# Douglas Sills

Douglas Howard Sills (born July 5, 1960) is an American actor and singer.
He made his professional stage acting debut with principal roles in the national tours of Into the Woods and The Secret Garden. He is most well-known for his leading roles in the Broadway production and national tour of The Scarlet Pimpernel, the Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, and the national tour of The Addams Family.

## Early life

Sills was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Rhoda (Nemeth) and Archie Sills, and grew up in the suburb of Franklin, in a Jewish household. He was friends (and did amateur theatrics and films) with both Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Sills attended Cranbrook School, from which he graduated in 1978, and the University of Michigan where he majored in music. He then continued his education at the American Conservatory Theater in California.

## Career

During the 1990s, Sills built a reputation as a stage character actor, especially in the professional theaters of southern California. He also performed in several national tours, including Into the Woods and The Secret Garden, which would also feature future Broadway stars as James Stacy Barbour and Audra McDonald. He met his partner, Todd, in 1994 while touring with The Secret Garden. His first Broadway role, however, came when composer Frank Wildhorn and lyricist Nan Knighton approached him in hopes of finding a male lead for their new musical, The Scarlet Pimpernel. Before this audition, Sills told his agent not to send him to any more auditions because he planned to attend law school. With a score in the 99th percentile on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), Sills hoped to attend Stanford Law School. However, being a fan of the movie as a child, Sills decided to give acting one more chance and was offered the lead as Sir Percy Blakeney.
Douglas Sills opened in his first Broadway show on November 9, 1997. Continuing the role in three other versions of the show, Sills received a Tony Award nomination. He portrayed the foppish hero in SP 1.0 (The Original Broadway Production, starring Terrence Mann, Christine Andreas and Gilles Chiason), SP 2.0 (the revised Broadway production, starring Rachel York and Rex Smith), and for several months in the national tour. Although rumored as playing the title role in Wildhorn's Dracula, the Musical, Sills opted out (despite doing a recording demo), and Tom Hewitt portrayed the gothic character at the premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2001. He played Orin Scrivello and several other roles in the 2003 Broadway revival cast of Little Shop of Horrors.
In 2004, Sills joined the Broadway-bound Chicago production of Monty Python's Spamalot. However, before the production began, Sills left due to reported "major script changes." In early 2005, production plans were announced for Wildhorn's new musical Cyrano de Bergerac, from the same team that helped launch his career with The Scarlet Pimpernel. The title role was written specifically for Sills, however, producers dropped plans for the show in spring 2006 without explanation. A studio-concept recording was planned, starring Sills, Linda Eder and Rob Evan, but plans for it also quickly fell through.
In 2009, Sills starred opposite Kristin Chenoweth at the Encores! New York City Center production of Music in the Air, a long-forgotten Kern-Hamerstein musical from the 1930s. The concert-style version ran February 5 through February 8. Sills assumed the role of Gomez Addams in the national tour of The Addams Family in September 2011 until the company's closing on December 30, 2012.
From March 27 to April 12, 2013, Sills took on the role of Jack in Long Wharf Theatre's production of William Mastrosimone's Ride the Tiger.
Sills played Walter Burns in La Jolla Playhouse's production of His Girl Friday from May 28 to June 30, 2013.
Sills appeared on Broadway beginning in April 2015, playing an aging orchestra conductor in the comedy Living on Love, written by Joe DiPietro, starring Renee Fleming, Jerry O'Connell and Anna Chlumsky.
He appeared in the new musical Dave at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., in 2018, in the role of Chief of Staff Bob Alexander. The musical has music by Tom Kitt, lyrics by Nell Benjamin, and the book by Benjamin and Thomas Meehan and is based on the 1993 film Dave.
As of 2022, Sills plays Monsieur Baudin in HBO's The Gilded Age.

## Notable theatre roles

| Show: | Role(s): | Year(s): | Production: |
| Into the Woods | Rapunzel's Prince u/s Cinderella's Prince | 1988–1990 | US National Tour |
| The Philadelphia Story | C.K. Dexter Haven | 1992 | Cosa Mesa, California |
| The Secret Garden | Dr. Neville Craven u/s Lord Archibald Craven | 1992–1994 | US National Tour |
| The Secret Garden | Lord Archibald Craven | 1995 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| She Stoops to Folly | Ned Thornhill | 1995 | Cosa Mesa, California |
| Chess | Freddie Trumper "The American" | 1995 | Los Angeles, California |
| The Scarlet Pimpernel | Percy Blakeney / The Scarlet Pimpernel | 1997–2000 | Broadway |
| The Scarlet Pimpernel | Percy Blakeney / The Scarlet Pimpernel | 2000 | US National Tour |
| Mack and Mabel | Mack Sennett | 2000 | Los Angeles, California |
| Much Ado About Nothing | Benedict | 2001 | Cosa Mesa, California |
| Show Boat | Gaylord Ravenal | 2001 | Hollywood, California |
| Carnival | Marco | 2002 | New York, New York |
| Wish Upon a Star | N/A | 2002 | New York, New York (Workshop) |
| A Little Night Music | Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm | 2002 | Washington, D.C. |
| The Gondoliers | Don Alhambra | 2003 | New York, New York |
| Little Shop of Horrors | Orin Scrivello & Others | 2003–2004 | Broadway |
| Midnight and Magnolias | David O. Selznick | 2005 | Off-Broadway |
| On the Twentieth Century | Oscar Jaffee | 2005 | Broadway |
| Music in the Air | Bruno Mahler | 2009 | New York, New York |
| The Addams Family | Gomez Addams | 2011–2012 | US National Tour |
| Ride the Tiger | Jack | 2013 | New Haven, Connecticut |
| His Girl Friday | Walter Burns | 2013 | San Diego, Los Angeles |
| Lady, Be Good! | J. Watterson Watkins | 2015 | Off-Broadway |
| Living on Love | Vito De Angelis | 2015 | Broadway |
| Anastasia | Vlad Popov | 2015 | Workshop |
| War Paint | Harry Fleming | 2016 | Chicago (World Premiere) |
| War Paint | Harry Fleming | 2017 | Broadway |
| Hey, Look Me Over! | N/A | 2018 | Off-Broadway |
| Dave | Chief of Staff Bob Alexander | 2018 | Washington, D.C. |
| Nantucket Sleigh Ride | Dr. Harbinger / Shuyler / Walt Disney | 2019 | Off-Broadway |
| Mack and Mabel | Mack Sennett | 2020 | Off-Broadway |
| Anyone Can Whistle | Comptroller Schub | 2022 | Carnegie Hall |
| The Frogs | Dionysos | 2023 | Lincoln Center |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Project | Result |
| 1998 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | The Scarlet Pimpernel | Nominated |
| 1998 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | The Scarlet Pimpernel | Nominated |
| 1998 | Theatre World Award | Theatre World Award | The Scarlet Pimpernel | Won |
| 1998 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | The Scarlet Pimpernel | Nominated |
| 2015 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Living on Love | Nominated |
| 2023 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Gilded Age | Nominated |