Steve Kazee
Steven Michael Kazee (born October 30, 1975) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for starring as Guy in the musical "Once" for which he was awarded the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Kazee began his professional acting career in the mid 2000s, and from 2005 until 2013 acted in a series of Broadway productions including "Spamalot", "110 in the Shade", and "Once". Following the success of "Once", Kazee acted on multiple television series, most notably playing Gus Pfender in the fifth season of "Shameless". Kazee returned  to theater in 2018, starring as Edward in the Chicago tryout of "". Early life and education. Kazee was born and raised in Ashland, Kentucky. He is an alumnus of Fairview High School and Morehead State University. Kazee moved to New York City in 2002 and received his MFA from the Graduate Acting Program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 2005. Career. Theatre. He appeared in the New York Shakespeare Festival's "As You Like It" in June 2005. He appeared in "Seascape" on Broadway in November 2005 as the Leslie understudy. In January 2006, he appeared as  Timmy Cleary in "The Subject Was Roses", which played at the Kennedy Center. He was later cast as a replacement for Sir Lancelot in "Spamalot" on Broadway in April 2006. In 2007, he starred as Bill Starbuck in the revival of "110 in the Shade" on Broadway, In 2008, he played Sobinsky in "To Be Or Not To Be", which ran from September 16 through November 16 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Kazee starred as Guy in the stage adaptation of "Once", He originated the role off-Broadway when it opened at the New York Theatre Workshop on December  6, 2011. "Once" began previews on Broadway on February 28, 2012, and opened on March 18, 2012, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. Kazee made several TV appearances promoting "Once", including "Late Show with David Letterman" and "Today Show". Kazee won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Kazee and the cast of "Once" won the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. He is featured on Christina Perri's song "A Thousand Years, Pt. 2", which appears on "". In 2017 it was announced that Kazee would star  in the stage adaptation of the 1990 film "Pretty Woman", opposite Samantha Barks in her Broadway debut. The musical, titled "", is directed by Jerry Mitchell and premiered in Chicago in March 2018 and later opened on Broadway in August 2018. After performing as Edward in the Chicago production, Kazee left "Pretty Woman: The Musical" due to "family reasons." He was replaced by Andy Karl when the production transferred to Broadway. Television. In 2006, Kazee played Dumas Shepherd in an episode of the television series "Conviction". In 2007, he appeared as Michael Barlow in "Medium" and Mark Green in "Numb3rs". In  2008, he appeared on "NCIS" as Michael Locke. In 2009, he played Dominic Humphreys on "". Kazee had a starring role on the CMT's "Working Class" (2011), in which he played Nick Garrett. In 2013 he appeared on "Elementary" as Jeff Hines and on "Drop Dead Diva" as Dustin Wycott. In 2015, he played Gus Pfender in a recurring role in season 5 and 6 of Showtime's series "Shameless". Personal life. Kazee was previously in a relationship with actress Megan Hilty from 2005 until 2012. In October 2018, it was confirmed that Kazee is in a relationship with Jenna  Dewan. In September 2019, it was announced that the couple were expecting their first child together. In February 2020, he and Dewan became engaged. He and Dewan welcomed their son, Callum Michael Rebel on March 6, 2020. Theatre credits. Sources: Playbill; BroadwayWorld Awards and nominations. Sources: Playbill; IBDB