Joe Mantello — Nominee for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

Show:
The Normal Heart

Role:
Ned Weeks, an outspoken writer-turned-activist fighting to bring attention to the AIDS crisis in 1980s New York City.

Bio Brief:
As an actor, Mantello won acclaim as Louis Ironson in the original 1993 Broadway production of Angels in America. Afterward, Mantello switched his focus to directing and helmed hit shows including Wicked, Glengarry Glen Ross and the Broadway-bound Other Desert Cities.

Other Honors for this Role:
—Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Play
—Drama League nomination for Distinguished Performance 

Tony History:
1993: Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches
1995: Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play, Love! Valour! Compassion!
2003: Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play, Take Me Out
2004: Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical, Assassins
2005: Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play, Glengarry Glen Ross
2009: Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical, 9 to 5

Fun Fact:
Mantello had retired as an actor, but returned to the stage citing The Normal Heart’s Ned Weeks as the only role he felt he missed out on playing.

Quotable Quote:
“It’s strange because of the subject matter of the play to say that we’re having a very good time doing it, but I would be lying if I said we weren’t.” —Mantello in an interview with Broadway.com, 4/11