Jefferson Mays

Lewis Jefferson Mays (born June 8, 1965) is an American actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Tony Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, two Drama Desk Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards and three Obie Awards.

Jefferson Mays
Mays in 2017
Born	Lewis Jefferson Mays (1965-06-08) June 8, 1965 Clinton, Connecticut, U.S.
Education	Yale College University of California, San Diego
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1988–present
Spouse(s)	Susan Lyons ( m. 2003)

Life and career

Mays was raised in Clinton, Connecticut with his parents, a naval intelligence officer and a children's librarian, and his siblings.[1] 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 from the graduate acting program.[2][1]

He has appeared at La Jolla Playhouse,[3] Long Wharf Theatre,[4] the Williamstown Theatre Festival,[5] and Playwrights Horizons.[6]

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.[7] He had appeared in the play Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in May 2003,[6] and at the La Jolla Playhouse in July 2001.[3] 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.[7] 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.

Mays starred in two Broadway revivals in 2007. He appeared as Henry Higgins in Pygmalion,[8] in which he won critical praise. The TheaterMania reviewer called him "pitch-perfect", and the production an "excellent revival."[9] He appeared in a revival of Journey's End in February to June 2007, in which he starred as Private Mason.[10] Ben Brantley, in The New York Times, called the production "acutely staged and acted."[11] The TheaterMania reviewer wrote: "Mays is a reliable, obliging Mason."[12]

In August 2009, Mays appeared at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Quartermaine's Terms by Simon Grey.[5][13]

Mays starred in the 2013 Broadway musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, in which he played nine roles. He performed in the musical from October 2013 (previews) until closing on January 17, 2016.[14][15][16] He won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.[17] He also was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical[18] and tied for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (with Neil Patrick Harris).[16][19] Mays played Terje Rød-Larsen in the Broadway play Oslo, for which he received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination. Mays is set to play Mayor George Shinn in the upcoming revival of The Music Man opening on Broadway in 2020.

Mays also narrates audiobooks, including The Expanse series.

Mays has appeared in several television programs as well; he notably appeared in several episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as cross-dressing murderer Carl Rudnick, and as Black Dahlia suspect George Hodel in the Turner Network Television miniseries I Am the Night. His television credits include Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Good Wife, Nurse Jackie and The Americans.

Personal life

Mays is married to Australian actress Susan Lyons.[2]

Credits

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1993	Ghost Brigade	Martin Bradley
1994	Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade	Gerry Woolridge	Short film	[20]
1995	The Low Life	Hollywood Mogul		[21]
1997	Hudson River Blues	Eric
1998	Cousin Bette	Stidmann		[22]
1999	The Big Brass Ring	Garne Strickland		[23]
2004	Kinsey	Effete Man's Friend		[24]
2004	Alfie	Dr. Miranda Kulp		[25]
2005	The Notorious Bettie Page	Little John		[26]
2006	Memoirs of My Nervous Illness	Daniel Schreber
2008	How to Lose Friends & Alienate People	Bill Nathanson
2014	The Giver	Community (voice)
2014	Inherent Vice	Dr. Theeply
2014	Ned Rifle	Dr. Ford		[27]
2015	I Am Michael	Preacher Teacher
2017	Rebel in the Rye	William Maxwell
2018	The Ballad of Buster Scruggs	Gilbert Longabaugh	Segment: "The Gal Who Got Rattled"

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1988	Dynaman	Dynabeige (voice)
1991	A Week in Joe's Basement	Alex	Episode: "Remote Control"
1997	Liberty! The American Revolution	James Madison	6 episodes
2002	Benjamin Franklin	Elkanah Watson	3 episodes
2005	The Closer	Dr. Easton	Episode: "Fatal Retraction"
2008	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Keifer Gates	Episode: "Legacy"
2009	Law & Order	Attorney Olsen	Episode: "Pledge"
2009	Fringe	Nicholas Boone	Episode: "Midnight"
2010	Nurse Jackie	Tim	Episode: "P.O. Box"
2010	God in America	Jeremiah Moore	Episode: "A New Adam/A New Eden"
2010	Lie to Me	Sidney Carlton	Episode: "Double Blind"
2010	Detroit 1-8-7	Dr. Roger Kosowski	2 episodes
2011	Mildred Pierce	Man in Blue Coat	Episode: "Four"
2011	The Good Wife	Diplomat Van Buskirk	Episode: "Affairs of State"
2012	My America	Performer	Episode: "Fire in Dreamland"
2014–2016	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Dr. Carl Rudnick	7 episodes
2015	The Americans	Walter Taffet	4 episodes	[28]
2015	The Knick	Attorney Whitting	Episode: "You're No Rose"	[29]
2015–2016	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	Daddy	2 episodes	[30]
2019	I Am the Night	George Hodel	6 episodes
2019	The Blacklist	Norman Devane	Episode: "Norman Devane (No. 138)"
2020	Westworld	Liam Dempsey Sr.	Episode: "Genre"
2020	Perry Mason	Virgil	Episode #1.1

Theatre

Jefferson Mays, who plays the part of Terje Rød-Larsen in Oslo, with International Peace Institute (IPI) President Terje Rød-Larsen, at a special performance of the play hosted by IPI.

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Ref.
2003	I Am My Own Wife	Charlotte von Mahlsdorf	Lyceum Theatre, Broadway
2007	Journey's End	Private Mason	Belasco Theatre, Broadway
2007	Pygmalion	Henry Higgins	American Airlines Theatre, Broadway
2011	Blood and Gifts	Simon Craig	Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, Off- Broadway	[31]
2012	The Best Man	Sheldon Marcus	Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Broadway	[32]
2013	A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder	The D'Ysquith Family	Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway	[33]
2016	Oslo	Terje Rød-Larsen	Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, Off- Broadway
			Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway
2016	The Front Page	Roy V. Bensinger	Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway
2020	The Music Man	Mayor George Shinn	Winter Garden Theatre, Broadway

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2004	Tony Award	Best Actor in a Play	I Am My Own Wife	Won	[34]
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Solo Performance		Won
	Theatre World Award	N/A		Won
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Solo Performance		Won
2012	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play	Blood and Gifts	Nominated	[35]
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Best Featured Actor in a Play		Nominated	[36]
2014	Tony Award	Best Actor in a Musical	A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder	Nominated	[37]
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Actor in a Musical		Won
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Actor in a Musical		Won
2017	Tony Award	Best Actor in a Play	Oslo	Nominated
	Drama League Award	Distinguished Performance		Nominated

References

1. Rizzo, Frank. "The Earnest Jefferson Mays" Hartford Courant, January 25, 2004
2. Margaret Gray (March 12, 2013). "Jefferson Mays' fractured personality". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2016-06-09.
3. Ehren, Christine. "La Jolla Playhouse Workshops Wright's 'I Am My Own Wife' July 10-29" Playbill, July 10, 2001
4. Ehren, Christine. "Long Wharf Meets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern c/o Wood and Mays April 25-June 3" Playbill, April 25, 2001
5. "Jefferson Mays Stars in 'Quartermaine's Terms' at Williamstown" Playbill, August 15, 2009
6. Jones, Kenneth. " 'I Am My Own Wife', Doug Wright's Tale of a European Transvestite's Life, Opens May 27 in NYC" Playbill, May 27, 2003
7. " 'I Am My Own Wife' Broadway" Playbill (vault), accessed June 9, 2016
8. " 'Pygmalion' Broadway" Playbill (vault), accessed June 9, 2016
9. Finkle, David. "Reviews. 'Pygmalion'" theatermania.com, October 16, 2007
10. "'Journey's End' Broadway" Playbill (vault), accessed June 9, 2016
11. Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review. 'Journey's End'", The New York Times, February 23, 2007, p. E3
12. Finkle, David. "Review. 'Journey's End' " theatermania.com, February 22, 2007
13. Quartermaine's Terms wtfestival.org, accessed June 9, 2016
14. Stewart, Zachary. "Final Bow: The 9,000 Deaths of Jefferson Mays in 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder' " theatermania.com, January 4, 2016
15. Haun, Harry. "Playbill.com offers a behind-the-scenes look at opening night of the new Broadway musical 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder' " Playbill, November 18, 2013
16. " 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder' Broadway" Playbill (vault), accessed June 9, 2016
17. Gans, Andrew. "64th Annual Outer Critics Circle Award Winners Announced; 'Gentleman's Guide' Wins Four Awards" Playbill, May 12, 2014
18. "Tony Awards 2014: The complete list of nominees and winners" Los Angeles Times, April 28, 2014
19. Hempstead, Pete. "Drama Desk Award Winners Led by 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder' " theatermania.com, June 1, 2014
20. Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade tcm.com, accessed June 10, 2016
21. The Low Life tcm.com, accessed June 10, 2016
22. Cousin Bette tcm.com, accessed June 10, 2016
23. The Big Brass Ring tcm.com, accessed June 10, 2016
24. Kinsey tcm.com, accessed June 10, 2016
25. Alfie tcm.com, accessed June 10, 2016
26. The Notorious Bettie Page tcm.com, accessed June 10, 2016
27. Ned Rifle tcm.com, accessed June 10, 2016
28. Eyerly, Alan. "'The Americans' recap: Fiery end to South African plot" Los Angeles Times, March 19, 2015
29. Leeds, Sarene. "TV Recap. 'You're No Rose'" ew.com, October 23, 2015
30. Zuckerman, Esther. "Your guide to the guest stars in 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'" ew.com, March 10, 2015
31. Isherwoord, Christopher. "Choosing Sides in Afghanistan: Spies Playing in the Great Game" The New York Times, November 22, 2011
32. " 'The Best Man', Starring John Larroquette and James Earl Jones, Receives Second Broadway Extension" broadway.com, May 16, 2012
33. http://www.playbill.com/person/jefferson-mays-vault-0000087386
34. "Jefferson Mays profile". broadway.com. broadway.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
35. Bacalzo, Dan. "2012 Drama Desk Award Nominations Announced" theatermania.com, April 27, 2012
36. Gans, Andrew. "62nd Annual Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations Announced; 'Nice Work' Receives Nine Nods" Playbill, April 23, 2012
37. http://www.abouttheartists.com/artists/2032-jefferson-mays

External links

• Jefferson Mays on IMDb
• Jefferson Mays at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jefferson Mays biography, iammyownwife.com; accessed July 11, 2015.