# Will Chase

Frank William Chase (born September 12, 1970) is an American actor, director, and singer, best known for his work on Broadway and for his role as country superstar Luke Wheeler on ABC's Nashville.

## Early life and education

Chase was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, to Betty and Jerry Chase, and is the youngest of three sons. He graduated from Western Hills High School and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied conducting with Robert Spano and percussion with Michael Rosen.

## Career

Chase started his acting career in Chicago, performing in regional theater productions and received three Joseph Jefferson Award nominations. He then played Chris in the 2nd National Tour of Miss Saigon. He first performed on Broadway in 1998 as the Squeegee Man and Mark/Roger understudy in Rent, and went on to star as Roger in the final Broadway company of Rent, which was recorded for the theatrical release entitled Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway. His additional Broadway credits in the early 2000s include Miss Saigon (with the original star Lea Salonga playing Kim to close the Broadway production); The Full Monty (2001); Aida (Radames replacement, 2003–04); and Lennon (2005). Tony in Billy Elliot the Musical. He was also in A Little Princess the Musical as Captain Crewe. In 2005, he played Neville Craven in the 2005 World AIDS Day The Secret Garden concert.
In 2006, he starred in High Fidelity on Broadway, and played Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, for which he received a nomination for the 2009 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor.
He appeared in The Pajama Game opposite Kate Baldwin at The Muny (St. Louis) in July 2007. He starred in Oklahoma in 2007 at the Lyric Theatre opposite Kelli O'Hara, and on Broadway in the short-lived musical The Story of My Life in 2009. Starting in 2009, Chase played the role of Tony in Billy Elliot the Musical until 2011. In August 2012, he temporarily filled in for Matthew Broderick as Jimmy Winter in the Broadway musical, Nice Work If You Can Get It.
At the 2013 Tony Awards, he was nominated for Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as John Jasper/Mr. Clive Paget in the Broadway revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Chase guest starred as Michael Swift in the NBC series Smash. He then went on to star for 3 seasons as country superstar Luke Wheeler on the television series Nashville. His other television appearances include Quantico, HBO's The Deuce, the recurring role of Pat Mahoney on Rescue Me, Cupid, Canterbury's Law, Law & Order, Third Watch, Conviction, and Queens Supreme, Hallmark's The Lost Valentine, alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt and Betty White; the 2011 season finale of Royal Pains (USA); Blue Bloods (CBS); and the ABC drama Pan Am. In 2012, he appeared on the series White Collar, in the episode "Neighborhood Watch", and appeared on the series Unforgettable, in the episode "The Comeback".
He played the title role in the 2013 film Butterflies of Bill Baker, winning Best Actor at the 2013 Chain Film Festival. Chase also voiced the wolf Angee in A Warrior's Tail (2016).
In 2016, Chase assumed the role of William Shakespeare from Christian Borle on Broadway in the musical Something Rotten!, while simultaneously filming both HBO's The Deuce, and the ABC drama Time After Time, in the series regular role of Griffin Monroe.
He played abusive father Neil Hargrove in the second season of the American supernatural horror-science fiction television series, Stranger Things, which premiered in late 2017, and in 2018 appeared in HBO's drama Sharp Objects as Bob Nash.
He starred as Fred Graham/Petruchio opposite Kelli O'Hara in the 2019 Broadway revival of Kiss Me, Kate.
In 2020 and 2021, he wrote and directed the award- winning short film Dagger, co-starring Jack Davenport, and Trunk Show, which featured his children, actors Daisy and Gracie Chase, winning Best Short Film at the 2021 Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival. Also in 2021, he played Michael Friedman in Danny Strong’s Pulitzer Prize-winning series Dopesick.
In 2022, he played Kurt Dockweiler in the first season of Bosch: Legacy. That same year he finished production on Apple TV's The Crowded Room, starring alongside Tom Holland and Emmy Rossum which premiered in June of 2023.
In 2024, Chase directed the feature documentary Coming Home: The Guggenheim Grotto Back In Ireland and Mick Lynch's one-man show An Irish Goodbye at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park. In 2025 he will direct the musical short film Here, Bullet, which he co-wrote with composer Kurt Erickson, based on Erickson's prize-winning song cycle of the same name, which was adapted from the original anthology of 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award-winning poems, "Here, Bullet", by renowned American poet Brian Turner.

## Personal life

Chase has two children, actors Daisy and Gracie Chase, with the late Lori Davis, to whom he was married from 1996 to 2008. He was married to actress Stephanie Gibson from 2009 until their divorce in 2012.
He and Debra Messing dated from 2011 to 2014.
Chase has been in a relationship with musician Ingrid Michaelson since 2015.

## Filmography
### Actor

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Shaft | Walter's Friend | Film |
| 2001 | Fling (FOX network, created by Glenn Gordon Caron) | Dan Fields | Episode: #1.2 "In Genes We Trust" |
| 2002 | Guiding Light | Store Manager | Episode dated August 14, 2002 |
| 2002 | Third Watch | Reilly | Episode: #4.8 "Ladies' Day" |
| 2003 | Queens Supreme | ADA Pheiffer | Episode: #1.1 "One Angry Man" |
| 2003 | Law & Order | David | Episode: #13.11 "Chosen" |
| 2004 | Everyday People | Dad (uncredited) | HBO Film |
| 2004 | Law & Order | Mellors' Co-Owner | Episode: #14.18 "Evil Breeds" |
| 2006 | Conviction | Detective Dave Lamanski | Episode: #1.4 "Indebted" |
| 2006 | As the World Turns | Dr. Linn | Episode dated May 1, 2006 Episode dated May 3, 2006 |
| 2006 | All My Children | A.D.A. Phillips | Episode #1.9395 |
| 2008 | Law & Order | Derek Cahill | Episode: #18.4 "Bottomless" |
| 2008 | Canterbury's Law | Artie Flom | Episode: #1.3 "What Goes Around" |
| 2008 | Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway | Roger Davis | Film |
| 2009 | Four Single Fathers | Lance | Film |
| 2009 | Cupid | Peter | Episode: #1.6 "Left of the Dial" |
| 2009 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Jacob Garrety | Episode: #8.15 "Passion" |
| 2009 | One Life to Live | Dr. Jason Nance | Episode: #1.10564 "Sing Along with Mitch" Episode: #1.10565 "The Greenhouse Effect" Episode: #1.10566 "Angel of Death" Episode: #1.10567 "Dads Gone Wild" |
| 2009–2010 | Rescue Me | Pat Mahoney | Episode: #5.5 "Sheila" Episode: #6.4 "Breakout" Episode: #6.6 "Sanctuary" Episode: #6.8 "Cowboy" |
| 2011 | The Lost Valentine | Andrew Hawthorne | TV film |
| 2011 | Royal Pains | Benjamin Richards | Episode: #2.18 "Listen to the Music" |
| 2011 | Pan Am | John Stanton | Episode: #1.1 "Pilot" |
| 2011 | Blue Bloods | William Flood | Episode: #2.3 "Critical Condition" |
| 2012 | White Collar | Connor Bailey | Episode: #3.13 "Neighborhood Watch" |
| 2012 | Unforgettable | Reed Benedict | Episode: #1.18 "The Comeback" |
| 2012–2013 | Smash | Michael Swift | 10 episodes; Recurring role (season 1) |
| 2013 | Necessary Roughness | David Blaze | Episode: #2.13 "Hits and Myths" |
| 2013 | It Could Be Worse | Pervy | Episode: #1.6 "Him, I want Him" |
| 2013 | Butterflies of Bill Baker | Bill Baker (Best Actor-Chain Film Festival) | Film |
| 2013 | The Ordained | Gavin | TV film |
| 2013–2014 | The Good Wife | Detective Doug Young | Episode: #4.18 "Death of a Client" Episode: #5.16 "The Last Call" |
| 2013–2017 | Nashville | Luke Wheeler/Himself | 57 episodes; Recurring role (season 2) Main role (Seasons 3–4) Guest role (Seasons 5–6) |
| 2015 | For Real | Blaine | Film |
| 2015 | A Warrior's Tail | Anga (English version, voice) | Film |
| 2017 | Time After Time | Griffin Monroe | 12 episodes; Main role |
| 2017 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Byron Marks | Episode: #19.1 "Gone Fishin'" |
| 2017 | The Deuce | Jack | Episode: #1.4 "I See Money" Episode: #1.5 "What Kind of Bad?" |
| 2017 2019 | Stranger Things | Neil Hargrove | Episode: #2.8 "Chapter Eight: The Mind Flayer" Episode: #3.6 "Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum" |
| 2018 | American Crime Story | Detective Paul Scrimshaw | Episode: #2.1 "The Man Who Would Be Vogue" Episode: #2.2 "Manhunt" Episode: #2.9 "Alone" |
| 2018 | E-Bowla | Big Thumper | Short Film |
| 2018 | Quantico | Frank Marlow | Episode: #3.6 "Heaven's Fall" Episode: #3.9 "Fear Feargach" |
| 2018 | Sharp Objects | Bob Nash | 5 episodes; Main role (Mini-Series) |
| 2018–2019 | Madam Secretary | Owen Callister | Episode: #5.4 "Requiem" Episode: #5.18 "Ready" Episode: #5.19 "The Great Experience" Episode: #5.20 "Better Angels" |
| 2018–2019 | Impulse | Simon | 6 episodes; Recurring Role |
| 2019 | The Village | John | Episode: #1.1 "Pilot" |
| 2019 | FBI (TV series) | Det Harry Bloom | Episode: #2.10 "Ties That Bind" |
| 2019 | After the Wedding | Frank | Film |
| 2020 | The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show | Grizzled Music Man | Episode: #1.1 |
| 2021 | Dopesick | Michael Friedman | 8 episodes; Main role (Mini-series) |
| 2021 | Girls5eva | Stet | Episode: #1.8 "Separ8 Ways" |
| 2021 | Dagger | Tom | Short Film |
| 2022 | Bosch: Legacy | Kurt Dockweiler | Episode: #1.9 "Cat Got a Name?" Episode: #1.10 "Always/All Ways" |
| 2023 | The Crowded Room | Marlin Reid | 10 episodes; Main role (Mini-series) |
Key :
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |

### Director

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2020 | Tigers and Young men | Music video |
| 2021 | Dagger | Short film (Best Score-Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival) |
| 2021 | I'm Right Here | Short film |
| 2021 | Trunk Show | Short film (Best Short Film-Ridgewood International Film Festival) |
| 2021 | Today | Segment Director |
| 2022 | Lawrence of Arabia | Music Video |
| 2024 | Coming Home: The Guggenheim Grotto Back In Ireland † | Documentary |
| 2025 | Here, Bullet † | Short film; Pre-production |
| 2025 | Fool † | Short film |

## Theatre credits

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996–1998 | Miss Saigon | Chris Scott | US National Tour |
| 1998 | Rent | Steve / Ensemble u/s Roger Davis u/s Mark Cohen | Broadway |
| 1998–2000 | Miss Saigon | Chris Scott | Broadway |
| 2000–2001 | Miss Saigon | Chris Scott | Cultural Center of the Philippines |
| 2001–2002 | The Full Monty | Jerry Lukowski | Broadway |
| 2003 | Aida | Radames | Broadway |
| 2004 | Lennon | John | Broadway |
| 2005 | The Secret Garden | Dr. Neville Craven | Manhattan Center |
| 2005–2006 | Rent | Roger Davis | Broadway |
| 2006 | High Fidelity | Rob | Broadway |
| 2008 | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Valentin | Signature Theatre (Helen Hayes Award Nomination) |
| 2008 | Rent | Roger Davis | Broadway |
| 2009 | The Story of My Life | Tom | Broadway |
| 2009–2011 | Billy Elliot the Musical | Tony | Broadway |
| 2010 | Bells Are Ringing (musical) | Jeffrey Moss | Encores! |
| 2012 | Nice Work If You Can Get It | Jimmy Winter | Broadway |
| 2012–2013 | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | John Jasper / Mr. Clive Paget | Broadway (Tony Award, Outer Critics Award Nominations) |
| 2015 | The Music Man | Harold Hill | Cincinnati Music Hall |
| 2016 | Something Rotten! | William Shakespeare / The Bard | Broadway |
| 2019 | Kiss Me, Kate | Fred Graham / Petruchio | Broadway |
| 2024 | Once Upon A Mattress | Sir Harry | Broadway |

## Awards and nominations
### Tony Awards

| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2013 | Best Featured Actor in a Musical | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Nominated |

### Other awards

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2008 | Helen Hayes Award | Outstanding Lead Actor | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Nominated |
| 2013 | Chain NYC Film Festival | Best Actor | Butterflies of Bill Baker | Won |
| 2013 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Best Featured Actor in a Musical | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Nominated |
| 2021 | Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival | Best Short Film | Trunk Show (written and directed by Will Chase) | Won |