fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

William Frederick Roland (born March 5, 1989[1][2]) better known as Will Roland is an American actor and singer, best known for originating the role of Jared Kleinman in the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen, for which he received a Grammy and Daytime Emmy Award. On film, he is known for his role in the drama film One Penny. Most recently, he played the lead role of Jeremy Heere in the musical Be More Chill both off-Broadway and on Broadway.[1]

Will Roland
Born	(1989-03-05) March 5, 1989 (age 33) New York City, U.S.
Education	Friends Academy
Alma mater	New York University
Occupation	Actor, singer
Years active	2011–present
Spouse	Stephanie Wessels ​ (m. 2022)​
Website	www.will-roland.com

Early life

William Frederick Roland was born in New York City to Beth and William J. Roland, who co-own Roland Antiques, an auction house.[3]^{[failed verification]} He initially lived in Greenwich Village[4] before moving to Locust Valley, Long Island at the age of eight.[5] He attended Friends Academy for middle school and high school.[5] Roland graduated from New York University in 2011 with a degree in musical theater from Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.[6][7]

Career

Roland's first professional role after graduating from college was in 2011, where he played the role of Ian DeForge in The Bus at 59e59 Theaters. The show opened on October 4, 2011, and closed on October 31, 2011.[8]

In 2012, Roland played the role of Nato Obenkrieger from August 16, 2012, to September 2, 2012, in a staged workshop of The Black Suits, a musical by Joe Iconis in The Berkshires at the Barrington Stage Company.[9] In this production, he played alongside Ben Platt, who he would again star beside in Dear Evan Hansen. Roland reprised this role in 2013 from October 27, 2013, to November 24, 2013, in Los Angeles, California, for the show's world premiere at the Center Theatre Group.[10]

In April 2013, Roland participated in the first reading of Be More Chill, wherein he read the role of Michael. He then departed the production and re-auditioned for the lead in 2015 when it was casting for its world premiere, whereupon he did not get cast.[11] Around this time, he also became involved in the as then Untitled PPL Project. Starting in July 2014, Roland participated in readings and workshops of the show that would become Dear Evan Hansen, playing the role of Jared Kleinman. The show made its premiere in Washington, D.C. at the Arena Stage and ran from July 10, 2015, to August 23, 2015.[12]

While in Washington, D.C. for the workshop and original production of Dear Evan Hansen, and Roland was also cast as Collin in the independent film One Penny. Principal photography occurred in 2015. The film premiered at the DC Independent Film Festival in February 2017.[13] He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Northern Virginia International Film and Music Festival in 2017.[14]

In 2016, Roland reprised his role as Jared when Dear Evan Hansen went Off-Broadway for a limited engagement run at the Second Stage Theatre.[15] Previews began March 26, 2016. The show opened on May 1, 2016, and ran until May 29, 2016. After selling out its Off-Broadway run, the show then transferred to Broadway at the Music Box Theatre. Previews began November 14, 2016 and the show opened on December 4, 2016. Roland departed the show on June 10, 2018.[16]

In 2017, Roland was approached by the showrunners of Billions after seeing his performance in Dear Evan Hansen. He was offered an audition for a guest role,[17] which turned into the recurring role of Winston, who Roland portrayed starting in season 3 of Billions.

On April 13, 2018, it was announced that Roland would play the role of Jeremy Heere in Joe Iconis' Be More Chill Off-Broadway limited engagement run at the Pershing Square Signature Center.[18] Previews began July 26, 2018. The show opened August 9, 2018 and closed on September 30, 2018, after a one-week extension.[19] Through Ghostlight Records, Roland released a new song called "Loser Geek Whatever" that had been introduced to the show as the new act 1 finale for its Off-Broadway run.[20] After its sold out Off-Broadway run, Roland reprised the role when the show then transferred to Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre.[21] Previews began February 13, 2019. The show opened March 10, 2019 and closed August 11, 2019.[22]

In 2021, he played the role of Zeke Matthews in the studio cast recording of Goosebumps The Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium. He starred alongside Krystina Alabado and Noah Galvin

Personal life

On November 7, 2018, Roland became engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Stephanie Wessels.[23] They were married in June 2022.

Credits

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Category
2011	The Bus	Ian DeForge	59e59 Theaters	Off-Broadway
2012	Billy Witch	Michael	Astoria Performing Arts Center
2012	Wonderful Town	Frank Lippencott	Gallery Players
2012	The Black Suits	Nato Obenkrieger	Barrington Stage Company	Regional
2013			Center Theatre Group
2014	Academia Nuts!	Joseph McCutter	New York Musical Festival	Off-Broadway
2015	Dear Evan Hansen	Jared Kleinman	Arena Stage	Regional
2016			Second Stage Theater	Off-Broadway
2016–2018			Music Box Theater	Broadway
2018	Be More Chill	Jeremy Heere	Pershing Square Signature Center	Off-Broadway
2019			Lyceum Theater	Broadway
2021	Goosebumps the Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium	Zeke Matthews	N/A	Original Studio Cast Recording

Film

Year	Title	Role
2017	One Penny	Collin

Television

Year	Title	Role	Category
2015	The Mysteries of Laura	Nerd #3	Episode: "The Mystery of the Intoxicated Intern"
2016	Red Oaks	Joel	2 episodes
2018–present	Billions	Winston	14 episodes
2018	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	Quidditch Player	Episode: "Kimmy Meets an Old Friend!"

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2017	Northern Virginia International Film and Music Festival	Best Supporting Actor – Feature Film	One Penny	Nominated	[14]
	Broadway.com Audience Choice Award	Favorite Funny Performance	Dear Evan Hansen	Won	[24]
		Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Male)		Nominated
		Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical		Nominated
2018	Grammy Awards	Best Musical Theater Album		Won	[25]
	Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program	"You Will Be Found" from Dear Evan Hansen on The Today Show	Won	[26]
2019	Broadway.com Audience Choice Award	Favorite Leading Actor in a Musical	Be More Chill	Nominated	[27]
		Favorite Onstage Pair (with George Salazar)		Won
	Favorite Onstage Pair (with Stephanie Hsu)	Nominated
Theatre Fan's Choice Awards	Best Leading Actor in a Musical	Won	[28]

References

На других языках

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- [en] Will Roland

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[fr] Will Roland

Will Roland (né le 5 mars 1989[1]) est un acteur et chanteur américain, surtout connu pour avoir interprété le rôle de Jared Kleinman dans la comédie musicale de Broadway Dear Evan Hansen, pour laquelle il a reçu un Grammy et un Daytime Emmy Award. Au cinéma, il est connu pour son rôle dans le film dramatique One Penny[1]. Plus récemment, il a joué le rôle principal de Jeremy Heere dans la comédie musicale Be More Chill à la fois off-Broadway et à Broadway[1].

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[ru] Роланд, Уилл

Уилл Роланд (англ. Will Roland; род. 5 марта 1989, Нью-Йорк, США) — американский актер, наиболее известный по роли Джареда Клайнмана в бродвейском мюзикле «Дорогой Эван Хэнсен».

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