Book of Mormon Standout Grey Henson on Wanting to Be Cinderella & How Rory O'Malley Was His Agent

Age: 25

Hometown: Macon, GA

Current Role: A side-splitting Broadway debut as closeted Mormon leader Elder McKinley in the Tony-winning hit musical The Book of Mormon.

Stage & Screen Cred: Henson played Elder McKinley in the first national tour of The Book of Mormon, which kicked off in June 2012. He appeared on screen in ABC sitcom Suburgatory.

“Growing up in a small town is wonderful because I had to figure out, pretty quickly, how to entertain myself. Macon isn’t the smallest town ever, but people thought I used to drive a tractor to school or something.”

“I loved playing dress-up and having tea parties as a kid. If you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said Cinderella, and my seventh birthday was Pocahontas-themed. I was definitely proud of who I was as a kid.”

“I was lucky enough to be prom king and homecoming king in high school. I jokingly believe the Southern parents all got together and were like, ‘We have to give it to the gay boy!’ It was a very hoity-toity private school.”

“Rory O’Malley sent my headshot to a casting director for The Book of Mormon tour after a teacher of ours at Carnegie Mellon emailed him. He thought I looked the part of Elder McKinley, helped me book an audition and the stars aligned. I’m happy to be carrying on his legacy.”

“It’s the dream of any music theater gay boy to do a fabulous, pink-sequined tap dance. Performing ‘Turn It Off’ every night is unbelievable. There’s no break for McKinley in the show. I hope I lose at least a pound every damn day.”

“I try to imagine what’s going to happen next, but I drive myself crazy doing that. I’m excited to do something new! I have an affinity for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. I think I’m too young for Pseudolus, but I love that role.”