Wikipedia / Max von Essen
Wikipedia / Max von Essen
Max von Essen (born January 11, 1974) is an American actor and singer. His Broadway credits include roles in An American in Paris (of which he was nominated for a Tony Award for), Anastasia, Evita, and Chicago. He also starred as Marvin in the United States national tour of Falsettos.
Life and career
Raised on Long Island, von Essen is a graduate of South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and after graduation toured with Liza Minnelli. He is a member of the Von Essen family, who are part of the German and Swedish nobility. A son of Rita and Thomas Von Essen, who was the New York City Fire Commissioner during the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, he is the youngest of four children. He is openly gay.
He toured Europe in West Side Story and was a cast member of the U.S. national tour of Chicago. He made his Broadway debut in Jesus Christ Superstar in 2000 as Disciple and Jesus of Nazareth understudy. He appeared in Les Misérables on Broadway as the replacement for Fauchelevent and other roles, and starred in Dance of the Vampires alongside Michael Crawford in 2002. He played the role of student revolutionary leader Enjolras (replacement) in the Les Misérables Broadway revival in 2006 at the Broadhurst Theater.
In 2006, he was a soloist at the biggest Andrew Lloyd Webber musical gala to date, held in Tallinn, Estonia. He performed in the national tour of Xanadu as "Sonny" in 2008 and in the Roundabout Theater Company Off-Broadway production of Maury Yeston's Death Takes a Holiday at the Laura Pels Theatre in 2011. In 2015, von Essen played the role of Parisian aristocrat Henri in the Broadway production of An American in Paris, for which he received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical nomination.
Film and television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
2005 | Piano Player | ||
2009 | Scott | 1 episode | |
2010 | Wedding Chorus | ||
2011-14 | Cameron Dante | Netflix series, 14 episodes | |
2012 | Father Smythe | 2 episodes | |
Hair | 1 episode | ||
2013-14 | Stephen Delaney | 2 episodes | |
2014 | Blonde | Man | Short |
Seven Lovers | Dan | ||
2015 | Businessman at Starbucks #1 | ||
2022 | Cruise Director, Waiter (voices) | 2 episodes | |
2024 | Rhett Richards | Episode: "Family Ties" | |
2025 | Keith Bauer / The Canton Clubber | Episode: "Camera Shy" |
Theatre credits
Broadway
Source: Internet Broadway Database
Year(s) | Production | Role | Location |
2000 | Disciple;u/s Jesus Christ | ||
2002 | Alfred | ||
2003 | Fauchelevent / Jean Prouvaire / Ensemble; u/s Marius Pontmercy | ||
2007–2008 | |||
2012 | Agustin Magaldi;u/s Che | ||
Che | |||
2012–2013 | Agustin Magaldi;u/s Che | ||
2015–2016 | Henri Baurel | ||
2017–2018 | Gleb Vaganov | ||
2023–2024 | |||
2024–2025 | |||
2026 |
National and international tours
Year(s) | Production | Role |
1997 | Liza Minnelli in Concert | Ensemble |
1998 | West Side Story (European tour) | Tony |
1999 | Mary Sunshine | |
2008 | Sonny | |
2019 | Marvin |
Off-Broadway
Year(s) | Production | Role | Location |
1999 | Matt | Sullivan Street Playhouse | |
2001 | John & Paul | ||
2004 | Woody Mahoney | ||
2011 | Corrado Montelli | Laura Pels Theatre | |
The Soldier | |||
2016 | Dr. Neville Craven | ||
2017 | Yours Unfaithfully | Stephen Meredith | Beckett Theatre |
Regional
Year(s) | Production | Role | Location |
1997 | |||
1999 | |||
2001 | Eddie | Downtown Cabaret Theatre | |
Claude | Bay Street Theatre | ||
2002 | Freddy Eynsford-Hill | ||
2003 | |||
Abel/Ham | The York Theatre Company | ||
2004 | Auntie Mame | Bay Street Theatre | |
Dorian | Dorian | NoHo Arts Center | |
2005 | The Emcee | ||
Dominique | |||
Captain Albert Lennox | |||
2006 | Patrick | ||
Tony | Theatre Under the Stars | ||
2008 | |||
Anthony Hope | |||
2010 | |||
2013 | Freddy Eynsford-Hill | ||
2014 | Henri Baurel | ||
2022 | Archibald Craven | UC Davis Health Pavilion | |
Julian Marsh | |||
2025 | Henri Baurel | ||
2026 | Tommy Albright |
Awards and nominations
Source: IBDB
Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Show | Result |
2015 | ||||
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | ||||
Broadway.com Audience Choice Award | Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical |
References
External links