The stage and the screen are typically considered two different art worlds. Though stage plays and musicals are often adapted for the big screen, artistically speaking, there's an inherent separation between the two. This makes sense: acting on and training for the stage differ immensely from that of screen acting. Indeed, though some get their start on the stage, either in high school plays, community theaters, or drama school, many Hollywood movie actors don't even step foot on the stage once in their careers.
Of course, especially within the last decade, there has been a sort of blurring of the lines between the stage and the screen. Hit movies Mean Girls and Mr. Saturday Night are being turned into Broadway shows. More than just intellectual properties, there are movie actors who, either out of love of theater or interest in expanding their creative horizons, are dabbling in theater, taking on the grueling schedule of a Broadway run. In fact, there are some who've found tremendous success on Broadway. As such, here's a list of movie stars who've had successful runs on Broadway.
Updated on September 7th, 2023 by Timothy Lindsey: This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.
15 Kristin Chenoweth
You know you are talented when you win both a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award. That is exactly the case with Kristin Chenoweth. The Oklahoma native made her Broadway debut in the production of Steel Pier in 1997.
Over the next 20 years, she would go on to have roles in plays such as You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Wicked, Promises, Promises, My Love Letter to Broadway, and Kristin Chenoweth: For the Girls. This all comes after her original acting debut in Wichita, Kansas in the play entitled The King and I.
14 Meryl Streep
Most known for her iconic film roles such as Death Becomes Her, Mamma Mia and The Devil Wears Prada, it is no surprise that a dramatic and versatile actress like Meryl Streep has acted on the big stage as well.
Streep’s professional career actually began in theater at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in Trelawny of Wells. Shortly after, Streep starred in Happy End on Broadway from May 7, 1977 to July 10, 1977. Streep starred in several other Broadway shows the years following until she was inspired by Robert De Niro’s performance in Taxi Driver, when she decided to pursue film acting.
13 Emma Stone
If you’ve ever wondered how Emma Stone went from comedies such as Easy A or Superbad to her Oscar-winning, musical performance in La La Land, it might make sense to hear that Stone had her Broadway debut in 2014’s Cabaret.
The casting directors for La La Land came to a show of Cabaret on a night that Stone had a cold. Nevertheless, her unofficial audition that night landed her the Academy winning role.
12 Viola Davis
Audiences globally fell in love with Viola Davis after her role as Aibileen Clark in The Help, which won her two Screen Actors Guild awards. For the years leading up to this, Davis was a Broadway performer.
Davis made her Broadway debut in Seven Guitars from March 28, 1996 to September 8, 1996. She continued to act in several more Broadway productions off and on for the next couple of decades to follow, while still acting in film.
11 Lea Michele
Before the world knew Lea Michele as fan-favorite Rachel Berry from Glee, she got her start in acting as a child actress on Broadway. Her debut was made in 1995 as Young Cosette in Les Misérables.
Nearly a decade later, she starred in Fiddler on the Roof. Michele is one of the great singers and dancers that Broadway has ever seen. Most recently, she had a Broadway role in Spring Awakening's 15th Reunion Concert (2021).
10 Scarlett Johansson
Known for her various roles in film that span across her lifetime, in 2010, Scarlett Johansson took a pause from the big screen to star in Broadway’s A View From the Bridge, which earned her a Tony award for Best Featured Actress.
Critics and Broadway actors alike were polarized by her award saying Hollywood actors should not be rewarded for the stage, but Johansson stood her ground by responding, “I worked my ass off to get where I am, so I understand that struggle."
9 Morgan Freeman
Before his big acting days and iconic narrations, Morgan Freeman found his love for acting on the stage. Freeman was an award-winning actor in high school which led him to a partial drama scholarship from Jackson State University.
However, he turned that down to join the Air Force. After his service and a few other productions, Freeman eventually debuted on Broadway in Hello, Dolly!, an all-Black show, in 1968. His last appearance on Broadway was in The Gospel at Colonus in 1988.
8 Hugh Jackman
Before the world knew Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men and P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman, Jackman gained prominence as a star in the theater. He started acting on stage in Australia 1994 in the play The Season at Sarsparilla.
He would make is Broadway debut in 2003 in The Boy from Oz. He also starred in his own Broadway production in 2009 entitled Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway. Over the last three years, he has had starred in the production of The Music Man.
7 Leslie Odom Jr.
Leslie Odom Jr. began his career on Broadway in Rent in 1998. In parts of the last four decades, the Grammy Award-winner has performed under the bright lights of Broadway. He has starred in Leap of Faith, Hamilton (Aaron Burr), and Tick, Tick...Boom!
In 2023, Odom Jr. will return to Broadway to perform in the play known as Purlie Victorious. His voice is one of the most spectacular voices to ever grace the stage on Broadway.
6 Daniel Radcliffe
Primarily everyone’s favorite wizard, Daniel Radcliffe began dabbling in theater in 2007 in between Harry Potter films. In 2011, after completing the series, Radcliffe starred in Equus on Broadway at age 17.
He appared nude in the play in an attempt to break away from his role as Harry Potter. His performance was critically acclaimed, and achieved his goal of proving he was more than the boy with the lightning bolt scar.
5 Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda is one of the most popular playwrights and brilliant Broadway actors of the last 15 years. The Mary Poppins Returns star gained prominence for his work on In the Heights (acted and composed lyrics for the play).
His Broadway debut came in that same production in 2008. He also gained fame for his roles in West Side Story and Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton). The Tony Award-winner certainly has a talent for creating catchy tunes and breathing life into the Broadway scene.
4 Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington has starred in several Broadway productions as well as off-Broadway shows since 1988. In between movies such as Malcom X, Remember the Titans, and The Book of Eli, Washington gently balanced between the screen and stage, gaining attraction from both.
Most recently, Washington starred as Theodore Hickman in The Iceman Cometh, which ran in 2018.
3 Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks was originally approached by friend, Nora Ephron, to star in a film about a journalist, Mike McAlary, titled Lucky Guy, but declined the offer. After years of production-limbo, it was decided the film would be turned into a play, and Hanks was offered the role a second time.
Lucky Guy became Hanks’ Broadway debut in 2013 and was Ephron’s final work after her death one year before its run.
2 Jake Gyllenhaal
Coming from a family of filmmakers, Jake Gyllenhaal is of course best known for his work in films such as Donnie Darko and Brokeback Mountain. But as an aspiring great actor, Gyllenhaal was inspired by the actors he looked up to who also participated in the theater.
He had his theatrical debut in 2002 and then had his Off-Broadway debut in 2012 in If There Is I Haven’t Found it Yet. Gyllenhaal finally debuted on Broadway in Constellations in 2015.
1 Adam Driver
Like others on this list, Adam Driver, best known for his role as Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, began his acting career on the stage. Driver made his Broadway debut in Mrs. Warren’s Profession in 2010.
Again, he starred in Broadway’s Man and Boy in 2011 before making his film debut. Driver wouldn’t return to the stage again until 2019’s Burn This.