Steve Kazee Biography
Steven Michael Kazee is an American actor and singer born in Ashland, Kentucky. He gained widespread recognition for originating the role of Guy in the Broadway musical Once, a performance that earned him the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical.
Steve Kazee Early Life
Steven Michael Kazee was born on October 30, 1975, in Ashland, Kentucky. He is an only child raised in a modest trailer home in the Appalachian region along the Ohio River. His father worked as a welder and his mother, Kathy Withrow Kazee, worked as a health care aide. The family moved several times within the outskirts of Ashland, a small industrial city where opportunities often centered on steel or oil work.
Kazee attended Fairview High School, where he was an average student who found an early outlet in singing. He has recalled being sent to the principal’s office for singing too loudly during class, an incident that led a chorus teacher to encourage his voice. After high school he enrolled at Morehead State University. At one point he considered paths such as becoming a state trooper or criminal psychologist. A chance accompaniment of a friend to auditions for a campus production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat resulted in him landing a role, which shifted his direction toward theater.
He left school for summer stock and regional work in places such as Orlando and Palm Springs before returning home when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. He helped care for her while working service jobs, then re-enrolled at Morehead State after her remission. In 2002 he moved to New York City and completed a Master of Fine Arts in the Graduate Acting Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2005. Kentucky’s landscape, working-class values, and mix of country, classic rock, and bluegrass music shaped his early worldview and later informed the grounded quality he brought to roles.
Steve Kazee Career
Kazee’s professional work began in the mid-2000s with regional and Off-Broadway appearances before Broadway opportunities arrived.
Theater Breakthroughs and Broadway Roles
He appeared in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s As You Like It in 2005 and made his Broadway debut as an understudy in the revival of Edward Albee’s Seascape. In 2006 he played Timmy Cleary in The Subject Was Roses at the Kennedy Center, earning a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Non-Resident Production. That same year he joined the Broadway company of Monty Python’s Spamalot as a replacement covering Sir Lancelot and other roles.
In 2007 he starred as Bill Starbuck opposite Audra McDonald in the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of 110 in the Shade. The following year he appeared in To Be or Not to Be at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Regional work included the Pirate King in a Boston production of Pirates! or Gilbert and Sullivan Plunder’d.
The defining role came with Once. Adapted from the 2007 film, the musical features a Dublin street musician who forms a deep connection with a Czech pianist. Kazee originated Guy Off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop in late 2011. The production transferred to Broadway’s Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre in early 2012. His performance, marked by raw emotional honesty and skilled guitar work, earned critical praise. He remained with the show until early 2013, departing earlier than planned because of a vocal injury.
In 2018 he starred as Edward Lewis in the Chicago tryout of Pretty Woman: The Musical. He left the production for family reasons before its Broadway opening and was succeeded by another actor. More recently he has returned to the stage in regional productions, including the role of Bo in Appropriate at The Old Globe in San Diego in early 2025.
Television and Screen Work
Parallel to theater, Kazee built a television résumé with guest appearances on series such as Conviction, Medium, Numb3rs, NCIS, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He took a lead role as Nick Garrett on the CMT comedy Working Class in 2011. Later credits include Jeff Hines on Elementary, Dustin Wycott on Drop Dead Diva, Curtis Ballard on Legends, Riff Bell on Nashville, Clem Hahn on Blindspot, Frank on The Walking Dead, and a recurring turn as Jason Wyler on The Rookie across multiple seasons.
A notable recurring role came as Gus Pfender, the musician who marries Fiona Gallagher, across seasons 5 and 6 of Showtime’s Shameless. Film and television movie credits include Tempting Fate and Devil on My Doorstep, the latter of which he also co-produced opposite Jenna Dewan.
Music Contributions
Kazee is a self-taught guitarist who began playing around age 13 and learned by ear without formal music reading. His work in Once showcased that skill, and the original Broadway cast recording earned a Grammy Award. He also contributed vocals to Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years, Pt. 2” on the soundtrack for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.
Steve Kazee Awards
Kazee’s most prominent recognition is the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for Once. The cast album of Once won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards in 2013, shared with collaborators including Cristin Milioti, Glen Hansard, and Markéta Irglová. He received nominations for the Drama League Distinguished Performance Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, both for Once, as well as the earlier Helen Hayes nomination for The Subject Was Roses.
Steve Kazee Personal Life
Kazee was in a relationship with actress Megan Hilty from 2005 until 2012. Their separation occurred around the time Once was transferring to Broadway. Shortly afterward, on Easter Sunday 2012, his mother Kathy Withrow Kazee died after a long battle with breast cancer in the Kentucky home where he had grown up. Kazee was at her side and returned to the stage soon after. In his Tony acceptance speech he paid public tribute to her, recalling her advice to “stand up there and show them whose little boy you are.”
In October 2018 it was confirmed that Kazee was dating actress and dancer Jenna Dewan. They had first met years earlier when she attended a performance of Once. The couple became engaged in February 2020. Their son, Callum Michael Rebel Kazee, was born on March 6, 2020. Their daughter, Rhiannon Lee Kathryn Kazee, was born on June 14, 2024. Kazee is also a stepfather to Dewan’s daughter Everly from her previous marriage to Channing Tatum. The family has lived in the Los Angeles area and shares a household that includes pets.
Kazee has spoken in interviews about channeling personal experience into his work while maintaining professional boundaries onstage. He has described learning guitar and limited piano by ear and has expressed appreciation for a range of musical influences that began in his Kentucky home.
Steve Kazee Connection to Kentucky and Roots
Ashland and the surrounding northeastern Kentucky region remain central to understanding Kazee’s foundation. The area’s working-class culture, limited early opportunities, and strong sense of family obligation shaped his sense of perspective. He has referenced the trailer home of his childhood as a personal measuring stick for both achievement and setback. Returning home to support his mother during her illness reinforced values of responsibility that surface in the grounded, emotionally available characters he often portrays.
Conclusion
Steve Kazee’s career illustrates a progression from small-town Kentucky stages and classrooms to major Broadway recognition, television roles, and a sustained presence as both actor and musician. The Tony and Grammy awards for Once stand as career peaks, yet his body of work across mediums and his continued return to the stage demonstrate ongoing commitment to craft. His personal life, marked by loss, partnership with Jenna Dewan, and fatherhood, adds dimension to the public record. Readers seeking insight into a performer who balances technical skill with authentic feeling will find his story a clear example of persistence and artistic focus.
FAQs
Who is Steve Kazee?
Steve Kazee is an American actor and singer best known for originating the role of Guy in the Broadway musical Once and winning the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical.
Where was Steve Kazee born?
He was born in Ashland, Kentucky, and raised in the northeastern part of the state.
What is Steve Kazee known for?
He is primarily known for his Tony-winning performance in Once, subsequent television roles including Gus Pfender on Shameless, and his work as a singer and guitarist.
Is Steve Kazee married?
He has been engaged to actress Jenna Dewan since February 2020. They share two children and he is stepfather to her daughter from a previous relationship.
Does Steve Kazee have children?
Yes. He and Jenna Dewan have a son, Callum Michael Rebel Kazee, born in March 2020, and a daughter, Rhiannon Lee Kathryn Kazee, born in June 2024.
What awards has Steve Kazee won?
He won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for Once and shared a 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for the Once cast recording.
What other Broadway shows has Steve Kazee appeared in?
Credits include understudy work in Seascape, replacement roles in Spamalot, a starring turn in 110 in the Shade, and To Be or Not to Be, among others.
How tall is Steve Kazee?
He stands 6 feet 2 inches tall.
