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Jefferson Mays

Jefferson Mays

Birthday: 1965-06-08 | Place of Birth: Connecticut, U.S.A.

Jefferson Mays (born Lewis Jefferson Mays; June 8, 1965) is an American film, stage and television actor. Mays was raised in Clinton, Connecticut with his parents, a naval intelligence officer and a children's librarian, and his siblings. Mays graduated from Yale College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, and the University of California, San Diego, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts. Mays appeared on Broadway in I Am My Own Wife, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Doug Wright, from November 2003 (previews) to October 31, 2004. He had appeared in the play Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in May 2003, and at the La Jolla Playhouse in July 2001. Mays won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show, an Obie Award, and a 2004 Theatre World Award for his solo performance. He also won the 2007 Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Play for seasons of I Am My Own Wife in Australia in 2006. In 2007, he appeared as Henry Higgins in a revival of Pygmalion and starred as Private Mason in a revival of Journey's End. In August 2009, Mays appeared at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Quartermaine's Terms by Simon Grey. Mays starred in the 2013 Broadway musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, in which he played eight roles. He won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He also was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and tied for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (with Neil Patrick Harris).

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2025
Rebuilding

as    Mr. Cassidy

2022
Julia

as    Albert Duhamel

2020
2019
I Am the Night

as    George Hodel

2017
Rebel in the Rye

as    William Maxwell

2015
Ned Rifle

as    Dr. Ford

2014
The Cask of Amontillado

as    Fortunato

2014
The Raven

as    Voice over (voice)

2008
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

as    Bill Nathanson

2002
Benjamin Franklin

as    Elkanah Watson

1999
The Big Brass Ring

as    Garne Strickland

1997
Liberty!

as    James Madison

1995
The Low Life

as    Hollywood Mogul

1994
Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade

as    Gerry Woolridge