# Isaac Cole Powell

Isaac Cole Powell (born December 30, 1994) is an American actor and singer. He played the role of Daniel in the 2017 Broadway revival of the musical Once on This Island and Tony in the 2019 Broadway revival of West Side Story.

## Early life and career

Powell was raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, the youngest of three children born to Terry and Will Powell, a three-time world CrossFit champion. His father is Black; his mother is white. His sister, Jessica Powell, is a Certified Personal trainer at their father's fitness studio and is featured on TLC's My Big Fat Fabulous Life as Whitney's fitness trainer. Powell began to act in middle school with the Community Theatre of Greensboro. He attended Philip J. Weaver Academy, a performing arts high school, before transferring to a boarding program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) during his senior year of high school. He graduated from UNCSA with an acting degree in May 2017.
While in college, Powell began to accumulate professional acting credits, playing Nikos in the musical Legally Blonde at the Barn Dinner Theatres. After graduation, in the summer of 2017, he appeared in Newsies and Mamma Mia! with the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and originated the title role in Nikola Tesla Drops the Beat at the Adirondack Theatre Festival in Glens Falls, New York.
Powell played the role of Daniel in the 2017 Broadway revival of Once on This Island, which began previews in November 2017 and opened officially in December. Jesse Green, writing in The New York Times called Powell's solo, "Some Girls," a "quietly sensitive rendering." Robert Hofler, in TheWrap, wrote that Powell makes the song "the most poignant moment in this revival." TheaterMania's review deemed Powell, "charismatic and silvery-voiced." He recorded his role on the revival's cast album.
Powell competed in May 2018 on the live Broadway game show, I Only Have Lies for You. In the spring of 2018, he signed on with the New Pandemics modeling agency and modeled for Palomo Spain's and NIHL's fall 2019 lines at New York Fashion Week. In W Magazine, Powell notes that "[M]odeling is a new thing ... I've been basically shooting all the gay publications, which is really, really great." He models in addition to acting, and was featured in the final issue of Hello Mr.
Powell played Tony in the 2020 Broadway revival of West Side Story. The production, directed by Ivo van Hove, began previews on December 10, 2019, and officially opened on February 20, 2020, at the Broadway Theatre, but closed early on March 11, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In November 2020, Powell was cast in Universal Pictures and director Stephen Chbosky's film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen as new character Rhys, a high school jock.
On August 29, 2021, Powell was featured in the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) network's aired concert for the musical Wicked which was hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. Other featured artists were Rita Moreno, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana DeBose, Ali Stroker, Amber Riley, Mario Cantone, Jennifer Nettles, Stephanie Hsu, Alex Newell, Gavin Creel and Gabrielle Ruiz performing many of the musical's numbers.
In the summer of 2024, he starred as Jay Gatsby in the world premiere of Florence Welch's Gatsby: An American Myth at the American Repertory Theatre.

## Personal life

Powell is gay and came out at the age of 16. In 2016, Powell met Broadway actor, Wesley Taylor, when Taylor was visiting University of North Carolina School of the Arts where Powell was a junior in the school's theatre program. The two then began a relationship in 2017 and were engaged in May 2019. They ended their relationship in 2021.

## Theatre credits

| Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Director(s) |
| 2017 | Nikola Tesla Drops The Beat | Nikola Tesla | Adirondack Theatre Festival | Marshall Pailet |
| 2017 | Newsies | Ensemble | Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (at the Benedum Center) | Richard J. Hinds |
| 2017 | Mamma Mia! | Ensemble | Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (at the Benedum Center) | Barry Ivan |
| 2017–19 | Once on This Island | Daniel Beauxhomme | Circle in the Square Theatre | Michael Arden |
| 2019–20 | West Side Story | Tony | Broadway Theatre | Ivo van Hove |
| 2024 | Gatsby: An American Myth | Jay Gatsby | American Repertory Theatre | Rachel Chavkin |

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2015 | Just a Body | Pastor Dave | Short film |
| 2019 | XaveMePlease | Xavier | Short film |
| 2021 | Dear Evan Hansen | Rhys | |
| 2022 | Susie Searches | Ray Garcia | |
| 2023 | Cat Person | Clay | |
| 2023 | Past Lives | Guy | |
| 2023 | Our Son | Solo | |
| TBA | The Moment | | Filming |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2018 | Broadway.com #LiveatFive | Himself | 1 episode |
| 2018 | Murphy Brown | Jack | Episode: "A Lifetime of Achievement" |
| 2018–2019 | Indoor Boys | Logan | 6 episodes |
| 2021 | Modern Love | Vince | Episode: "A Life Plan for Two, Followed by One" |
| 2021 | American Horror Story: Double Feature | Troy Lord | 4 episodes |
| 2022 | American Horror Story: NYC | Theo Graves | 7 episodes |
| 2024 | The Franchise | Bryson | Main role |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Awards | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
| 2019 | Grammy Awards | Best Musical Theater Album | Once on This Island | Nominated | |
| 2020 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | West Side Story | Nominated | |