Matthew Morrison Biography

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

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

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 April 28, 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. On June 4, 2013, Morrison released second studio album, Where It All Began. It was released through Maroon 5's lead singer Adam Levine's own record label, 222 Records.

Personal life

Morrison became engaged to actress Chrishell Stause on December 9, 2006. Their relationship ended in 2007, less than a year into the engagement. In 2011, Morrison began dating Renee Puente. On June 27th, 2013, Elton John helped Morrison to announce that Morrison and Puente were engaged. Morrison is a Liverpool FC fan.

Awards and nominations

• 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)

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		US	AUS	UK
Matthew Morrison	Release date: May 10, 2011 Label: Mercury Records Formats: CD, music download	24	61	63
Where It All Began	Release date: June 4, 2013 Label: 222 Records Formats: CD, music download	95	"?	163
""?" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions			Album
		US AC	CAN	UK
2011	"Summer Rain"	16	72	"?	Matthew Morrison
	"Still Got Tonight"	"?	"?	182
2013	"It Don't Mean a Thing"	"?	"?	"?	Where it all Began
""?" denotes releases that did not chart

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Bob Rizzo's Simply Funk with Suzanne	[himself]	As Matthew J. Morrison
2003	Marci X	Boyz R Us	As Matthew J. Morrison
2005	Once Upon A Mattress	Sir Harry
2006	Blinders	Scott
2007	Music and Lyrics	Ray
2007	Dan in Real Life	Policeman
2007	I Think I Love My Wife	Salesman #2
2011	The Muppets	Mahna Mahna Host
2012	What to Expect When You're Expecting	Evan

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Sex and the City	Young Busboy	1 episode
2003	Hack	Sam Wagner	1 episode
2006	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Chance Slaughter	1 episode
2006	As the World Turns	Adam Munson(#4)	October 24 " November 27, 2006
2007	Ghost Whisperer	Matt Sembrook	Bad Blood (2007) " 8 episodes
2007	CSI: Miami	Jesse Stark	Bloodline " 1 episode
2008	Numb3rs	Officer Blaine Cleary	Power " 1 episode
2009	Taking Chance	Robert Rouse	television film
2009"present	Glee	Will Schuester	Series regular Satellite Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated-Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy (2009-2010) Nominated-Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated-Satellite Award for Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy Nominated-Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2011-2013) Nominated-People s Choice Award for Favorite Comedy Actor Directed season 3, episode 9, "Extraordinary Merry Christmas"
2011	The Cleveland Show	Will Schuester	Season 2, Episode 11 How Do You Solve a Problem Like Roberta?
2012	Live with Kelly	Himself	Kelly Ripa's co-host on February 21, 2012
2013	Hollywood Game Night	Himself	Episode: "Don't Kill My Buzz-er"