Matthew Morrison

For his self-titled album, see Matthew Morrison (album). Matthew Morrison , Morrison at a premiere party of Glee in 2009 Born Matthew James Morrison, (1978-10-30) October 30, 1978 (age 34), Fort Ord, California, U.S. Other names Matt Morrison Occupation Actor, director, musician, singer-songwriter Years active 1999-present Matthew James "Matt" Morrison (born October 30, 1978) is an American actor, dancer, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated role as Will Schuester on the Fox television show Glee (2009-present). He has also received a Satellite Award for this role. He has signed with Adam Levine's 222 Records. Morrison received a Tony award nomination for his featured role as Fabrizio Nacarelli in the musical The Light in the Piazza Early life edit: Morrison was born in Fort Ord, California, and raised in Orange County, and is of Scottish heritage. He was part of the Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21) and the Orange County High School of the Arts, while at the Los Alamitos High School campus. While in high school, Morrison did a musical with actress Jodie Sweetin. He attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for two years before dropping out and joining the Broadway adaptation of Footloose. By freshman year of college Morrison already was a regular performer on Broadway. He states in Details "There were all these beautiful, beautiful dancers. As a straight guy I had some room. There were the shared interests in singing and dancing, and I always find dancing with someone very erotic and sexual. I definitely hooked up with a lot of girls when I was a young guy on Broadway. It was fun, I guess. Very joyous and free." Career edit: Morrison's career began when he made his musical theatre debut on Broadway in the musical version of Footloose, followed by a revival of The Rocky Horror Show in 2002. His big break came, however, when he landed the role of Link Larkin in the Broadway production of John Waters', Hairspray. After performing in the role for some time, he started working in television, guest-starring on shows such as Ghost Whisperer, Numb3rs, CSI: Miami and Hack. He also had small roles in films such as Marci X, Primary Colors, Music and Lyrics, and Simply Funk. He followed up these performances by performing the role of Sir Harry in the ABC-TV production of Once Upon a Mattress, starring Tracey Ullman, Zooey Deschanel and Carol Burnett. In 2001, Morrison was recruited to complete the quartet for the band LMNT. He was replaced instead by Jonas Persch by the time their first album was released. He commented in an interview about his experience in the boy band by remarking, "It was the worst year of my life. You know when you're a performer and you're out there on stage and you're embarrassed that you're doing something wrong. It was pretty bad." Matthew Morrison also was a member of Buena Park Youth theater. Located at Buena Park Morrison starred in the Original Cast of the musical Hairspray as Link Larkin from its opening in 2002 through January 2004. In 2005 Morrison changed gears, playing the role of Fabrizio Nacarelli in Adam Guettel's The Light in the Piazza. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance. He left the show August 28, 2005. Morrison joined the cast of the CBS soap opera, As the World Turns, as Adam Munson on October 24, 2006, but left abruptly soon after due to a "scheduling conflict," last airing on the soap on November 27. Morrison appeared in a benefit performance celebrating Andrew Lippa, and the 25th Anniversary of the performing troupe 'The Kids in the Hall' at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California in December 2006. The performance benefited The California Conservatory of the Arts, a non-profit arts education organization focusing on pre-professional training for young students, grades six through twelve, in Orange County, California. He earned a Drama Desk Nomination for his role in the Off Broadway show 10 Million Miles which ran at the Atlantic Theater Company in 2007. That same year he appeared in two films: Dan in Real Life, followed by Music and Lyrics as Cora Corman's manager. In 2008 he played Lieutenant Cable in a Lincoln Center production of the musical South Pacific. He left the production at the end of 2008 and in early 2009 returned to California to shoot the first season of Glee. Morrison plays Will Schuester in the Fox Broadcasting television series Glee, which had its television preview on May 19, 2009. He resumed his role in the show as the series premiered on September 9, 2009. He plays a high school Spanish teacher who takes on the task of restoring the school's glee club to its former glory. Morrison also appeared in the show's second season. He returned for the third season, which premiered on September 20, 2011. He made his directorial debut in the third season's ninth episode. In addition on January 14, 2010, it was announced that Morrison signed a solo record deal with Mercury Records. His first studio album was released on May 10, 2011. Morrison duets with Elton John on "a medley of 'Mona Lisas and Madhatters' going into 'Rocket Man'". His first single, "Summer Rain", premiered on Ryan Seacrest's website on February 28, 2011. Additionally, a duet of "Over the Rainbow" with Gwyneth Paltrow appears on the self-titled album. On June 16, 2010, Morrison joined Leona Lewis -- appearing at London's O2 Arena as part of her world tour -- for a one-off performance to sing "Over the Rainbow". Morrison was on the cover of the June 2011 issue of MetroSource. In March 2012, Morrison was featured in a performance of Dustin Lance Black's play, '8' -- a staged reenactment of the federal trial that overturned California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage -- as Paul Katami. The production was held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre and broadcast on YouTube to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights. Morrison will soon perform at Connecticut's Bushnell Center, and the concert will be recorded by PBS, airing in Spring 2013. On 28 April 2013, Morrison made his first major appearance in the UK as a guest performer at the 2013 Laurence Olivier Awards at the Royal Opera House in London. Personal life edit: Morrison became engaged to actress Chrishell Stause on December 9, 2006. Their relationship ended in 2007, less than a year into the engagement. Awards and nominations edit: Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominated - 2010 Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical (Glee), Primetime Emmy Awards Nomination - 2010 Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Glee), Golden Globe Awards Nomination - 2010 Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical (Glee), Satellite Awards Nomination - 2010 Best Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical (Glee), Teen Choice Awards Nomination - 2010 Choice Male Scene Stealer, Golden Globe Awards Nomination - 2009 Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical (Glee), Satellite Awards Winner - 2009 Best Actor in a Series, Comedy or Musical (Glee), Screen Actors Guild Awards Winner - 2009 Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical (Glee), Drama Desk Awards Nomination - 2008 Outstanding Actor in a Musical (10 Million Miles), Tony Awards Nomination - 2005 Best Featured Actor in a Musical (The Light in the Piazza), Outer Critics Circle Awards Nomination - 2005 Best Featured Actor in a Musical (The Light in the Piazza), Drama Desk Awards Nomination - 2005 Outstanding Actor in a Musical (The Light in the Piazza), Outer Critics Circle Awards Nomination - 2003 Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Hairspray)

Source: Wikipedia

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