Andrew Rannells is a Grammy Award-winning stage, film, and television actor who can currently be seen starring in the second season of the Showtime series Black Monday, opposite Don Cheadle and Regina Hall. The series centers around a group of outsiders who take on the blueblood, old-boys club of Wall Street during the worst stock market crash in the history of Wall Street. The first season premiered in 2019.
On television, Rannells is best known for his role as Elijah Krantz in the HBO series Girls, opposite Lena Dunham. As Elijah, Rannells played the ex-boyfriend and openly gay friend of Dunham’s character Hannah. He also appeared in season two of Steven Soderbergh’s The Knick on Cinemax and NBC’s The New Normal. He also recently guest-starred on NBC’s revival of the beloved series Will & Grace. Previously, Rannells starred in a recurring role as Darren on How I Met Your Mother. Other notable television credits include Sofia the First,
Andrew Rannells is a Grammy Award-winning stage, film, and television actor who can currently be seen starring in the second season of the Showtime series Black Monday, opposite Don Cheadle and Regina Hall. The series centers around a group of outsiders who take on the blueblood, old-boys club of Wall Street during the worst stock market crash in the history of Wall Street. The first season premiered in 2019.
On television, Rannells is best known for his role as Elijah Krantz in the HBO series Girls, opposite Lena Dunham. As Elijah, Rannells played the ex-boyfriend and openly gay friend of Dunham’s character Hannah. He also appeared in season two of Steven Soderbergh’s The Knick on Cinemax and NBC’s The New Normal. He also recently guest-starred on NBC’s revival of the beloved series Will & Grace. Previously, Rannells starred in a recurring role as Darren on How I Met Your Mother. Other notable television credits include Sofia the First, Welcome to the Wayne, Drunk History, Another Period, and Comedy Bang! Bang! He was most recently seen as David Patton in Matthew Weiner’s Amazon Original series The Romanoffs.
Rannells is well known for his work on stage, having starred in a series of acclaimed Broadway shows. He recently starred in Ryan Murphy’s Broadway production of The Boys in the Band, opposite Matt Bomer, Zachary Quinto and Jim Parsons at the Booth Theater. Murphy is also bringing The Boys in the Band to Netflix in 2020, featuring the original cast. Additionally, he made his Broadway debut starring as Link Larkin in Hairspray in 2005 and continued his stage career playing the role of Bob Gaudio in the 2007 national tour of Jersey Boys. Rannells originated the role of Elder Price in The Book of Mormon, for which he received a Tony and Drama Desk Award nomination. As a soloist on the show’s original cast recording, Rannells also received a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Rannells continued his Broadway career as Hedwig in the 2014 Broadway revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and King George III in the acclaimed Hamilton. Rannells most recently played the role of Whizzer in the 2016 Broadway revival of Falsettos, for which he received his second Tony nomination. Additionally, Andrew recently performed as part of PBS’s Live from Lincoln Center Presents – Stars in Concert series, alongside Sutton Foster, Leslie Odom Jr. and Stephanie Block.
On the big screen, Rannells can be seen in films such as Paul Feig’s box-office hit A Simple Favor alongside Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively and 2016’s Why Him?, alongside James Franco, Bryan Cranston, and Zoey Deutch. Rannells also starred in 2015’s The Intern alongside Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro. He is also set to star in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming Netflix adaptation of The Prom, alongside Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and James Corden, premiering in 2020.
In addition, Rannells has voiced numerous characters on the small screen. Rannells’ earlier credits include voice roles on the 2000-2005 Pokemon series, Sonic X, Archie’s Weird Mysteries, and Yu-Gi-Oh! He also reprised these roles for the series’ respective video games. Rannells has continued his voice work, more recently voicing various roles on Cartoon Network’s Chaotic and himself in the 2016 The Simpsons episode “How Lisa Got Her Marge Back.” Rannells can be heard as the voice of Matthew in the Netflix series Big Mouth and will soon be heard in the upcoming Amazon Original series Invincible, premiering in 2020.
Rannells recently lengthened his list of credits with his first literary project, Too Much Is Not Enough: A Memoir of Fumbling Toward Adulthood, published by Random House/Crown. The book, described as “hilarious, touching, and relatable,” is a coming-of-age, coming-of-fame recollection of the highs and lows of chasing a dream.
Rannells currently resides in New York City.
