Michael James Scott (born May 24, 1981) is an American actor and singer, known for his work on the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

stage. He is best known for playing the Genie in

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

''Aladdin''

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

in the Original Australian Cast, as well as in the West End, U.S. National Tour, and Broadway productions.

Early life

Scott was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, the son of Michael and Karen Scott. He attended Rock Springs Elementary school in

Apopka, Florida Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 55,000 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Seminole word ''Ahapopka'' for "Potato eating ...

, then Robinswood and Gotha Middle School. In high school, he attended the

Dr. Phillips High School Dr. Phillips High School is a public high school in Dr. Phillips, Florida, United States, near Orlando. It serves the Dr. Phillips census-designated place (CDP), the Bay Hill CDP, and the residential portion of Lake Buena Vista. History Dr ...

Visual and Performing Arts Program. Michael worked as a child actor doing commercials, TV shows, and musicals; he also sang in concerts around the Central Florida area. He trained with

Ann Reinking Ann Reinking (November 10, 1949December 12, 2020) was an American dancer, actress, choreographer and singer. She worked predominantly in musical theater, starring in Broadway (theatre), Broadway productions such as ''Coco (musical), Coco'' (1969) ...

's Broadway Theatre Project for four years, two as an assistant.

Career

As a young adult Michael got a string of TV work, theatre shows and singing engagements, before getting his BFA degree a
The Conservatory of Theatre Arts program at Webster University
in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. While in college, he was the standby for

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (born October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. Vereen gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals '' Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received a T ...

on the international tour of ''Fosse'' from 2003 to 2004. He joined the first National U.S. tour of '' Mamma Mia!'' from 2004 to 2005. In 2005, he made his Broadway debut in 2005 in the musical ''

All Shook Up "All Shook Up" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley, published by Elvis Presley Music, and composed by Otis Blackwell. The single topped the U.S. ''Billboard'' Top 100 on April 13, 1957, staying there for eight weeks. It also topped the ''Bil ...

''. He appeared off-Broadway opposite

Donna McKechnie Donna McKechnie (born November 16, 1942) is an American musical theater dancer, singer, actress, and choreographer. She is known for her professional and personal relationship with choreographer Michael Bennett, with whom she collaborated on ...

in ''Here's to the Public''. In 2006, after a short stint in Disney's ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

'' on Broadway, he reprised his '' Mamma Mia!'' role of Eddie in the Broadway production. In 2007, he was in the original Broadway company for Boublil and Schönberg's new musical The ''Pirate Queen''. In 2008, he was a part of the concert cast of '' Jerry Springer: The Opera'' at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

and shortly afterwards went on to originate Barry Belson (actor)in the Las Vegas production of ''

Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual break-up of th ...

''. He returned to Broadway in 2009 in a revival of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'', continuing on to the West End production the following year, for which he was also associate choreographer. At the end of that year, he returned to Broadway in the original cast of ''

Elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

'', until it closed in 2011. He then played Dr. Gostwana in the original Broadway company of ''

The Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude dat ...

.'' During his time in ''Book of Mormon'', he took a short break to play Donkey in

Shrek the Musical ''Shrek The Musical'' is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. It is based on the 2001 DreamWorks Animation film ''Shrek'', along with elements of its sequels: '' Shrek 2'', ''Shrek Forever After'' ...

at the MUNY of St. Louis before finally leaving ''Mormon'' in 2013. He joined the original Broadway company of Disney's ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

'' musical as the Genie standby. In 2015, he left to originate the Minstrel in ''

Something Rotten! ''Something Rotten!'' is a musical comedy with a book by John O'Farrell and Karey Kirkpatrick and music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick. Set in 1595, the story follows the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel, who struggle to find success ...

on Broadway.'' He originated the role of Genie in the Australian production of Disney's musical ''Aladdin,'' which opened in Sydney in August 2016, before leaving the company in December 2017 to join the U.S. national tour of Aladdin. He received a

Helpmann Award The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical th ...

in 2017 for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for his work in the Australian Production. Scott is a member of the group The Broadway Boys and Grammy-nominated Broadway Inspirational Voices. He continues to sing at concerts, special events and benefits around the country.

Theatre credits

*''

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

'', North Carolina Theatre *''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'',

The Muny The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first come, first s ...

*'' South Pacific'',

*'' Fosse'', standby for

, Tour, 2001–02 *'' Mamma Mia!'', Eddie, Tour, 2003–04 *''

'', Ensemble, Broadway, 2005 *''Here's to the Public!'', off-Broadway, 2005 *''

'', Swing, Broadway, 2006 *''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

'', Mereb,

, 2006 *'' Mamma Mia!'', Eddie (replacement), Broadway, 2006–07 *''

The Pirate Queen ''The Pirate Queen'' is a musical with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, French lyrics by Alain Boublil and English lyric adaptations by Richard Maltby Jr. and John Dempsey. The French book was written by Boublil and Schönberg and the Engli ...

'', Ensemble, Broadway, 2007 *''

'', Ensemble/Barry Belson (u/s),

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, 2008 *'' Jerry Springer: The Opera'',

, 2008 *''

'', Swing/Margaret Mead (u/s)/Hud (u/s), Broadway, 2009 *''

'', associate choreographer/Hud (u/s)/Tribe Member, West End, 2010 *''

'', Ensemble/Macy's Manager (u/s), Broadway, 2010–11 *''

'', Dr. Gostwana, Broadway, 2011–12 *''Here's to Joe'', off-Broadway, 2013 *''

Shrek The Musical ''Shrek The Musical'' is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire. It is based on the 2001 DreamWorks Animation film ''Shrek'', along with elements of its sequels: '' Shrek 2'', ''Shrek Forever After'' ...

'', Donkey, regional, 2013 *''

'', Genie standby/Babkak standby, Broadway, 2014–15 *''

'', Minstrel, Broadway, 2015-16 *''Aladdin'', Genie, Australian Tour, 2016–2017 *''Aladdin'', Genie, North American Tour, Jan-Aug 2018, Jan-Feb 2020 *''Aladdin'', Genie, West End, Aug 2018-Feb 2019 *''Aladdin'', Genie, Broadway, Feb-Sept 2019, Feb 2020–Present

Filmography

*''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

'', special thanks, 1 episode, 2011 *''

The Carrie Diaries ''The Carrie Diaries'' is a young adult novel, the first in a series of the same name by American author Candace Bushnell. The series is a prequel to Bushnell's 1997 collection ''Sex and the City'', and follows the character of Carrie Bradshaw du ...

'', Hot Gay Guy #1, 1 episode, 2013 *''The Broadway.com Show'', himself, 1 episode, 2013 *''

Submissions Only ''Submissions Only'' is a comedy web series about the casting and audition process for Broadway theater. It centers around aspiring actress Penny Reilly (Kate Wetherhead) and her friend, casting agency director Tim Trull (Colin Hanlon), and their ...

'', William Fox, 1 episode, 2014 *''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'', Minstrel, 1 episode, 2015 *''For Real'', Michael, TV movie, post-production, 2016 (also producer) *''

Black Monday Black Monday refers to specific Mondays when undesirable or turbulent events have occurred. It has been used to designate massacres, military battles, and stock market crashes. Historic events *1209, Dublin – when a group of 500 recently arriv ...

'' Chad, 1 episode, 2019

Personal life

Scott is gay; he married filmmaker Jeremy Merrifield after dating for ten years and knowing each other for about twenty. They have a French Bulldog named Chloé Phylicia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Michael James 1981 births 21st-century American male actors African-American male actors 20th-century African-American male singers American male musical theatre actors American gay actors American gay musicians Helpmann Award winners American LGBT singers Living people 20th-century American LGBT people 21st-century American LGBT people 21st-century African-American people