Who Is Jonathan Groff, King George in 'Hamilton'?

(Image credit: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

published 10 July 2020

Even if you think you don't know Jonathan Groff, prolific actor of stage and screen, you've definitely heard him. The deliciously douchey King George in Hamilton is also the voice of Kristoff in Frozen and Frozen II, and has been in a number of popular shows, including Glee, Mindhunter, and Looking. He's a tremendous singer and a versatile actor; I happen to love how unabashedly evil he can be in his roles, but he plays straitlaced and sweet well, too. He stays away from social media and is private about his personal life, but he's garnered fans around the world for his Broadway roles and, more recently, his TV and movie work as well. So what do we know about him?

Jonathan Groff got his start in the theater.

He's actually from Lancaster, PA, and is half Mennonite. He got his big start in the now-iconic Spring Awakening. If the actor next to him looks familiar, it is none other than Lea Michele:

He also acted alongside Michele again in Glee:

He was in the cult classic movie and TV show Looking:

Looking: The Movie - Trailer (HBO) - YouTube

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And he's been in a number of Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including Hair, The Bacchae, and Little Shop of Horrors. Most recently, Groff plays the quiet, buttoned-up FBI agent Holden Ford in David Fincher's Mindhunter on Netflix (big content warning for rape, violence, murder if you don't know what the show is about):

And apparently he'll be in The Matrix 4.

People love Groff as King George in Hamilton.

King George gets less than 10 minutes of time on stage during the play, but Groff absolutely nails the smarminess. IRL, Groff apparently has a wonderful relationship with Miranda and the rest of the cast, and has said he loves how the role brings in the idea of the Revolutionary War feeling like a breakup:

As you might have seen, Groff made headlines for a bit of a random reason after the play debuted on—the fact that viewers noticed he spits a lot in his King George performance? Listen, though: As a singer, I know this challenge really well—sometimes it's just the mechanics of your lungs and vocal cords. Groff is apparently known for his, uh, phlegm, and has addressed it before several times throughout the course of his Broadway history: "I don’t know what it is. I guess I have a lot of saliva in my mouth. I actually don’t think about it too much, unless I’m in a good scene with someone and I can see it hitting their face."

Groff is dating Corey Baker.

Groff, who's notoriously private and isn't on social media, has been previously linked to Gavin Creel and Star Trek's Zachary Quinto and has been out since the end of Spring Awakening. He met Baker, a choreographer, in New Zealand while they were both teaching at a musical theater summer school. He has talked a little bit about their sweet meet-cute:

Jonathan Groff & Dominic Cooper's Families Complicate Their Dating Lives - YouTube

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And he lives a low-key life in Chelsea, Manhattan.

This article has been updated.

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Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York Times, Parents, InStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award.

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeans, how sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.