Top 10 Male Actors on Broadway

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5. Nathan Lane


Born Joseph Lane in 1956, Nathan has had a career that spans the total spectrum of the performing arts, from theater to film to television to stand-up comedy and has succeeded at them all. His career began in several off-Broadway productions before he made his Broadway debut in a revival of Present Laughter which earned him a Drama Desk nomination. His other stage performances include Merlin, Guys and Dolls, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, The Lisbon Traviata, Bad Habits, Love! Velour! Compassion!, Dedication, Laughter on the 23^rd Floor, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Wise Guys, The Birdcage, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Producers, The Odd Couple, November and Waiting for Godot. Crossing over to film, Lane appeared in Ironweed, Joe Versus the Volcano, Frankie and Johnny, Addams Family Values, Life with Mike, The Birdcage, The Boys Next Door, Mousehunt, At First Sight, Isn’t She Great, Trixie, Nicholas Nicely, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, The Producers, Swing Vote, The Lion King, Stuart Little, Titan A.E.; as well as televisions in One of the Boys, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Miami Vice, Mad About You, *** and the City, Frasier, Saturday Night Live, The Last Mile, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Absolutely Fabulous and 30 Rock. Nathan Lane has been honored by The Human Rights Campaign, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and The Trevor Project for his humanitarian work.

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4. Zero Mostel


Born Samuel Joel Mostel in 1915, Zero began his career as a comedian in New York nightclubs and on the radio. He made his debut in Keep ‘em Laughing, which he followed with Top-Notchers. Hollywood came calling and he starred in Du Barry was a Lady, Panic in the Streets, The Enforcer, Sirocco, Mr. Bellvadere Rings the Bell, and The Guy Who Came Back. His film career was halted as he was blacklisted for ties with the Communist Party, so he made a triumphant return to the stage in Good as Gold, Ulysses in Nighttown, Rhinocerous, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Fiddler on the Roof. He later made a return to film in Waiting for Godot, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Producers, Great Catherine, The Great Bank Robbery, The Angel Levine, Once Upon a Scoundrel, Marco, Rhinocerous, Fore Play, Journey into Fear, Mastermind, The Front, Hollywood on Trial, Watership Down and Best Boy. He died in 1977 of an aortic aneurysm.

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3. Alfred Drake


Born in 1914, Drake is best known for his baritone voice, exceptional acting and dark brooding magnetism that made him the quintessential leading man of the 40s and 50s.he made his debut in The Gondoliers in 1935. This was followed by The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, White Horse Inn, Babes in Arms, One for the Money, Two for the Show, As You Like It, Oklahoma!, The Cradle Will Rock, Kiss Me, Kate, Joy to the World, The King and I, The Gambler, Kismet (which won him his only Tony award), Kean, Zenda, Lorenzo, Hamlet, Song of the Grasshopper, Gigi and The Skin of Our Teeth. His film and television credits include Naughty Marietta, Hamlet, Tars and Spars and Trading Places. After a long battle with cancer, Alfred Drake died in 1992 of heart failure.

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2. John Cullum


Born in 1930, John began his career as Sir Dinadan and as an understudy for Richard Burton in Camelot. His other stage performances include Infidel Caesar, The Rehearsal, Hamlet, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Man of La Mancha, 1776, Shenandoah, On the Twentieth Century, Deathtrap, Private Lives, Doubles, You Never Can Tell, Aspects of Love, Show Boat, Urinetown, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 110 in the Shade, Cymbeline and August: Osage County. He also made appearances in the films, All the Way home, Hamlet, Hawaii, They Call Me Trinity, 1776, The Prodigal, Marie, Sweet Country, The Secret Life of Algernon, Ricochet River, Held Up, Blackwater Elegy, The Notorious Betty Page and The Night Listener, as well as television roles in The Edge of the Night, The Equilizer, Quantum Leap, Northern Exposure, To Have and To Hold, ER, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Mad Men.

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1. Brian Stokes Mitchell


Born in 1957 in Seattle Washington, Brian is best known for his soulful baritone voice. He began his theater career in San Diego’s Old Globe Theater in a production of Godspell. His Broadway debut came in the form of the critically acclaimed musical, Mail for which he earned the Theater World award for Outstanding Broadway Debut. Mitchell has since been a part of Oh, Kay!, Jelly’s Last Jam, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Ragtime, Kiss Me, Kate (which earned him his only Tony award) King Headley II, Man of La Mancha, Do Re Mi, Carnival, Kismet and Sweeny Todd. He made a move to TV in 1979 in Roots: The Next Generation, which was followed by a seven year stint on Trapper John, M.D. and guest spots on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Frasier and Crossing Jordan as well as a film role in The Prince of Egypt. He also released a self-titled album in 2006.