William Swenson (born October 26, 1972) is an American actor and singer best known for his work in musical theatre. He also has developed a film career, primarily in

LDS cinema Mormon cinema usually refers to films with themes relevant to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The term has also been used to refer to films that do not necessarily reflect Mormon themes but have been made ...

Early life

Swenson was born in Provo, Utah. Two of his grandparents, James Nathan Hale and Ruth Hale, were playwrights; Ruth was also an actor. Swenson moved throughout the United States during his childhood. He attended

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

and later served as a missionary for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

in Guayaquil-Ecuador. As of 2008, he was no longer practicing the LDS faith.

Career

Swenson is known among members of the LDS Church for his role as Jonathan Jordan in the

LDS Cinema Mormon cinema usually refers to films with themes relevant to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The term has also been used to refer to films that do not necessarily reflect Mormon themes but have been made ...

movie ''

The Singles Ward The Singles Ward franchise includes the original film, ''The Singles Ward'' from 2002 and the 2007 sequel, ''The Singles 2nd Ward'', both directed and written by Kurt Hale and John Moyer. The Singles Ward ''The Singles Ward'' is a 2002 romantic ...

'' (2002) and its sequel, ''

The Singles 2nd Ward ''The Singles Ward'' film series consists of two low-budget Christian Comedy film, comedies based on original characters, co-written by Kurt Hale and John Moyer (comedian, screenwriter), John Moyer. The overall premise centers around members of ...

'' (2007). Swenson co-wrote, directed and acted in the

mockumentary ''

Sons of Provo ''Sons of Provo'' is a 2004 film written by Peter Brown and Will Swenson, and directed by Will Swenson. It is a mockumentary that portrays the experience of an LDS boy band named Everclean from formation to resounding success. Sons of Provo mad ...

'' (2004). Swenson appeared on Broadway in '' Lestat'', ''

110 in the Shade ''110 in the Shade'' is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt. Based on Nash's 1954 play '' The Rainmaker'', it focuses on Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch in the American southwest ...

'' and ''

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

''. Off Broadway, he played the role of

Stacee Jaxx The Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE), is a gamma ray detector located near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Observations with STACEE began in and concluded in . Gamma rays were observed from objects such as the Crab Nebula, a ...

in the musical ''

Rock of Ages Rock of Ages may refer to: Films * ''Rock of Ages'' (1918 film), a British silent film by Bertram Phillips * ''Rock of Ages'' (2012 film), a film adaptation of the jukebox musical (see below) Music * ''Rock of Ages'' (musical), a 2006 rock ...

'' but did not go on to perform the role on Broadway because he was offered the starring role of Berger in the Broadway 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 ...

''. He played Sir Sagramore in ''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...

'' at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

and Chris in the second national tour of ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...

''. He played the role of Berger in the

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

40th Anniversary Concert of ''

'' opposite

Karen Olivo Karen Olivo (born August 7, 1976) is an American stage and television actor, theater educator, and singer. In 2008, Olivo originated the role of Vanessa in ''In the Heights'' on Broadway. The following year, they won the 2009 Tony Award for Best ...

. In 2008, Swenson was again cast as Berger in The Public Theater's revival of the show in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

. He went on to reprise the role when the production moved to Broadway in March 2009. He received critical acclaim for his performance on Broadway and was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. He played the role of Berger again in the West End revival of ''Hair'' which began performances on April 1, 2010, and ended his limited engagement on May 29, 2010.

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...

and Swenson reprised their roles in a two-week fundraising production of ''

'' at the Hale Center Theater in Orem, Utah. On October 8, 2009, Swenson appeared as in the guest cameo slot for the extension performance of Katie Thompson's ''R.R.R.E.D.: A Secret Musical'', as part of the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival. In 2010, Swenson played the lead role of "Tick"/"Mitzi" in the pre-Broadway North American company of '' Priscilla: Queen of the Desert'' in Toronto, Canada. In October 2013, Swenson was cast as Inspector Javert in the 2014 Broadway revival of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'', which opened in March 2014 at New York's Imperial Theatre, where the musical had previously run for 13 years. In 2018, Swenson played Satan in the

New Group The New Group was a group of young South African artists who, starting in 1937, began to question and oppose the conservatism of the South African Society of Artists. Its founding chairperson was Gregoire Boonzaier; other founding members were Lip ...

's off-Broadway production of '' Jerry Springer: The Opera''. In 2020, he appeared in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

show '' Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'' as Pan. In June of 2022 Swenson began playing the role of Neil Diamond (Then) in the new musical "A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical" at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston. The show is scheduled to move to Broadway later in 2022 with its Broadway opening scheduled for December 4, 2022 at the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City. The musical is based on the life and music of Neil Diamond and Swenson has said he grew up surrounded by and loving Neil Diamond's music. Swenson has said his father loved Neil Diamond's music and in his youth Swenson would sing Neil Diamond songs and eventually even sang the songs trying to sound like Neil Diamond.

Personal life

Swenson met his first wife, Amy Westerby, while they were both in one of his grandmother's comedies, ''Hopsville Holiday''. The couple have two sons, Bridger and Sawyer; they have since divorced. Swenson and actress

became engaged in January 2012 and were married on October 6, 2012. In October 2016, McDonald and Swenson had their first child, Sally.

Theatre credits

Filmography

Film

Television

Web series

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *
Will Swenson
at IOBDB {{DEFAULTSORT:Swenson, Will 1973 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries Male actors from Utah American male singers American Mormon missionaries in Ecuador American male musical theatre actors Former Latter Day Saints Living people Musicians from Provo, Utah 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Writers from Provo, Utah