John Gallagher Jr.

John Gallagher Jr.
Gallagher in 2013
Born	John Howard Gallagher Jr. (1984-06-17) June 17, 1984 (age 40) Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
Other names	Johnny Gallagher
Occupations	Actor singer songwriter
Years active	2000–present

John Howard Gallagher Jr. (born June 17, 1984) is an American actor and musician best known for originating the role of Moritz Stiefel in the 2006 rock musical Spring Awakening , which earned him a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He also played Johnny in Green Day's Broadway musical, American Idiot , Lee in the 2011 Broadway production of Jerusalem, Edmund in the 2016 Broadway revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night , and Mate in the 2024 Broadway production of Swept Away . He portrayed Jim Harper in Aaron Sorkin's drama series The Newsroom , starred in the HBO mini-series Olive Kitteridge , and played Emmett DeWitt in 10 Cloverfield Lane .

Early life

Gallagher was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and was raised there with his two older sisters. His parents, John and June Gallagher, are folk musicians. He attended Brandywine High School. ^[1] He eventually went on to play in numerous bands, including Not Now Murray, What Now, Annie's Autograph, and Old Springs Pike. Gallagher played Tom Sawyer as a child actor at the Delaware Children's Theatre. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

Before and throughout his Spring Awakening run, he was in the folk-rock group Old Springs Pike. On January 23, 2008, his fellow band members announced his departure. The next day, Gallagher made an official announcement confirming his departure on his MySpace page. Old Springs Pike later officially changed their name to the Spring Standards. ^[6]

Stage career

2000–2005: Early career

Gallagher has appeared in three plays by playwright David Lindsay-Abaire. He originated the role of Jeff in Abaire's hit play Kimberly Akimbo , appeared in the ill-fated United Kingdom production of Fuddy Meers , and he received critical acclaim for his role in Rabbit Hole , which marked his Broadway debut. He also appeared in the Manhattan Theatre Club Production of the David Marshall Grant play Current Events. ^[7]

2006–2011: Broadway and Spring Awakening

Gallagher originated the role of Moritz Stiefel in Spring Awakening on Broadway after performing the role Off-Broadway and in workshops at Lincoln Center. The rock musical, with music by Duncan Sheik and a book and lyrics by Steven Sater premiered Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre Company on May 19, 2006, and ran through August 5, 2006. ^[8] Spring Awakening opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on December 10, 2006. Gallagher won the 2007 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance. ^[9] On December 16, 2007, he left Spring Awakening and was succeeded two days later by Blake Bashoff. ^[10]

Gallagher starred in productions of the dramas, Port Authority , by Conor McPherson and Farragut North by Beau Willimon. ^[11] Both plays were productions of the Atlantic Theater Company, the same theater that premiered Spring Awakening .

Gallagher starred in American Idiot , a musical based on the Green Day album of the same name, along with fellow Spring Awakening alumni Brian Charles Johnson and Gerard Canonico. ^[12] American Idiot premiered in Berkeley, California, at the Berkeley Repertory Theater on September 4, 2009. ^[13] The show's run ended on November 15, 2009. It began previews on Broadway at the St. James Theatre March 24, 2010, and officially opened on April 20, 2010. It was later nominated for three 2010 Tony Awards, of which it won two. ^[14] Gallagher played Johnny, or "Jesus of Suburbia". Gallagher departed American Idiot on February 27, 2011, and was succeeded by Van Hughes ^[15] The show's run ended on April 24, 2011.

After leaving American Idiot , Gallagher was featured in the Broadway production of The Royal Court Theatre's Jerusalem . The production was directed by Ian Rickson, and opened on April 21, 2011, at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street). ^[16] He played the role of Lee until leaving the production on July 17, 2011. ^[17]

2016–present: Return to stage acting

He starred as Edmund Tyrone in Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night , alongside Jessica Lange and Gabriel Byrne. The show was directed by Jonathan Kent and opened on April 19, 2016, at the American Airlines Theatre.

In 2022, he starred in the world premiere production of Swept Away at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Based on the music of The Avett Brothers , the musical reunited Gallagher with Spring Awakening director Michael Mayer. ^[18] Of note, Gallagher named the Avett Brothers his favorite band in a 2007 New York magazine article. ^[19]

Film and television work

Gallagher has appeared in several television programs, including The West Wing , Law & Order: Special Victims Unit , NYPD Blue , Ed , Love Monkey , and Hallmark Hall of Fame's film The Flamingo Rising . He played Jim Harper in Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom which aired on HBO. ^[20] He also appeared in HBO's mini-series Olive Kitteridge , based on the Pulitzer-winning novel of the same name, in the role of Christopher Kitteridge.

Gallagher's film credits include Pieces of April , Woody Allen's Whatever Works , Jonah Hex , The Heart Machine , Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret , and a lead role in Short Term 12 opposite Brie Larson. Short Term 12's director, Destin Daniel Cretton described Gallagher as having an innate quality, that the actor "feels like a big brother anyone would want to have." ^[21] In 2016, he starred in the thriller film 10 Cloverfield Lane . ^{[22] [23]} As of June 2015, he filmed The Belko Experiment , a horror thriller film directed by Greg McLean and written by James Gunn. In 2016, Gallagher starred as the antagonist in horror-thriller film Hush . In 2018 he starred in The Miseducation of Cameron Post , and in 2020 he played Liam Dempsey Jr. in season 3 of Westworld .

Music

Gallagher has been writing music since his early adolescent years, playing guitar, bass, drums, and harmonica. ^[24] He frequently performs in live spaces such as Rockwood Music Hall in New York. ^[24] On January 15, 2016, Gallagher released his debut album Six Day Hurricane via Rockwood Music Hall Recordings under the name Johnny Gallagher. ^[25] The album was recorded in Brooklyn in 2012, over the course of six days during Hurricane Sandy. ^[26] Regarding the decision to release his music after a three-year delay, Gallagher said: "I knew I had to do it now, or I was going to go another year or see another birthday without putting my music out, and I can't live with that." ^[25] The album, produced by close friend and collaborator Thad DeBrock, includes nine songs originally selected for a previous live performance, including singles "Two Fists Full," "Dangerous Strangers," and "Sarasota Someone." ^[25]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Pieces of April	Timmy Burns
2006	Mr. Gibb	Brett Mullen
2009	Whatever Works	Perry Singleton
2010	Jonah Hex	Lieutenant Evan
2011	Margaret	Darren Rodifer
2013	Short Term 12	Mason
	Broadway Idiot	Himself	Documentary
2014	The Heart Machine	Cody
2016	10 Cloverfield Lane	Emmett DeWitt
	Hush	The Man
2017	The Belko Experiment	Mike Milch
2018	The Miseducation of Cameron Post	Reverend Rick
	Sadie	Cyrus
	Peppermint	Detective Stan Carmichael
2019	The Best of Enemies	Lee Trombley
	American Woman	Juan
2020	Underwater	Liam Smith
	Come Play	Marty
2021	The Same Storm	Dale Salt
2022	Gone in the Night	Max
	Spring Awakening: Those You've Known	Himself	Documentary
	Abandoned	Alex
2023	I.S.S.	Christian
2024	Which Brings Me to You	Wallace

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	The Flamingo Rising	Gary	Television film
2002	Law & Order	Terrence Holt	Episode: "Girl Most Likely"
2002	The West Wing	Tyler	Episode: "20 Hours in America (Part 1 & 2)"
2003	Ed	Eric	Episode: "The Decision"
2003	NYPD Blue	Ray Spier	2 episodes
2004	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Gary	Episode: "Conscience"
2006	Love Monkey	Paul	2 episodes
2009	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Jeff Lynwood	Episode: "Lead"
2012–2014	The Newsroom	James "Jim" Harper	25 episodes
2014	Olive Kitteridge	Christopher Kitteridge	Miniseries; 3 episodes
2018	High Maintenance	Zach	Episode: "Steve"
2019	Easy	Lucas	Episode: "Yes"
2019	Modern Love	Rob	Episode: "At the Hospital, an Interlude of Clarity"
2020	Westworld	Liam Dempsey Jr.	4 episodes
2020	Love Life	Luke Ducharme	Episode: "Magnus Lund Part II"

Theater

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Notes
2000	Current Events	Ethan	New York City Center	Off-Broadway
2001	Kimberly Akimbo	Jeff	South Coast Repertory	Regional
2003			Manhattan Theatre Club	Off-Broadway
2004	Fuddy Meers	Kenny	Arts Theatre	London
2006	Rabbit Hole	Jason Willette	Pacific Playwrights Festival	Regional
			Biltmore Theatre	Broadway
2006–2007	Spring Awakening	Moritz Stiefel	Atlantic Theatre Company	Off-Broadway
			Eugene O'Neill Theatre	Broadway
2008	Port Authority	Kevin	Atlantic Theatre Company	Off-Broadway
2008	Farragut North	Stephen Meyers		Off-Broadway
2009–2011	American Idiot	Johnny (The Jesus of Suburbia)	Berkeley Repertory Theatre	Regional
			St. James Theatre	Broadway
2011	Jerusalem	Lee	Music Box Theatre	Broadway
2016	Long Day's Journey into Night	Edmund Tyrone	American Airlines Theatre	Broadway
2018	Nassim	Performer	New York City Center	Off-Broadway
2022–	Swept Away	Mate	Berkeley Repertory Theatre	Regional
			Arena Stage	Regional
			Longacre Theatre	Broadway

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2007	Tony Award	Best Featured Actor in a Musical	Spring Awakening	Won
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Actor in a Musical		Nominated
	Broadway.com Audience Choice Award	Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical		Won
	Drama League Award	Distinguished Performance		Nominated
2010			American Idiot	Nominated
	Broadway.com Audience Choice Award	Favorite Leading Actor in a Musical		Won
2014	CinEuphoria Award	Best Supporting Actor	Short Term 12	Nominated
2016	Broadway.com Audience Choice Award	Favorite Featured Actor in a Play	Long Day's Journey Into Night	Won

References

1. "Johnny Gallagher comes home to Queen with a new album". Delaware Online. January 21, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
2. Ruston, Muriel (September 29, 2009). "Leaving the nest for 'Birdie'". The News Journal . Retrieved 2010-02-01.
3. "John Gallagher Jr". Film Bug. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
4. Andrew Osborn. "Sex Advice From Aubrey Plaza". Nerve . Retrieved 2017-08-09.
5. Denise Martin (2012-07-24). "The Newsroom's John Gallagher Jr. on Pratfalls and His First Girlfriend, Aubrey Plaza". vulture.com . Retrieved 2017-08-09.
6. "The Spring Standards – Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos". 25 April 2015.
7. Official Spring Awakening biography Archived 2010-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
8. Pincus-Roth, Zachary."'Spring Awakening' Advance Approaches $2 Million" Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, December 12, 2006
9. McBride, Walter. "Photo Coverage: 'Spring Awakening' LIVE at the Apple Store".
10. "Bashoff Joins Broadway's Spring Awakening" Archived 2009-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
11. Farragut North, Backstage Political Tale, With Noth and Gallagher, Begins in NYC Archived 2008-10-25 at the Wayback Machine
12. "I'm Not The American Idiot!".
13. Itzkoff, Dave (March 30, 2009). "Punk CD Is Going Theatrical". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
14. Jones, Kenneth (2009-11-09). "Broadway Future Is Confirmed for American Idiot, But When?". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
15. Itzkoff, Dave (February 10, 2011). "New 'American Idiot' Cast Members Include Davey Havok of AFI". The New York Times.
16. "John Gallagher Jr. to Co-Star in Jerusalem; Full Cast Announced". Broadway World.com. February 17, 2011.
17. "Jay Sullivan Replaces John Gallagher, Jr., in Broadway's Jerusalem, Starting July 19". Archived from the original on 2011-08-29. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
18. Rabinowitz, Chloe. "Avett Brothers Musical SWEPT AWAY Announces Third Extension at Berkeley Rep". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
19. Jackson, Brian Keith (March 1, 2007). "Cast Bios of the 'Spring Awakening' Actors -- New York Magazine - Nymag". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
20. from 2012 to 2014."John Gallagher Jr. Departs Jerusalem to Join Aaron Sorkin's More As This Story Develops"
21. Ordona, Michael (12 September 2013). "John Gallagher Jr. carving nice niche". The Atlanta Constitution. San Francisco Chronicle. p. D2. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
22. "Interview: John Gallagher Jr. Says Goodbye to The Newsroom"
23. Chitwood, Adam (January 14, 2016). "'10 Cloverfield Lane' Is the Title of J.J. Abrams' Secret Bad Robot Movie". Collider.com. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
24. Lindsey Sullivan. "Johnny Gallagher on Debut Solo Album 'Six Day Hurricane,' Dropping the 'Jr.' & Jamming With Jeff Daniels", Billboard , January 19, 2016. Retrieved on December 25, 2016.
25. Andrea Towers. "John Gallagher, Jr. announces album Six Day Hurricane, releases first single", Entertainment Weekly , November 23, 2015. Retrieved on December 25, 2016.
26. Pamela Thomas. "Interview: Johnny Gallagher on the release of his debut LP Six Day Hurricane", The Reel Spin, January 15, 2016. Retrieved on December 25, 2016.

External links

• John Gallagher Jr. at IMDb
• John Gallagher Jr. at the Internet Broadway Database
• John Gallagher Jr. at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• John Gallagher Jr. on Twitter
• Review of John Gallagher Jr's performance in American Idiot on Broadway, April 21, 2010