Jeremy Pope

Jeremy Pope used his acting and musical talents to put together one of the most successful Broadway debuts in history. A native of Orlando, Florida, he elected to pursue theater in school instead of sports. He was accepted into the American Musical and Dramatic Academy after high school and moved to New York. He originally auditioned for the London stage production of "Choir Boy," written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney, but wasn't cast. When the play was brought to New York in 2013, though, the producers remembered the young actor. They tapped him for the lead role of Pharus, a young, gay, African-American trying to overcome a culture of homophobia at his boarding school. Pope continued playing the role in subsequent productions, including when the show premiered on Broadway in 2019. Between "Choir Boy" stints, the actor was cast as singer Eddie Kendricks in "Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations" when it debuted at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2017. As with the other play, Pope continued on in the role when the show went through previews in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Toronto. Immediately upon the end of "Choir Boy," he joined the Broadway cast of "Ain't Too Proud." Playing the two roles in the one season led to Pope becoming only the sixth actor to earn two Tony nominations in the same year. Off stage, the actor made his screen debut in the horror film "The Ranger" (2018).