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Will Chase

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Will Chase
Chase backstage at Something Rotten! in 2016 (photo by Deb Lopez)
Born
Frank William Chase

(1970-09-12) September 12, 1970 (age 54)
EducationOberlin College (BM)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • singer
Years active1998–present
Spouses
  • Lori Davis
    (m. 1998; div. 2008)
  • Stephanie Gibson
    (m. 2009; div. 2012)
Partner(s)Debra Messing (2011–2014)
Ingrid Michaelson (2015–present)
Children2
Websitewill-chase.com

Frank William Chase (born September 12, 1970) is an American actor, director, and singer, best known for his work on Broadway and for his role as country superstar Luke Wheeler on ABC's Nashville.

Early life and education

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Chase was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, to Betty and Jerry Chase, and is the youngest of three sons. He graduated from Western Hills High School and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied conducting with Robert Spano and percussion with Michael Rosen.[1][2]

Career

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Chase started his acting career in Chicago, performing in regional theater productions and received three Joseph Jefferson Award nominations. He then played Chris in the 2nd National Tour of Miss Saigon. He first performed on Broadway in 1998 as the Squeegee Man and Mark/Roger understudy in Rent, and went on to star as Roger in the final Broadway company of Rent, which was recorded for the theatrical release entitled Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway.[3][4] His additional Broadway credits in the early 2000s include Miss Saigon (with the original star Lea Salonga playing Kim to close the Broadway production); The Full Monty (2001); Aida (Radames replacement, 2003–04); and Lennon (2005). Tony in Billy Elliot the Musical.[5] He was also in A Little Princess the Musical as Captain Crewe. In 2005, he played Neville Craven in the 2005 World AIDS Day The Secret Garden concert.[6]

In 2006, he starred in High Fidelity on Broadway, and played Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, for which he received a nomination for the 2009 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor.[7]

He appeared in The Pajama Game opposite Kate Baldwin at The Muny (St. Louis) in July 2007.[8] He starred in Oklahoma in 2007 at the Lyric Theatre opposite Kelli O'Hara, and on Broadway in the short-lived musical The Story of My Life in 2009.[9] Starting in 2009, Chase played the role of Tony in Billy Elliot the Musical[10] until 2011. In August 2012, he temporarily filled in for Matthew Broderick as Jimmy Winter in the Broadway musical, Nice Work If You Can Get It.[11]

At the 2013 Tony Awards, he was nominated for Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as John Jasper/Mr. Clive Paget in the Broadway revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.[12]

Chase guest starred as Michael Swift in the NBC series Smash.[13] He then went on to star for 3 seasons as country superstar Luke Wheeler on the television series Nashville. His other television appearances include Quantico, HBO's The Deuce, the recurring role of Pat Mahoney on Rescue Me, Cupid, Canterbury's Law, Law & Order, Third Watch, Conviction, and Queens Supreme, Hallmark's The Lost Valentine, alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt and Betty White; the 2011 season finale of Royal Pains (USA); Blue Bloods (CBS); and the ABC drama Pan Am. In 2012, he appeared on the series White Collar, in the episode "Neighborhood Watch", and appeared on the series Unforgettable, in the episode "The Comeback".

He played the title role in the 2013 film Butterflies of Bill Baker, winning Best Actor at the 2013 Chain Film Festival.[14] Chase also voiced the wolf Angee in A Warrior's Tail (2016).[15]

In 2016, Chase assumed the role of William Shakespeare from Christian Borle on Broadway in the musical Something Rotten!,[16] while simultaneously filming both HBO's The Deuce, and the ABC drama Time After Time, in the series regular role of Griffin Monroe.[17][18]

He played abusive father Neil Hargrove in the second season of the American supernatural horror-science fiction television series, Stranger Things, which premiered in late 2017, and in 2018 appeared in HBO's drama Sharp Objects as Bob Nash.[19][20]

He starred as Fred Graham/Petruchio opposite Kelli O'Hara in the 2019 Broadway revival of Kiss Me, Kate.[21]

In 2020 and 2021, he wrote and directed the award- winning short film Dagger, co-starring Jack Davenport, and Trunk Show, which featured his children, actors Daisy and Gracie Chase, winning Best Short Film at the 2021 Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival.[22] Also in 2021, he played Michael Friedman in Danny Strong’s Pulitzer Prize-winning series Dopesick.[23]

In 2022, he played Kurt Dockweiler in the first season of Bosch: Legacy. That same year he finished production on Apple TV's The Crowded Room, starring alongside Tom Holland and Emmy Rossum which premiered in June of 2023. [24]

In 2024, Chase directed the feature documentary Coming Home: The Guggenheim Grotto Back In Ireland and Mick Lynch's one-man show An Irish Goodbye at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park. [25] In 2025 he will direct the musical short film Here, Bullet, which he co-wrote with composer Kurt Erickson, based on Erickson's prize-winning song cycle of the same name, which was adapted from the original anthology of 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award-winning poems, "Here, Bullet", by renowned American poet Brian Turner.[26]

Personal life

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Chase has two children, actors Daisy and Gracie Chase, with the late Lori Davis, to whom he was married from 1996 to 2008.[27] He was married to actress Stephanie Gibson from 2009[28] until their divorce in 2012.

He and Debra Messing dated from 2011 to 2014.[29][30]

Chase has been in a relationship with musician Ingrid Michaelson since 2015.[31]

Filmography

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Actor

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Year Title Role Notes
2000 Shaft Walter's Friend Film
2001 Fling (FOX network, created by Glenn Gordon Caron) Dan Fields Episode: #1.2 "In Genes We Trust"
2002 Guiding Light Store Manager Episode dated August 14, 2002
2002 Third Watch Reilly Episode: #4.8 "Ladies' Day"
2003 Queens Supreme ADA Pheiffer Episode: #1.1 "One Angry Man"
2003 Law & Order David Episode: #13.11 "Chosen"
2004 Everyday People Dad (uncredited) HBO Film
2004 Law & Order Mellors' Co-Owner Episode: #14.18 "Evil Breeds"
2006 Conviction Detective Dave Lamanski Episode: #1.4 "Indebted"
2006 As the World Turns Dr. Linn Episode dated May 1, 2006
Episode dated May 3, 2006
2006 All My Children A.D.A. Phillips Episode #1.9395
2008 Law & Order Derek Cahill Episode: #18.4 "Bottomless"
2008 Canterbury's Law Artie Flom Episode: #1.3 "What Goes Around"
2008 Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway Roger Davis Film
2009 Four Single Fathers Lance Film
2009 Cupid Peter Episode: #1.6 "Left of the Dial"
2009 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Jacob Garrety Episode: #8.15 "Passion"
2009 One Life to Live Dr. Jason Nance Episode: #1.10564 "Sing Along with Mitch"
Episode: #1.10565 "The Greenhouse Effect"
Episode: #1.10566 "Angel of Death"
Episode: #1.10567 "Dads Gone Wild"
2009–2010 Rescue Me Pat Mahoney Episode: #5.5 "Sheila"
Episode: #6.4 "Breakout"
Episode: #6.6 "Sanctuary"
Episode: #6.8 "Cowboy"
2011 The Lost Valentine Andrew Hawthorne TV film
2011 Royal Pains Benjamin Richards Episode: #2.18 "Listen to the Music"
2011 Pan Am John Stanton Episode: #1.1 "Pilot"
2011 Blue Bloods William Flood Episode: #2.3 "Critical Condition"
2012 White Collar Connor Bailey Episode: #3.13 "Neighborhood Watch"
2012 Unforgettable Reed Benedict Episode: #1.18 "The Comeback"
2012–2013 Smash Michael Swift 10 episodes;
Recurring role (season 1)
2013 Necessary Roughness David Blaze Episode: #2.13 "Hits and Myths"
2013 It Could Be Worse Pervy Episode: #1.6 "Him, I want Him"
2013 Butterflies of Bill Baker Bill Baker
(Best Actor-Chain Film Festival)
Film
2013 The Ordained Gavin TV film
2013–2014 The Good Wife Detective Doug Young Episode: #4.18 "Death of a Client"
Episode: #5.16 "The Last Call"
2013–2017 Nashville Luke Wheeler/Himself 57 episodes;
Recurring role (season 2)
Main role (Seasons 3–4)
Guest role (Seasons 5–6)
2015 For Real Blaine Film
2015 A Warrior's Tail Anga (English version, voice) Film
2017 Time After Time Griffin Monroe 12 episodes;
Main role
2017 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Byron Marks Episode: #19.1 "Gone Fishin'"
2017 The Deuce Jack Episode: #1.4 "I See Money"
Episode: #1.5 "What Kind of Bad?"
2017
2019
Stranger Things Neil Hargrove Episode: #2.8 "Chapter Eight: The Mind Flayer"
Episode: #3.6 "Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum"
2018 American Crime Story Detective Paul Scrimshaw Episode: #2.1 "The Man Who Would Be Vogue"
Episode: #2.2 "Manhunt"
Episode: #2.9 "Alone"
2018 E-Bowla Big Thumper Short Film
2018 Quantico Frank Marlow Episode: #3.6 "Heaven's Fall"
Episode: #3.9 "Fear Feargach"
2018 Sharp Objects Bob Nash 5 episodes;
Main role (Mini-Series)
2018–2019 Madam Secretary Owen Callister Episode: #5.4 "Requiem"
Episode: #5.18 "Ready"
Episode: #5.19 "The Great Experience"
Episode: #5.20 "Better Angels"
2018–2019 Impulse Simon 6 episodes;
Recurring Role
2019 The Village John Episode: #1.1 "Pilot"
2019 FBI (TV series) Det Harry Bloom Episode: #2.10 "Ties That Bind"
2019 After the Wedding Frank Film
2020 The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show Grizzled Music Man Episode: #1.1
2021 Dopesick Michael Friedman 8 episodes;
Main role (Mini-series)
2021 Girls5eva Stet Episode: #1.8 "Separ8 Ways"
2021 Dagger Tom Short Film
2022 Bosch: Legacy Kurt Dockweiler Episode: #1.9 "Cat Got a Name?"
Episode: #1.10 "Always/All Ways"
2023 The Crowded Room Marlin Reid 10 episodes;
Main role (Mini-series)
Key
Denotes works that have not yet been released

Director

[edit]
Year Title Notes
2020 Tigers and Young men Music video
2021 Dagger Short film
(Best Score-Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival)
2021 I'm Right Here Short film
2021 Trunk Show Short film
(Best Short Film-Ridgewood International Film Festival)
2021 Today Segment Director
2022 Lawrence of Arabia Music Video
2024 Coming Home: The Guggenheim Grotto Back In Ireland Documentary
2025 Here, Bullet [32] Short film; Pre-production
2025 Fool [33] Short film

Theatre credits

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1996–1998 Miss Saigon Chris Scott US National Tour
1998 Rent Steve / Ensemble
u/s Roger Davis
u/s Mark Cohen
Broadway
1998–2000 Miss Saigon Chris Scott Broadway
2000–2001 Cultural Center of the Philippines
2001–2002 The Full Monty Jerry Lukowski Broadway
2003 Aida Radames Broadway
2004 Lennon John Broadway
2005 The Secret Garden Dr. Neville Craven Manhattan Center
2005–2006 Rent Roger Davis Broadway
2006 High Fidelity Rob Broadway
2008 Kiss of the Spider Woman Valentin Signature Theatre
(Helen Hayes Award Nomination)
Rent Roger Davis Broadway
2009 The Story of My Life Tom Broadway
2009–2011 Billy Elliot the Musical Tony Broadway
2010 Bells Are Ringing (musical) Jeffrey Moss Encores!
2012 Nice Work If You Can Get It Jimmy Winter Broadway
2012–2013 The Mystery of Edwin Drood John Jasper / Mr. Clive Paget Broadway
(Tony Award, Outer Critics Award Nominations)
2015 The Music Man Harold Hill Cincinnati Music Hall
2016 Something Rotten! William Shakespeare / The Bard Broadway
2019 Kiss Me, Kate Fred Graham / Petruchio Broadway
2024 Once Upon A Mattress Sir Harry Broadway

Awards and nominations

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Tony Awards

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Year Category Nominated work Result
2013 Best Featured Actor in a Musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood Nominated

Other awards

[edit]
Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2008 Helen Hayes Award Outstanding Lead Actor Kiss of the Spider Woman Nominated
2013 Chain NYC Film Festival Best Actor Butterflies of Bill Baker Won
2013 Outer Critics Circle Awards Best Featured Actor in a Musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood Nominated
2021 Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival Best Short Film Trunk Show
(written and directed by Will Chase)
Won

References

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  1. ^ Feldman, Ed. "Spotlight on Will Chase". Talkin' Broadway. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  2. ^ BWW News Desk (January 8, 2009). "The Story of My Life". broadwayworld.com.
  3. ^ "Rent". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  4. ^ Jones, Kenneth (February 3, 2009). ""Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway" Appears on DVD and Blu-Ray Feb. 3". Playbill.
  5. ^ "Will Chase". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  6. ^ Gans, Andrew; Jones, Kenneth (November 11, 2005). "Chase, Pasquale, Cavenaugh and More Join All-Star Secret Garden Benefit Concert". Playbill.
  7. ^ "Will Chase is Valentin in Signature's 'Spider Woman' with Di". BroadwayWorld.com. January 26, 2008.
  8. ^ Gans, Andrew (July 23, 2007). "Chase and Baldwin Play The Pajama Game at the Muny Beginning July 23". Playbill.
  9. ^ "The Story of My Life". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  10. ^ "Will Chase". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  11. ^ Hall, Margaret (July 30, 2012). "Will Chase Will Dance Into Nice Work If You Can Get It During Matthew Broderick's Vacation". Playbill.
  12. ^ Drood Playbill (vault). Retrieved July 24, 2019
  13. ^ "Will Chase Joins the Cast of SMASH on NBC". Broadway World. August 29, 2011.
  14. ^ "Butterflies of Bill Baker". IMDb. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  15. ^ "Savva. Heart of the Warrior". IMDb. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  16. ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Christian Borle Sets 'Something Rotten!' Departure" Playbill, June 23, 2016
  17. ^ "Will Chase Joins 'The Deuce' HBO Drama Series". July 26, 2016.
  18. ^ "Nashville: Will Chase Staying on ABC—on Time After Time". August 19, 2016.
  19. ^ " Sharp Objects Cast and Crew" hbo.com. Retrieved July 24, 2019
  20. ^ "Stranger Things Season 2: Nashville Vet Will Chase Joins Cast as [Spoiler]". May 3, 2017.
  21. ^ Clement, Olivia. "Kelli O'Hara to Return to Broadway in Kiss Me, Kate", Playbill, November 6, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2018
  22. ^ "Will Chase". IMDb.
  23. ^ Pederson, Erik (January 28, 2021). "'Dopesick': Jaime Ray Newman, Andrea Frankle & Will Chase To Recur On Hulu's Limited Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  24. ^ Flam, Charna; Franklin, McKinley; Scorziello, Sophia (April 7, 2023). "'The Crowded Room': First Look at Tom Holland and Amanda Seyfried in Apple TV+ Limited Series (TV News Roundup)". Variety. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  25. ^ "Mick Lynch An Irish Goodbye at Kaatsbaan". Dutchess Tourism.
  26. ^ "News".
  27. ^ Miller, Lynn (January 10, 2014). "Stars of Broadway Align for Theatrical Benefit at South". West Windsor & Plainsboro News.
  28. ^ "Weddings. Stephanie Gibson, Will Chase" The New York Times, November 14, 2009
  29. ^ Lee, Esther; Brown, Brody. "Debra Messing and Will Chase Split After Nearly Two-and-a-Half Years of Dating" US Magazine, October 27, 2014
  30. ^ Saad, Nadine. "Debra Messing and Will Chase split up after sparking during 'Smash'" Los Angeles Times, October 27, 2014
  31. ^ "Ingrid Michaelson Dating Will Chase Following Split: Photo". Us Weekly. July 7, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  32. ^ "News".
  33. ^ "Fool". IMDb.
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