Rory James O'Malley (born December 23, 1980) is an American actor, best known for his

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 ...

-nominated performance as Elder McKinley in ''The Book of Mormon''. He is a co-founder of the

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

activist group Broadway Impact.

Early life

O'Malley was born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, and was brought up by his single mother, who is of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

ancestry. He grew up

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He graduated from Saint Ignatius High School in

and

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

. O'Malley became friends with actors

Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action adap ...

and

Leslie Odom Jr. Leslie Lloyd Odom Jr. (; born August 6, 1981) is an American actor and singer. He made his acting debut on Broadway in 1998 and first gained recognition for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in the musical ''Hamilton'', which earned him a Tony Award f ...

at Carnegie Mellon University and remains good friends with them.

Career

Film and television

O'Malley made a small cameo appearance in ''On the Run'' in 2004. His best-known screen appearance was in the 2007 film adaptation of ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,Gro ...

''.Gottfried, Marvin (2007). "Introduction". ''Dreamgirls: The Movie Musical''. New York: Newmarket Press. p.15 O'Malley also performed the song "Cadillac Car" on the soundtrack, '' Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture''. In 2018, he became a series regular on Lifetime's '' American Princess''.

Theatre

O'Malley starred as

Charlie Brown Charles "Charlie" Brown is the principal character of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', syndicated in daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser," Charlie Brown is one of the great American ar ...

in the 2004 Falcon Theatre production of ''

Snoopy! The Musical ''Snoopy: The Musical'' is a musical comedy with music by Larry Grossman, lyrics by Hal Hackady, and a book by Warren Lockhart, Arthur Whitelaw, and Michael Grace. The characters are from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip ''Peanuts''. This seque ...

'', which ran from June 24 to July 18, 2004, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He also starred as Richie Cunningham in the 2006 Los Angeles premiere of ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most succ ...

'', as well as the 2007

Goodspeed Opera House Goodspeed Musicals is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, located in East Haddam, Connecticut. A distinctive feature of the view from the Connecticut River, th ...

production.Finkle, David
"Review-'Happy Days – The Musical' at PaperMill"
Theatermania.com, October 2, 2007 In October 2008, he appeared alongside Colin Donnell and

Laura Osnes Laura Ann Osnes (born November 19, 1985) is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in '' Grease'' as Sandy, '' South Pacific'' as Nellie Forbush, ''Anything Goes'' as Hope Harcourt, ...

in the then Broadway-bound musical ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'' as Charles Bingley, at the

Eastman Theatre Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre is the largest performance venue at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester, located in downtown Rochester, New York. The theatre was established by industrialist George Eastman and opened on Septe ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

. O'Malley's first appearance on

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 ...

was in the musical ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...

'', replacing actors in the roles of Leaf Coneybear, William Barfee, and Douglas Panch. Regionally, he has appeared in '' Kiss of the Spider Woman'' as Valentin, a

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

revolutionary. Other work includes ''

Charley's Aunt ''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot inc ...

'' as Charley and '' Santa Claus Is Coming to Motown'' as Kris Kringle. O'Malley's first appearance

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 ...

was the 2009 revival of ''

Newsical ''Newsical'' (styled "NEWSical") is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics, and book written by Rick Crom. In ever-changing songs and sketches, it lampoons current events, hot topics, celebrities, politicians, and other well-known entities. ...

'', directed by Mark Waldrop. He originated the role of Elder McKinley in the musical ''

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 date ...

'', which opened on Broadway on March 24, 2011.

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

reviewer wrote, "But allow me to single out my personal favorites. 'Turn It Off' is a hilarious chorus-line piece about repression, performed by the (all-male Mormon) missionaries and destined to make a star of its lead singer and dancer, Rory O'Malley (whose character is repressed in his own special way)." For this role, O'Malley was nominated for the 2011

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. The awards were established in ...

, and was also nominated for a

. On July 18, 2011, O'Malley participated in a reading of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's play, '' Fanny's First Play'', a satire of theater critics, at the Players Club in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York City. He appeared as Frank Hoover in ''

Little Miss Sunshine ''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the feature film directorial debut of the husband–wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt. The film sta ...

'' at the Off-Broadway

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...

from October 2013 to December 2013. O'Malley also participated in the

Dustin Lance Black Dustin Lance Black (born June 10, 1974) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBT rights activist. He is known for writing the film ''Milk (2008 American film), Milk'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenpl ...

play '' 8'', a chronicle reenactment of the federal case that overturned California's

Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a constitutional amendment, state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the California state elections, November 2008, Novem ...

. He assumed the role of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

from

Jonathan Groff Jonathan Drew Groff (born March 26, 1985) is an American actor and singer . He began his career on Broadway, rising to prominence for his portrayal of Melchior Gabor in the original production of '' Spring Awakening'' (2006-2008), for which h ...

in the original Broadway production of ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

'' on April 11, 2016. O'Malley ended his run on January 16, 2017, performing the role on the national tour, following his nine-month tenure on Broadway.

Podcasts

O’Malley is the creator and host of the podcast ''Living the Dream with Rory O’Malley'', where he talks to fellow industry people about the reality of being an actor. He created it after joining the cast of ''

'' and realizing that young fans of the show were seeing an unrealistic and cultivated depiction of the life of a Broadway actor. The podcast is currently on an indefinite hold, but O’Malley has expressed plans to resume making it. O’Malley is also the host of The Geffen Playhouse's ''Unscripted''.

Charity work

O'Malley is an active supporter of

, establishing the activism group Broadway Impact in 2009 with Gavin Creel and Jenny Kanelos. O'Malley said of the group in late 2010: "Since its first year, Broadway Impact has held massive rallies for equality in New York City, made thousands of calls through phone banks and even organized 25 buses to Washington, D.C. so that 1,400 people could attend the

National Equality March The National Equality March was a national political rally that occurred October 11, 2009 in Washington, D.C. It called for equal protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 ...

for free. This year we were honored to receive the 2010 Human Rights Campaign Community Award and even participated in the ING New York City Marathon as a charity team. Our team of 12 runners, including myself, raised $38,440 for Broadway Impact!" On August 15, 2010, O'Malley performed in the benefit concert ''Sing for the Cure'', at Don't Tell Mama in New York City. He was also featured in a Broadway Impact fundraiser on November 2, 2010, hosted by

Gavin Creel Gavin James Creel (born April 18, 1976) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter best known for his work in musical theater. Creel made his Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in 2002 in the leading role of Jimmy in ''Thoroughly Modern Millie ( ...

. Another concert, also benefiting Broadway Impact, had been held prior to that, taking place on July 25, 2010. He also participated in the ''Broadway Sings for Pride'' concert in June 2011. On July 9, 2011, O'Malley joined

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and children's book author. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo co ...

and others in the 2011

Broadway Barks Broadway Barks is an annual animal charity event held in New York City to promote the adoption of shelter animals. Founded by Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore, the event has been held every July in Shubert Alley, starting in 1999. Performers, ...

adopt-a-thon. That same year, O'Malley was named a Givenik Ambassador. In 2012, O'Malley and his spouse Gerold Schroeder were featured in a GAP ad, cheek to cheek, with the caption "BE ONE." In October 2020, O'Malley joined many other Broadway stars in a virtual voter education and letter-writing party sponsored by

VoteRiders VoteRiders is an American non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to ensure that all US citizens over 18 years old are able to exercise their right to vote. Through resources and media exposure, one of its main focuses is ...

to raise awareness about voter ID requirements.

Personal life

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

man, O'Malley

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

at the age of 19. On July 21, 2013, O'Malley announced his engagement to boyfriend Gerold Schroeder via

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

, and they married on September 28, 2014. Gerold Schroeder is one of three sons of Peter Schroeder, a partner in the law firm Norris Choplin Schroeder in Indianapolis, Indiana. Via posts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, O'Malley announced on November 22, 2018, that "after more than two years of paperwork, home studies, joy, heartache, and grace" he and husband Gerold Schroeder had adopted a newborn baby boy. Jimmy's adoption was finalized on September 7, 2019.

Filmography

Theatre credits

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Omalley, Rory 1980 births Living people Male actors from Cleveland American male musical theatre actors Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni American gay actors LGBT rights activists from the United States LGBT people from Ohio American people of Irish descent