- Date of Birth: 26 October, 1971
- Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois, US
Biography
Anthony Dean Rapp is an American stage and film actor best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of Rent in 1996 and later for reprising the same role in the film version. He also performed the role of Charlie Brown in the 1999 Broadway revival of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown.
Rapp was born in Chicago, where he attended high school at Joliet West High School in Joliet and theatre camp at the prestigious Michigan Interlochen Arts Academy. Rapp's brother is playwright, novelist, and filmmaker Adam Rapp. Rapp also has a sister, Anne, as well as a "little sister," Rachel, although she is actually a cousin of his who was taken in by his mother.
He first performed on Broadway in 1981 in The Little Prince and the Aviator, a musical based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novel The Little Prince. The show closed during previews. He also appeared in the 1987 movie Adventures in Babysitting, which was directed by Chris Columbus. Columbus would later direct Rapp in the film version of Rent. Rapp has gone on to appear in several movies and Broadway shows, most notably as intellectuals. His notable work includes films Dazed and Confused, A Beautiful Mind, School Ties, Road Trip, the stage and film versions of Six Degrees of Separation, An American Family, and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Rapp is probably best known for playing Mark Cohen in the off-Broadway and original Broadway casts of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent. He reprised that role in the film adaptation, which was released on November 23, 2005. Rapp has embraced his role as an unofficial spokesperson for the musical and has given numerous television and print interviews regarding the show and its development. Some of Rapp's photographs from rehearsals of Rent have been published. In 2000, Rapp released a solo CD, entitled Look Around. He is represented as a keynote speaker by Greater Talent Network speakers bureau. Rapp returned to Rent on July 30 2007, for a six week run, along with original cast member Adam Pascal. Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal continued in their return to Broadway's Rent through Oct. 7 at the Nederlander Theatre.
Rapp, a self-identified "queer," is an advocate in show business for LGBT rights. He has three cats named Emma, Sebastian, and Spike. In 2006, Rapp released a memoir about his days in Rent, as well as his mother's struggle with cancer and his experiences growing up, entitled Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent, which was released February 7, 2006 by publisher Simon & Schuster. The book was re-released in paperback on October 31, 2006. He still remains close friends with some of his Rent castmates, such as Daphne Rubin-Vega, Adam Pascal, Idina Menzel, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, and Jesse L. Martin.
Rapp was born in Chicago, where he attended high school at Joliet West High School in Joliet and theatre camp at the prestigious Michigan Interlochen Arts Academy. Rapp's brother is playwright, novelist, and filmmaker Adam Rapp. Rapp also has a sister, Anne, as well as a "little sister," Rachel, although she is actually a cousin of his who was taken in by his mother.
He first performed on Broadway in 1981 in The Little Prince and the Aviator, a musical based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novel The Little Prince. The show closed during previews. He also appeared in the 1987 movie Adventures in Babysitting, which was directed by Chris Columbus. Columbus would later direct Rapp in the film version of Rent. Rapp has gone on to appear in several movies and Broadway shows, most notably as intellectuals. His notable work includes films Dazed and Confused, A Beautiful Mind, School Ties, Road Trip, the stage and film versions of Six Degrees of Separation, An American Family, and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Rapp is probably best known for playing Mark Cohen in the off-Broadway and original Broadway casts of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent. He reprised that role in the film adaptation, which was released on November 23, 2005. Rapp has embraced his role as an unofficial spokesperson for the musical and has given numerous television and print interviews regarding the show and its development. Some of Rapp's photographs from rehearsals of Rent have been published. In 2000, Rapp released a solo CD, entitled Look Around. He is represented as a keynote speaker by Greater Talent Network speakers bureau. Rapp returned to Rent on July 30 2007, for a six week run, along with original cast member Adam Pascal. Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal continued in their return to Broadway's Rent through Oct. 7 at the Nederlander Theatre.
Rapp, a self-identified "queer," is an advocate in show business for LGBT rights. He has three cats named Emma, Sebastian, and Spike. In 2006, Rapp released a memoir about his days in Rent, as well as his mother's struggle with cancer and his experiences growing up, entitled Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent, which was released February 7, 2006 by publisher Simon & Schuster. The book was re-released in paperback on October 31, 2006. He still remains close friends with some of his Rent castmates, such as Daphne Rubin-Vega, Adam Pascal, Idina Menzel, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, and Jesse L. Martin.