American actor, director and filmmaker Joe Mantello was BOTD in 1962. Born in Rockford, Illinois to a middle-class family, he studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts, moving to New York City in the mid 1980s. He appeared in the 1992 off-Broadway premiere of Paula Vogel‘s AIDS-themed play The Baltimore Waltz, co-starring with Cherry Jones, and in Jon Robin Baitz‘s play Three Hotels. He made his Broadway debut in 1992, playing AIDS-phobic Louis Ironside in Tony Kushner’s play Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, becoming an overnight star. He reprised his role in 1994 for Part 2: Perestroika, winning a Tony Award. Despite his success, he transitioned to directing, working extensively with the Circle Repertory Company. He directed the 1994 premiere of Terrence McNally‘s play Love! Valour! Compassion!, directing the original cast in a 1997 film adaptation. His 1998 off-Broadway production of McNally’s Corpus Christi caused controversy over its depiction of Jesus of Nazareth as a gay man who had sex with his disciples, prompting protests and the show’s early closure. In 2001, he directed the Broadway revival of Noël Coward‘s comedy Design for Living, emphasising the show’s gay subtext by having actors Alan Cumming and Dominic West kiss onstage. He dominated Broadway in 2003, directing the Broadway premiere of Stephen Schwartz‘s hit musical Wicked, followed by back-to-back Tony Awards for the gay-themed baseball dramedy Take Me Out and Stephen Sondheim‘s musical Assassins. In 2011, he returned to acting in a revival of Larry Kramer‘s play The Normal Heart, winning a Tony Award for his performance as AIDS activist Ned Weeks, and appeared in a supporting role in the 2014 TV film adaptation. His other notable stage productions include a successful stage musical of the film 9 to 5, with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton; I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers, starring Bette Midler; and celebrated Broadway revivals of Edward Albee‘s plays Three Tall Women and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? His 2018 production of Mart Crowley‘s play The Boys in the Band, featuring a starry all-gay cast, won a Tony Award for best revival of a play. Mantello later directed the Broadway cast in a 2020 TV film, produced by Ryan Murphy. He also appeared in Murphy’s TV drama series American Horror Story: NYC and played Jack Dunphy in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, a biopic series about writer Truman Capote. Openly gay since forever, Mantello was in a 12-year relationship with Baitz, separating in 2002. He lives in New York City with his partner Paul Marlow.