Birthday: 1965-06-08
Birthplace: Connecticut, USA
Gender: Male
Owned By: Unowned
Jefferson Mays (born Lewis Jefferson Mays; June 8, 1965) is an American film, stage and television actor.
Mays was raised in Clinton, Connecticut with his parents, a naval intelligence officer and a children's librarian, and his siblings. Mays graduated from Yale College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, and the University of California, San Diego, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts.
Mays appeared on Broadway in I Am My Own Wife, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Doug Wright, from November 2003 (previews) to October 31, 2004. He had appeared in the play Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in May 2003, and at the La Jolla Playhouse in July 2001.
Mays won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show, an Obie Award, and a 2004 Theatre World Award for his solo performance. He also won the 2007 Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Play for seasons of I Am My Own Wife in Australia in 2006.
In 2007, he appeared as Henry Higgins in a revival of Pygmalion and starred as Private Mason in a revival of Journey's End. In August 2009, Mays appeared at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Quartermaine's Terms by Simon Grey.
Mays starred in the 2013 Broadway musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, in which he played eight roles. He won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He also was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and tied for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (with Neil Patrick Harris).
Year | Title | Character | |
---|---|---|---|
2025-01-26 | Rebuilding | ||
2021-12-05 | The Tragedy of Macbeth | Doctor | |
2018-11-09 | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs | Gilbert Longabaugh (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled") | |
2018-09-08 | Curated | The Curator | |
2017-09-15 | Rebel in the Rye | William Maxwell | |
2015-04-01 | Ned Rifle | Dr. Ford | |
2015-01-29 | I Am Michael | Preacher Teacher | |
2014-12-12 | Inherent Vice | Dr. Threeply | |
2014-10-09 | The Raven | Voice over (voice) | |
2014-09-24 | The Cask of Amontillado | Fortunato | |
2014-08-13 | The Giver | Community (voice) | |
2014-07-04 | My America | ||
2008-10-02 | How to Lose Friends & Alienate People | Bill Nathanson | |
2005-09-14 | The Notorious Bettie Page | Little John | |
2005-01-24 | The Fight | ||
2004-10-22 | Alfie | Dr. Miranda Kulp | |
1999-04-20 | The Big Brass Ring | Garne Strickland | |
1998-06-12 | Cousin Bette | Stidmann | |
1997-12-12 | Hudson River Blues | ||
1995-11-01 | The Low Life | Hollywood Mogul | |
1994-03-26 | Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade | Gerry Woolridge |