim McDermott's 2016 production of Glass's Akhnaten at English National Opera, which received the Laurence Olivier Award. James reprised that role in subsequent revivals at Los Angeles Opera, again at English National Opera in 2019, and at the Metropolitan Opera in November and December 2019, marking his Met debut. He won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for his contributions to the Akhnaten recording. Additionally, he created the role of Terry in the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli's Breaking the Waves for Opera Philadelphia, and played John Claggart in Billy Budd at Des Moines Metro Opera in 2017, a production broadcast on Iowa Public Television that received an Emmy Award.

James has performed with a wide range of opera companies and orchestras, including English National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, Cincinnati Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Omaha, Opera Saratoga, Arizona Opera, Virginia Opera, Nashville Opera, Fort Worth Opera, New York City Ballet, and Australia's Opera Queensland, among others. His West End credits include originating the role of Hades in Hadestown, and he has starred in that role at the Lyric Theatre in London since February 10, 2024. His West End work also includes Dom Frollo in a concert production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. New York credits include the role of Oberon in the world premiere of Kristin Hevner's Il Sogno, and in 2015 he appeared as Samuel in New York City Center's Off-Broadway revival of The Pirates of Penzance. Regional theatre credits include Caiaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl, Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Don Quixote and Miguel de Cervantes in Man of La Mancha, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm in A Little Night Music, and Miles Gloriosus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

James has also pursued solo performance work. His one-man opera, Imbecile d'Amour, played in New York in 2008, Chicago in late 2009, and returned to New York in 2010 and 2011. His solo show, On Broadway, which draws on his experiences working in New York theatre, has been presented in Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania. The show was filmed live at Chris's Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia, produced by Des Moines Metro Opera, and released as an album in 2021. It earned James BroadwayWorld's Vocalist of the Decade and Performer of the Decade awards for the years 2010 through 2020. His debut visual album, Call Out, has screened at 31 film festivals worldwide and received the highly commended designation from London's Classical Music Digital Awards.

In recognition of his operatic work, James was named Most Innovative Opera Singer of 2019 by The Classical Post and Breakout Opera Artist of 2019 by Verismo Magazine. He has been invited to serve as an official ambassador for Opera America and was identified by OperaWire as one of the 30 most influential LGBTQIA+ artists in opera. James is an out gay artist who has been featured in LGBTQ publications and interviews. He is a sexual assault survivor who came forward publicly in 2019 as part of the MeToo Movement and has been sober since November 2011.

James has made several television appearances, including a cameo as the character Carl in the 30 Rock episode "Gavin Volure" in 2008, a role as a Secret Serviceman on the series finale of Murphy Brown on CBS in 2018, and an appearance as Jacob on NBC's Law & Order: Organized Crime in 2022. He also hosted and created the comedy talk show What Happened Was..., which aired on TDO Network every Friday from 2021 through 2023 and was produced by Dallas Opera. A lifelong advocate for animal rights, James volunteers with Pawsitive Beginnings, an anti-fur trade fox sanctuary in Key Largo, Florida, and narrated their 2020 mini-documentary Chasing Fur. He lived and traveled for eleven years with his rescued miniature pinscher, Sir Arthur "Artie" Seymour Sullivan, named after the British composer associated with The Pirates of Penzance, until the dog's death in 2023.