Tituss Burgess

Tituss Burgess
Burgess in 2008
Born	(1979-02-21) February 21, 1979 (age 45) Athens, Georgia, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Georgia (BA)
Occupation(s)	Actor, singer
Years active	2005–present
Known for	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt The Little Mermaid

Tituss Burgess (born February 21, 1979)^[1] is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in several Broadway musicals and is known for his high tenor voice. He is best known for starring as Titus Andromedon on the Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–2020), for which he received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He was also featured in Schmigadoon! (2023).

On the Broadway stage, Burgess originated the role of Sebastian in The Little Mermaid and played the role of Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 2009 revival of Guys and Dolls. In 2023, he played the role of Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge!^[2]

Personal life

Born and raised in Athens, Georgia, Burgess attended Cedar Shoals High School where he was active in the theatre program. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Art degree in music.^[3][4][5] Burgess is gay.^[6][7] After college, Burgess moved to Orlando, Florida to work at Walt Disney World, where he performed as a vocalist at the Festival of the Lion King at Disney's Animal Kingdom, earning his actors equity card. ^[8]

Career

2005–2014: Broadway debut

Burgess made his Broadway debut in the musical Good Vibrations as Eddie in 2005, and then appeared in Jersey Boys in 2005 as Hal Miller.^[9] Burgess originated the role of Sebastian the Crab in the Broadway musical The Little Mermaid in 2007 opposite Sierra Boggess, Sean Palmer, and Norm Lewis. Burgess portrayed Nicely-Nicely Johnson, traditionally played by a white actor, in the revival of Guys and Dolls in 2009.^[9] He has also performed in several regional theater productions, including The Wiz and Jesus Christ Superstar.^[9]

Burgess performed at the "Broadway for Obama" benefit concert at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Easton, Pennsylvania on October 20, 2008.^[10] He performed at the "Broadway After Dark" benefit concert on October 26, 2008, in New York City,^[11] and in a solo concert at Birdland in New York City on July 27, 2009.^[12]

In July 2009, he was a performer on the R Family Vacations Summer Cruise.^[13] Three months later, he was featured on an episode of the popular web show The Battery's Down. He appeared in Season 5 of 30 Rock as D'Fwan, a member of Tracy Jordan's wife's entourage. He reprised the role in Season 6.^{[citation needed]} He was cast as The Caterpillar in the 2011 Broadway musical Wonderland in October 2010. A month later he dropped out of the project.^[14]

In March 2013, Burgess performed "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising concert Broadway Backwards.^{[citation needed]} He was cast as The Witch, a role traditionally played by a female, in Into the Woods in a 2015 production by DreamCatcher Theatre, presented in Miami's Carnival Studio Theater at the Adrienne Arsht Center.^[15]

2015–2019: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

On March 6, 2015, Netflix released the first season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt which stars Burgess in a main role as Titus Andromedon, Kimmy's roommate. He received universal acclaim for his performance, with The New York Times saying the role was "tailor-made" for him.^[16][17] For his performance in the first season, he received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 2015 Critics' Choice Television Awards and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 2015 ceremony.^{[citation needed]}

In June 2016, Burgess and Norm Lewis reprised their roles of Sebastian the Crab and King Triton in the Hollywood Bowl concert event of The Little Mermaid opposite Sara Bareilles, Rebel Wilson, and Darren Criss.^[18] He also took a voice role in The Angry Birds Movie (2016). He also was a guest star judge in the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2017). He also took guest roles in Miracle Workers (2019) and The Good Fight (2019).

2020–present: Return to Broadway

From 2020 to 2022, he starred in the musical cartoon series Central Park as Cole Tillerman, with Leslie Odom Jr., Kristen Bell, Daveed Diggs, Josh Gad, Kathryn Hahn and Stanley Tucci.^[19] Burgess starred as Remy in a benefit concert presentation of Ratatouille the Musical, an internet meme that originated on TikTok, inspired by the 2007 Disney/Pixar film. It streamed on TodayTix on January 1, 2021.^[20] On December 2, 2021, he played Rooster Hannigan in the NBC special Annie Live!.^[21]

In 2023, he played the Narrator in the second season of the Apple TV+ musical comedy series Schmigadoon!.^{[citation needed]} From October 10 to December 17, 2023, he returned to Broadway in Moulin Rouge! as Harold Zidler.^{[citation needed]}

Theatre credits

Date	Title	Role	Venue/Location
October 31, 2003 – February 8, 2004	La Cage aux Folles	Jacob	Downtown Cabaret Theatre, Bridgeport, Connecticut
October 5, 2004 – January 16, 2005	Jersey Boys	Barry Belson/Hal Miller/Ensemble	La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego, California
February 2 – April 24, 2005	Good Vibrations	Eddie	Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway[9]
November 6, 2005 – July 31, 2006	Jersey Boys	Barry Belson/Hal Miller/Ensemble	August Wilson Theatre, Broadway[9]
September 26 – November 26, 2006	The Wiz	The Lion	La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego, California[9]
July 26 – September 9, 2007	The Little Mermaid	Sebastian the Crab	Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Denver, Colorado[9]
November 3, 2007 – December 7, 2008			Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Broadway
March 1 – June 14, 2009	Guys and Dolls	Nicely-Nicely Johnson	Nederlander Theatre, Broadway[9]
December 8–30, 2012	A Wind in the Willows Christmas	Mr. Toad	Two River Theater, Red Bank, New Jersey
January 22, 2015 – February 15, 2015	Into the Woods	The Witch	Arsht Center, Miami, Florida
June 3–6, 2016	The Little Mermaid	Sebastian the Crab	Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California
January 1, 2021	Ratatouille the Musical	Remy	Online Benefit Concert
December 2, 2021	Annie	Rooster Hannigan	Gold Coast Studios, Bethpage, New York
October 10 – December 17, 2023	Moulin Rouge!	Harold Zidler	Al Hirschfeld Theatre, Broadway
September 30 – October 13, 2024	The Indecisive Warrior	Himself	Phoenix Arts Club, London, West End

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	Are You Joking?	Hank Trenton
2016	The Angry Birds Movie	Photog (voice)
	Catfight	John
2017	Smurfs: The Lost Village	Vanity Smurf (voice)
2018	Set It Up	Creepy Tim
	Then Came You	Julian
2019	I Hate Kids	The Amazing Fabular
	Dolemite Is My Name	Theodore Toney
	The Addams Family	Glenn (voice)
2021	Respect	James Cleveland
	Hot Mess Holiday	Himself
2023	The Slumber Party	Mesmer
2024	Spellbound	Sunny, the Oracle of the Sun (voice)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Schoolhouse Rock	Narrator	Episode: "The Rainforest" (Earth Rock series)
	The Battery's Down	Mr. Z	2 episodes
2011	A Gifted Man	Larry the Guard	Episode: "In Case of Discomfort"
2011–2012	30 Rock	D'Fwan	4 episodes
2012	Blue Bloods	Priest	Episode: "The Life We Chose"
2013	Royal Pains	Kristoff	Episode: "Bones to Pick"
2015–2019	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	Titus Andromedon	Series regular, 52 episodes (seasons 1-4)
2016	Match Game	Himself	Regular panelist
2016–2018	Elena of Avalor	Charoca (voice)	2 episodes
2017	Julie's Greenroom	Himself	Episode: "Costumer Service"
	RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars	Himself (Guest Judge)	Episode: "Pop Art Ball"
2019	Miracle Workers	God's brother	Episode: "1 Day"
	The Good Fight	Wade V.	Episode: "The One with the Celebrity Divorce"
2020	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend	Titus Andromedon	Netflix television movie
	Dishmantled	Himself (host)	10 episodes
	Sing On!	Himself (host)	Series regular
2020–2022	Central Park	Cole Tillerman, Kelleth Vanbeaceler (voices)	Series regular
2021	Annie Live!	Rooster Hannigan	Television special
	Name That Tune	Himself	Guest
2022	Teletubbies	Narrator	Series regular (2022 Netflix reboot)
	Name That Tune	Himself	Guest
2023	Schmigadoon!	Narrator	Season Two Regular
	The Wonder Years	Lonnie	Episode: "One Small Step"
2024	Last Bite Hotel	Himself	Host

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Grand Theft Auto V	Bob Mulét	Credited under "The Local Population." Notable voice appearance in WCTR program, "Chakra Attack," as the "Potato Water Guy" in the coconut water discussion.

Discography

• Jersey Boys (2005) Original Cast Recording
• Here's To You (2006) debut solo studio album, available on iTunes
• Disney's The Little Mermaid (2008) Original Cast Recording
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (2018) Audiobook, narrator
• Saint Tituss (2019)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref
2008	Broadway.com Audience Award	Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical	The Little Mermaid	Nominated
2015	Webby Award	Best Actor	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	Won
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	Gold Derby TV Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy		Won
	Dorian Award	TV Performance of the Year, actor		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2016				Nominated	[22]
2017				Nominated
2018				Nominated
2018	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2020	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend	Nominated
2021		Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance	Central Park: A Fish Called Snakehead	Nominated
2024	Broadway.com Audience Award	Favorite Replacement (Male)	Moulin Rouge! The Musical	Nominated

References

1. "Tituss Burgess". Playbill Vault. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
2. "Tituss Burgess – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". ibdb.com.
3. "Alumni Spotlight: Tituss Burgess (AB '01)". UGA Alumni Association. February 13, 2015. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
4. "Bullseye With Jesse Thorn: Titus Burgess". February 1, 2019. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
5. "Tituss Burgess Airs His Laundry | Death, Sex & Money". Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
6. Davies, Hannah J. (May 15, 2020). "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Tituss Burgess: 'I'm the most boring of the rainbow of gay men'". The Guardian.
7. Sayre, Justin Elizabeth (May 10, 2022). From Gay to Z: A Queer Compendium. Chronicle Books. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4521-8387-9.
8. NPR. Org Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Interivewaccessed 12/09/2024.
9. Hill, Anthony D. (November 9, 2018). Historical Dictionary of African American Theater. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-5381-1729-3.
10. Gans, Andrew (October 8, 2008). "Broadway for Obama Concert to Feature Lopez, Burgess, Hicks, Dixon and More". Playbill. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015.
11. Gans, Andrew (October 26, 2008). "Broadway After Dark Features Braxton, Burgess, Dandridge, Sengbloh and More Oct. 26". Playbill. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012.
12. Gans, Andrew (June 19, 2009). "Guys and Dolls' Burgess to Play Birdland in July". Playbill. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012.
13. Gans, Andrew (July 11, 2009). "All Aboard!: R Family Vacations Summer Cruise, with McArdle, Burgess, Jackson, Departs July 11". Playbill. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012.
14. "Caterpillar Change-Up in Wonderland: E. Clayton Cornelious Replaces Tituss Burgess in New Musical". Broadway.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
15. "Tituss Burgess Will Be The Witch in Miami Into the Woods; Sondheim Gives Blessing". Playbill. January 6, 2015. Archived from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
16. Drumming, Neil (March 20, 2015). "Tituss Burgess on a Role Tailor-Made for Him on 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
17. Martin, Michael (March 4, 2015). "Why Tituss Burgess Makes Tina Fey Laugh". Out. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
18. LEASE EVENT: Disney's The Little Mermaid in Concert Archived April 9, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, hollywoodbowl.com. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
19. Central Park (Animation, Comedy, Musical), Tituss Burgess, Daveed Diggs, Josh Gad, Kathryn Hahn, 20th Century Fox Television, Angry Child Productions, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, May 29, 2020, archived from the original on November 1, 2020, retrieved October 28, 2020
20. "'Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical' All-Star Cast to Include Wayne Brady, Tituss Burgess & Adam Lambert". December 28, 2020. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
21. Del Rosario, Alexandra (August 11, 2021). "Tituss Burgess Joins Cast Of NBC's 'Annie Live!' Musical Event". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
22. Kilday, Gregg (January 12, 2016). "'Carol' Earns Multiple Mentions as Dorian Award Nominees Are Unveiled". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.

External links

• Tituss Burgess at the Internet Broadway Database
• Tituss Burgess at IMDb