Nathan Lane

Born in New Jersey in 1956, Nathan Lane is an established stage, television and film actor. Despite receiving a drama scholarship from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, he decided to move to New York City where he changed his name to Nathan after the Guys and Dolls character. He began his career in productions at the Roundabout Theatre Club and Manhattan Theatre Club, later making his Broadway debut in Present Laughter in 1982. 

Notable Broadway performances include his appearance in the 1991 revival of Paul Osborne’s On Borrowed Time at the Circle in the Square Theatre, his performance as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls and as Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He also starred in the original Broadway production of The Producers as Max Bialystock in 2001. 

Lane made his West End debut in London revival of The Producers alongside Lee Evans in 2004, replacing Richard Dreyfuss a week before previews at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Lane also reprised the role in the 2005 film adaptation, alongside Matthew Broderick. Lane has also played Gomez in The Addams Family, and starred in Angels in America at the National Theatre in 2017 alongside Denise Gough, Russell Tovey and Andrew Garfield.

More recently Lane starred as Gomez in the musical adaptation of The Addams Family on Broadway, as Hickey in The Iceman Cometh at the Goodman Theatre in 2012, a production which won six Jeff Awards and rave reviews; this role was reprised in 2015 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Outside the theatre, Lane is well known for his voice role of Timon in the film The Lion King and a recurring role on Modern Family.