James Monroe Iglehart

This article is about the stage actor James Monroe Iglehart. For the film actor, see James Iglehart.

James Monroe Iglehart (born September 4, 1974)^[1][3] is an American actor and comic book writer. He is perhaps best known for his Tony Award-winning performance as the Genie in the original Broadway production of Aladdin. Iglehart assumed the role of Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson in the Broadway company of Hamilton in April 2017. He originated the role of King Arthur in the 2023 Broadway revival of Spamalot. He can be heard as super producer Steve Jones in As The Curtain Rises, Broadway's first original podcast soap opera. More recently, Iglehart joined the cast of the animated webseries Helluva Boss, as both the Demon Lord of Lust Asmodeus/Ozzy and hellhound bodyguard Vortex, and Hazbin Hotel, as Zestial, as well having written for Marvel Comics, primarily one-shots featuring Spider-Man.^[4]

James Monroe Iglehart
Iglehart holding his Tony Award to announce the 74th Tony Awards nominations in 2020
Born	(1974-09-04) September 4, 1974 (age 49) Hayward, California, U.S.^[1]
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2003–present
Spouse	Dawn Phelps ​ (m. 2002)​ ^[2]

Early life

Iglehart was born in Hayward, California on September 4, 1974.^[1]

Career

Iglehart attended Cal State Hayward and started his career in California, performing in Bat Boy at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto and as Teen Angel in Grease at the American Musical Theatre in San Jose.^[5]

In 2005, he directed Bat Boy: The Musical at Ray of Light Theatre.^[6] He has played Mitch Mahoney in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on Broadway as a replacement starting in April 2007.^[7][8] He originated the role of Bobby in Memphis on Broadway in October 2009.

Iglehart performed the role of the Genie in Aladdin on Broadway, a performance for which he won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical^[9] and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for this role. When asked about the role, he said, "It's not as exhausting as you think. I'm kind of an energetic guy in general, so basically I'm kind of being me with the volume turned up."^[10] Iglehart departed the company of Aladdin in February 2017 to begin rehearsals in the role of Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson in the Broadway company of Hamilton. He also performed in Freestyle Love Supreme on Broadway.^[11]

Iglehart guest starred in four episodes of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as Coriolanus Burt, the rival of male protagonist Titus Andromedon.

Iglehart voices Vortex and Asmodeus in Helluva Boss, Lance Strongbow in Tangled: The Series, Captain James Hook in Cheshire Crossing by Andy Weir, Bronzino in Elena of Avalor, Oscar in Vampirina and Taurus Bulba in DuckTales.^[12][13][14]

In January 2022, Iglehart took over the role of Billy Flynn in Chicago.^[15] In May 2023 he starred as King Arthur in Spamalot at the Kennedy Center. In November of that year the show transferred to Broadway where he reprised his role.^[16]

In October 2023, Iglehart assumed the title role of A Wonderful World, a new musical based on the life of Louis Armstrong in its pre-Broadway New Orleans and Chicago engagements. In February 2024, it was announced the show will be transferring to Broadway with Iglehart in the lead role.^[17][18]

Personal life

He was raised in Hayward, California, with his brother. His mother is a former high school choir teacher. His father James Iglehart is a former minor league baseball player and actor.^[19][20][21] He met his wife Dawn in the Mt. Eden High School show choir^[3][5] and they married in 2002.

Filmography

Film

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Memphis the Musical	Bobby
	We Are the Hartmans	Eustace
2015	Broadway Draft 2015	Anchor	Short film
2016	Landed	TSA Agent
	Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz	Calvin Carney, Jitterbug	Voice, direct-to-video
2017	Three Christs	Benny
2022	Disenchanted	Weary Businessman	Cameo
2023	Wish	John the bear	Voice, uncredited

Television

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes
2010	The Good Wife	Geo	Episode: "Doubt"
2012	Great Performances	Bobby	Episode: "Memphis"
	Submissions Only	Wilson Jones	Episode: "Woof!"
	Smash	Assistant	Episode: "Hell on Earth"
2015	Gotham	Ringmaster	Episode: "The Blind Fortune Teller"
2015–2019	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	Coriolanus Burt	4 episodes
2016–2018	Nature Cat	Michael Bluejay	Voice, 4 episodes
2017	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Shawn Tompkins	Episode: "Intent"
2017–2020	Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure	Lance Strongbow	Voice, 38 episodes
2018	Cady Did	Orrin Hackett
	Elementary	Detective Mason	Episode: "Pushing Buttons"
	Maniac	Carl	Miniseries, 8 episodes
2018–2019	Our Cartoon President	End credits vocals, End credits vocalist, Gospel Singers	Voice, 12 episodes
2019	At Home with Amy Sedaris	Darius Von Hassock	Episode: "Makeover"
	Anthem: Homunculus	Ronnie Castro	Episode: "The End of Love"
	Hazbin Hotel	Bar Patron	Voice, episode: "Pilot"
2020	Perfect Harmony	Keith	Episode: "Regionals"
	Elena of Avalor	Bronzino	Voice, 2 episodes
	The Disney Family Singalong	Himself	Television special
	Vampirina	Oscar	Voice, episode: "Bust Friends"
	DuckTales	Taurus Bulba	Voice, episode: "Let's Get Dangerous!"
	Biggest Little Christmas Showdown	Host
2021–present	Helluva Boss	Vortex, Asmodeus	Voice, 5 episodes
2022	The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo: Game Edition	Himself	Episode: "Isaiah Russell-Bailey & James Monroe Iglehart"
	The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel	Charlie	3 episodes
	Girls5eva	Nathan Reasel	Episode: "Album Mode"
	Santiago of the Seas	Martín	Voice, episode: "Fincernera"
	Alice's Wonderland Bakery	Oliver the Onion	Voice, episode: "A Special Blend"
	Bubble Guppies	Cyclops	Voice, episode: "Bubble Medics to the Rescue!"
	Blue's Clues & You!	Jack O' Lantern	Voice, episode: "The Legend of the Jack O' Lantern"
2023	SuperKitties	Mr. Puppypaws	Voice, Recurring role
	Kiff	Martin Chatterley	Voice, 4 episodes
2024	Hazbin Hotel	Zestial^[22]	Voice, Recurring role Songs: "Respectless" and "Whatever It Takes"

Video games

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Virtua Cop 3	Chief Inspector	^[23]
	Silent Line: Armored Core	Additional voices	^[24]

Stage credits

Year(s)	Production	Role	Location	Category
2006	The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee	Mitch Mahoney	Wilbur Theatre	Regional
2007–2008			Circle in the Square Theatre	Broadway
2009	The Wiz	The Lion	New York City Center Encores!	Off-Broadway
2009–2011	Memphis	Bobby	Shubert Theatre	Broadway
2011	Aladdin	The Genie	5th Avenue Theatre	Regional
2013–2014			Ed Mirvish Theatre
2014–2017			New Amsterdam Theatre	Broadway
2017–2019	Hamilton	Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson	Richard Rodgers Theatre
2019	Hercules	Phil	Delacorte Theater	Central Park
2019-2020	Hamilton	Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson	Richard Rodgers Theatre	Broadway
2020	The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert	Oogie Boogie	-	Virtual concert
2021	Hamilton	Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson	Richard Rodgers Theatre	Broadway
2022	Chicago	Billy Flynn	Ambassador Theatre
	Guys and Dolls	Nathan Detroit	Kennedy Center	Regional
2023	Hercules	Phil	Paper Mill Playhouse
	Spamalot	King Arthur	Kennedy Center
	A Wonderful World	Louis Armstrong	Saenger Theatre
			Cadillac Palace Theatre
	Gutenberg! The Musical!	The Producer (One night only)	James Earl Jones Theatre	Broadway
2023-2024	Spamalot	King Arthur	St. James Theatre
2024	A Wonderful World	Louis Armstrong	Studio 54

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2014	Tony Awards	Best Featured Actor in a Musical	Aladdin	Won
	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical		Won
	Broadway.com Audience Choice Award	Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical		Nominated
		Favorite Diva Performance		Nominated
		Favorite Funny Performance		Nominated
2015	Grammy Awards^[25]	Best Musical Theater Album		Nominated
2023	Children's and Family Emmy Awards	Outstanding Voice Performance in a Preschool Animated Program	SuperKitties	Nominated

References

1. "James Monroe Iglehart: Performer". Playbill. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
2. "10 Things You May Not Know: James Monroe Iglehart of 'Aladdin'". New York Shows. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
3. "Igleharts Wish Granted" nypost.com, March 9, 2014
4. "As the Curtain Rises – Broadway's First Digital Soap Opera | Broadway Podcast Network". October 17, 2020.
5. Blank, Matthew. "The Genie of Broadways Aladdin James Monroe Iglehart" playbill.com, March 18, 2014
6. "James Monroe Iglehart Nominated for a Tony" rayoflighttheatre.com
7. "James Monroe Iglehart" broadwayworld.com
8. "James Monroe Iglehart" Internet Broadway Database
9. Staff. Just the Winners, Please: Who Won the 68th Annual Tony Awards" playbill.com, June 8, 2014
10. Ng, David (May 21, 2014). "James Monroe Iglehart releases the genie inside". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
11. "Freestyle Love Supreme". broadway.com. 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
12. DJangi, Taraneh (July 12, 2019). "Meet the Cast: Cheshire Crossing". Penguin Random House Audio.
13. "Listen to the Audiobook for Andy Weir's Cheshire Crossing, About the Continued Adventures of Alice, Dorothy, and Wendy". The Mary Sue. August 15, 2019.
14. "Stephanie Beatriz and James Monroe Iglehart Drop by 'DuckTales' Darkwing Episode: First Look (Exclusive)". ETonline. October 6, 2020.
15. Wild, Stephi. "James Monroe Iglehart Will Join the Cast of CHICAGO on Broadway". Broadway World. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
16. Spamalot Will Not Succeed on Broadway, Again
17. "A Wonderful World".
18. Gans, Andrew (July 12, 2023). "Cast Complete for A Wonderful World Musical Starring James Monroe Iglehart; Vanessa Williams Joins Producing Team". Playbill.com. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
19. Geek.com, November 6, 2019 - MOVIES, 11 Forgotten Blaxploitation Classics That Deserve Your Time,← Savage! By K. Thor Jensen September 1, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
20. The Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2014 - Entertainment & Arts, James Monroe Iglehart releases the genie inside By David Ng
21. Showtickets.com, June 2, 2016 - 10 Things You May Not Know: James Monroe Iglehart of ‘Aladdin’ Category Broadway |by Karu Daniels
22. Mullinax, Hope (December 28, 2023). "Broadway Superstars Check Into 'Hazbin Hotel' to Complete the Ensemble Cast [Exclusive]". Collider. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
23. "James Monroe Iglehart (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
24. FromSoftware. Silent Line: Armored Core. Agetec. Scene: Ending credits, 2:46:43 in, Voice Talent.
25. "James Monroe Iglehart". The Recording Academy. Retrieved November 29, 2023.

External links

  Media related to James Monroe Iglehart at Wikimedia Commons

• James Monroe Iglehart at IMDb
• James Monroe Iglehart at the Internet Broadway Database  
• James Monroe Iglehart at Playbill Vault ()