# Norbert Leo Butz

Norbert Leo Butz (born January 30, 1967) is an American actor and singer known for his work in Broadway theatre. He is a two-time recipient of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performances in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Catch Me If You Can, and is one of only nine actors ever to have won the award twice.

## Early life and education

Norbert Leo Butz was born on January 30, 1967, in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elaine (née Bourisaw) and Norbert Butz. He was raised in a middle-class family; his parents are devout Catholics. He is the seventh of 11 children and is named after his father. Some of his first theatre roles included playing the male leads at local all-girl high schools, such as Cor Jesu Academy and Nerinx Hall. He graduated from Bishop DuBourg High School. Butz earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University and a Master of Fine Arts from The University of Alabama/Alabama Shakespeare Festival's Professional Actor Training Program. He would later receive an honorary degree from Webster University in 2013.

## Career

Butz made his Broadway debut as a replacement swing – a type of understudy – in Rent in 1996. Butz ultimately replaced Adam Pascal as Roger Davis in 1997. Additional Broadway credits include Thou Shalt Not (Camille Raquin, 2001–2002), for which he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical at the 56th Tony Awards; Wicked (the original Fiyero, 2003); and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Freddy Benson) for which he received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical at the 59th Tony Awards, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, a Drama League Distinguished Performance Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award. His Off-Broadway credits include The Last Five Years (Jamie Wellerstein), Saved (Fred), and Juno and the Paycock (Jerry Devine), and he has toured as the Emcee in Cabaret and as Freddy in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
Butz's film roles have included Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five (Pawnbroker), Noon Blue Apples (Howard Philips), and West of Here (Josiah Blackwell).
Butz's projects include the film Dan in Real Life (with Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, and Dane Cook), released in October 2007, the world premiere of Is He Dead?, a hitherto unproduced Mark Twain play that opened at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre on December 9, 2007, and Fifty Words Off-Broadway with Elizebeth Marvel at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (2008). In January 2008, he appeared as Captain Richard King in the miniseries adaptation of the Lonesome Dove prequel, Comanche Moon.
Starting December 23, 2008, Butz stepped in to replace Jeremy Piven in David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow; Piven suddenly and unexpectedly dropped out of the play after he experienced health problems. Butz took over the part until January 13, 2009, when William H. Macy assumed the role for the remainder of the play's run.
Butz taught at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, for the spring semester in 2008 in the drama department.
He starred as Rowdy Kaiser in the ABC show The Deep End.
From April to May 9, 2010, he returned to the Broadway stage in ENRON as Jeffrey Skilling. Despite Tony nominations at the 64th Tony Awards, the play struggled with ticket sales.
Butz starred in the 2011 drama indie film Higher Ground with Vera Farmiga, who also directed it.
Butz originated the role of Carl Hanratty in the musical Catch Me If You Can which played pre-Broadway tryouts at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, Washington, from July 28 through August 14, 2009. Butz played the role of Carl Hanratty in the Broadway production of Catch Me if You Can, which opened on April 10, 2011, and closed in September 2011. For this role he won his second Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and his second Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical at the 65th Tony Awards.
In April 2012, Butz appeared as himself in one episode of the NBC musical drama Smash. Butz played Hal Wilner in Greetings from Tim Buckley, a film about Tim Buckley and Jeff Buckley, which premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.
From November 29, 2012 to January 6, 2013, Butz appeared on Broadway in Theresa Rebeck's Dead Accounts, opposite Katie Holmes, Jayne Houdyshell, Josh Hamilton, and Judy Greer.
In 2013 he starred in the new Andrew Lippa musical Big Fish, which premiered in Chicago in the spring and opened on Broadway in the Neil Simon Theatre in October, directed by Susan Stroman.
In 2012, he played Uncle Peck in a limited engagement revival of Paula Vogel's play How I Learned to Drive. He also starred in the 2013 film Better Living Through Chemistry. He played Kevin Rayburn in the 2015 Netflix television show Bloodline.
He also starred in the 2018 Broadway revival of My Fair Lady as Alfred Doolittle, the father of the leading role, Eliza Doolittle. He earned a nomination for Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for the production at the 72nd Tony Awards.
From July 9–28, 2019, he appeared in an original musical collaboration titled TWOHANDER at Feinstein's/54 Below alongside Sherie Rene Scott, with musical director Todd Almond. Butz previously shared the stage with Scott in the original productions of the musicals Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Last Five Years.
In 2021, Butz played the role of Craig Maddox in the NBC drama series Debris which is written by J. H. Wyman.
In 2024, Butz played Kosta in the play, Vladimir, by Erika Sheffer at the New York City Center Stage I which covers the story of a journalist and an accountant who bravely investigate and publicize issues in Russia.

## Personal life

Butz married his former Wicked co-star Michelle Federer in 2007. Their daughter was born on January 2, 2011. He has two older daughters from a previous marriage.
The murder of his sister, Teresa Butz, made national news when an assailant stabbed both her and her girlfriend in her Seattle-area home on July 19, 2009.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1998 | Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five | Pawnbroker |
| 2000 | Looking for an Echo | Anthony Pirelli (vocals) |
| 2002 | Noon Blue Apples | Howard Phillips |
| 2002 | West of Here | Josiah Blackwell |
| 2007 | Dan in Real Life | Clay Burns |
| 2010 | Fair Game | Steve |
| 2011 | Higher Ground | Pastor Bill |
| 2012 | Greetings from Tim Buckley | Hal Willner |
| 2012 | Disconnect | Peter |
| 2013 | The English Teacher | Vice Principal Phil Pelaski |
| 2014 | Better Living Through Chemistry | Agent Andrew Carp |
| 2019 | Luce | Dan Towson |
| 2019 | Wonder Park | Peanut (voice) |
| 2019 | Good Posture | Neil |
| 2020 | Give or Take | Ted |
| 2021 | Flag Day | Doc |
| 2022 | Better Nate Than Ever | Rex Foster |
| 2023 | The Exorcist: Believer | Tony West |
| 2024 | A Complete Unknown | Alan Lomax |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | John Fenwick | Episode: "Misleader" |
| 2007 | Playing Chicken | Jake | Unsold pilot |
| 2008 | Comanche Moon | Richard King | Episode: "#1.2" |
| 2009 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Archie Beuliss | Episode: "In Treatment" |
| 2010 | The Deep End | Rowdy Kaise | 7 episodes |
| 2010 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Larry Lamotte | Episode: "Bump and Grind" |
| 2011 | The Good Wife | Mr. Medina | Episode: "Two Courts" |
| 2011 | Late Show with David Letterman | Carl Hanratty | Episode: "Dr. Phil/Chris Hemsworth/Catch Me If You Can" |
| 2011 | Blue Bloods | Detective Kramer | Episode: "Moonlighting" |
| 2011 | The Miraculous Year | Terry Segal | Television film |
| 2012 | Smash | Himself | Episode: "Hell on Earth" |
| 2012 | County | Billy Krakowski | Unsold pilot |
| 2015–2017 | Bloodline | Kevin Rayburn | Main cast; 33 episodes |
| 2016–2017 | Mercy Street | Dr. Byron Hale | Main cast; 12 episodes |
| 2018 | Trust | Gordon Getty | 3 episodes |
| 2018 | The First | Matthew Dawes | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Fosse/Verdon | Paddy Chayefsky | Miniseries |
| 2019 | Madam Secretary | Lochlainn Heeney, Jr. | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Debris | Craig Maddox | Main cast |
| 2022 | The Girl from Plainville | Conrad "Co" Roy II | 8 episodes |
| 2023 | Justified: City Primeval | Norbert Bryl | Main cast |
| 2024 | American Sports Story | Bill Belichick | Miniseries |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 1996 | Rent | u/s Roger Davis & Mark Cohen | Nederlander Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1997 | Rent | Roger Davis | Nederlander Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1999–2000 | Cabaret | The Emcee | US Tour | |
| 2000 | Rent | Roger Davis | Nederlander Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2000 | Juno and the Paycock | Jerry Levine | Gramercy Theatre, Off-Broadway | |
| 2001–2002 | Thou Shalt Not | Camille Raquin | Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2002 | The Last Five Years | Jamie Wellerstein | Minetta Lane Theatre, Off-Broadway | |
| 2002 | Carousel | Jigger Craigin | Carnegie Hall | |
| 2003 | Buicks | Bill Abeline | Underwood Theatre, Off-Broadway | |
| 2003–2004 | Wicked | Fiyero | Curran Theatre, San Francisco (pre-Broadway) Gershwin Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2005–2006 | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Freddy Benson | Imperial Theatre, Broadway US Tour | |
| 2007–2008 | Is He Dead? | Jean-François Millet | Lyceum Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2008–2009 | Speed-the-Plow | Bobby Gould | Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2008 | Fifty Words | Adam | Lucille Lortel Theatre, Off-Broadway | |
| 2010 | Enron | Jeffrey Skilling | Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2011 | Catch Me If You Can | Agent Carl Hanratty | 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle (pre-Broadway) Neil Simon Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2012 | How I Learned to Drive | Uncle Peck | Second Stage Theatre, Off-Broadway | |
| 2012–2013 | Dead Accounts | Jack | Music Box Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2013 | Big Fish | Edward Bloom | Nederlander Theatre, Chicago (pre-Broadway) Neil Simon Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2017 | The Whirligig | Michael | Pershing Square Signature Center, Off-Broadway | |
| 2018–2019 | My Fair Lady | Alfred P. Doolittle | Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2023 | Cornelia Street | Jacob | Atlantic Theater Company, Off-Broadway | |
| 2023 | Gutenberg! The Musical! | The Producer | James Earl Jones Theatre, Broadway | One night cameo |
| 2024 | Edge of the World | Henry | Classic Stage Company, Off-Broadway | |
| 2024 | Vladimir | Kostya | Manhattan Theatre Club, Off-Broadway | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2000 | Dora Mavor Moore Award | Best Leading Actor, Musical Theatre | Cabaret | Won |
| 2002 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical | Thou Shalt Not | Nominated |
| 2002 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Thou Shalt Not | Nominated |
| 2002 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Thou Shalt Not | Nominated |
| 2002 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | The Last Five Years | Nominated |
| 2003 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Buicks | Nominated |
| 2005 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Won |
| 2005 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Won |
| 2005 | Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Won |
| 2005 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Won |
| 2011 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | Catch Me if You Can | Won |
| 2011 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Catch Me if You Can | Won |
| 2011 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Catch Me if You Can | Nominated |
| 2018 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical | My Fair Lady | Nominated |
| 2018 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | My Fair Lady | Won |
| 2019 | Grammy Award | Best Musical Theater Album | My Fair Lady | Nominated |
| 2025 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | A Complete Unknown | Nominated |

## Discography

* Memory and Mayhem: Live at 54 Below (2013)
* The Angel Band Project: An Evening With Norbert Leo Butz (2014)
* Girls Girls Girls: Live at 54 Below (2016)
* The Long Haul (2019)