Biography
A renowned veteran of both stage and screen, actor Nathan Lane established himself both off-Broadway and on the Great White Way as a multi-talented performer capable of essaying roles in comedies, dramas and musicals. Following a breakthrough performance opposite the great George C. Scott in "Present Laughter" (1982), Lane became known after touring in Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound" (1987). As a result, he began making strides in television and …
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Nathan Lane SlideShow
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Career Milestones
| Changed first name from Joe to Nathan after portraying Nathan Detroit in a NYC production of "Guys and Dolls" | ||
| Skipped college to pursue an acting career in NYC | ||
1976 | Professional acting debut in the play "Jerz" | |
1980 | Moved to Los Angeles with friend Patrick Stack; formed the comedy team Stack and Lane | |
1981 | Made TV acting debut in Jacqueline Susann's "Valley of the Dolls" (CBS) | |
1982 | Broadway debut in a revival of Noel Coward's "Present Laughter" | |
1982 | Moved back to NYC | |
1982 | TV series debut as a regular on NBC's "One of the Boys," starring Mickey Rooney and Dana Carvey | |
1983 | Made second Broadway appearance as the dimwitted Prince Fergus in the musical "Merlin" | |
1987 | Feature acting debut, "Ironweed" starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep | |
1987 | Played Stanley in the national tour of Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound" | |
1988 | Starred in Jon Robin Baitz's play "The Film Society" as a mild-mannered yet ruthless South African schoolteacher | |
1989 | First big stage hit, playing a gay Maria Callas obsessive in Terrence McNally's "The Lisbon Traviata" | |
1990 | Acted in revival of Terrence McNally's "Bad Habits" | |
1991 | Acted in the film adaptation of McNally's play "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune"; McNally wrote the part of Michelle Pfeiffer's gay neighbor specifically for him | |
1991 | Portrayed Death in the Broadway revival of "On Borrowed Time" | |
1991 | Re-teamed with McNally for the off-Broadway hit "Lips Together, Teeth Apart" | |
1992 | Starred as Nathan Detroit in the Broadway revival of "Guys and Dolls"; earned a Tony nomination for Lead Actor; first stage teaming with Ernie Sabella (who played Harry the Horse) | |
1993 | Had a cameo role in "Addams Family Values" | |
1993 | Portrayed Sid Caesar-like Max Prince on Broadway in Neil Simon's "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" | |
1994 | Offered an excellent turn as a caustic witted gay man coping with HIV and looking for love in McNally's Tony-winning "Love! Valour! Compassion!"; became estranged from McNally when he dropped out of the film version citing "scheduling conflicts" | |
1994 | Provided character voice for Timon the meerkat in Disney's "The Lion King" | |
1995 | Had hilarious cameo as a musical comedy loving priest in "Jeffrey" | |
1995 | Played the Cowardly Lion in the TNT production of "The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Comes True" | |
1995 | Reprised vocals for Timon on the CBS animated series "The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa"; also voiced Timon for the straight-to-video "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride" (1998) | |
1996 | First starring role, "The Birdcage"; cast as Albert in Mike Nichols' U.S. adaptation of "La cage aux folles" (1978) | |
1996 | Returned to Broadway as lead in revival of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" | |
1997 | Starred as one of a pair of brothers who become the hapless victims of a rodent in "Mouse Hunt" | |
1998 | Cast as an opera singer who returns to his family's California winery on the NBC sitcom "Encore! Encore!" | |
1998 | Featured in Jon Robin Baitz's off-Broadway play "Mizlansky/Zilinsky, or the Schmucks" | |
1999 | Officially "came out" as a homosexual in interview with Bruce Villanch in The Advocate | |
1999 | Voiced Snowbell, the fluffy white Persian cat in the commercial blockbuster "Stuart Little" | |
2000 | Co-starred with Bette Midler in "Isn't She Great," a biopic of author Jacqueline Susann scripted by Paul Rudnick | |
2000 | Portrayed the clown Costard in Kenneth Brannagh's film version of "Love's Labour's Lost" | |
2000 | Provided the voice of Spot, a talking canine on the animated Disney series "Teacher's Pet" (ABC) | |
2000 | Starred in the Roundabout revival of "The Man Who Came to Dinner" | |
2001 | Reprised role of Max Prince in the Showtime airing of Neil Simon's "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" | |
2001 | Starred alongside Matthew Broderick in the stage musical adaptation of "The Producers"; played the role of Max Bialystock (originated in the film by Zero Mostel); picked up second Tony Award | |
2002 | Reprised the voice of the cat Snowbell in the sequel "Stuart Little 2" | |
2003 | Revisied his role as Max Bialystock on Broadway in "The Producers" | |
2004 | Again voiced Spot in "Disney's Teacher's Pet: The Movie" | |
2004 | Portrayed the title character's (Josh Duhamel) agent Richard Levy in "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton" | |
2005 | Re-teamed with Broderick to play Oscar and Felix in the Broadway revival of "The Odd Couple"; directed by Joe Mantello | |
2005 | Reprised the role of Max Bialystock in the film version of "The Producers"; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor | |
2006 | Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (January) | |
2006 | Starred on Broadway in the title role of Simon Gray's "Butley" | |
2007 | Cast as an incumbent U.S. President in the Broadway production of David Mamet's "November" | |
2008 | Played a Democratic campaign manager in the comedy "Swing Vote" | |
2009 | Co-starred in Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway revival of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" | |
2009 | Voiced the greedy ring master Ham Egg in the animated feature "Astro Boy" | |
2010 | Co-starred with Bebe Neuwirth in "The Addams Family" at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre | |
2010 | Guest starred on ABC's "Modern Family" as the flamboyant friend "Pepper Saltzman" | |
2012 | Appeared in the fantasy comedy "Mirror Mirror," starring Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen and Lily Collins as Snow White | |
Awards
1995 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor In a Comedy Series in Frasier |
1996 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical in The Birdcage |
1996 | Tony Award for Actor (Musical) |
1997 | MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo in The Birdcage |
1997 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture in The Birdcage |
1997 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in The Birdcage |
1998 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor In a Comedy Series in Mad About You |
2001 | Tony Award for Actor (Musical) |
2005 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical in The Producers |
2011 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor In a Comedy Series in Modern Family |