Anthony Rapp was born in Chicago on October 26, 1971, but spent most of his childhood in Joliet, Illinois. His parents divorced when he was very young, after which he was raised by his mother, who worked in the nursing field. Rapp credits his mother with making his career possible, referencing her tireless dedication to helping him get work in theater.
Rapp got involved in acting at a very young age. He credits working in the Joliet community theater scene with igniting his passion for acting. His first stage role was at the age of 6, and by age 9 he had his own agent and received his Equity card. At that time, he joined a touring production of Evita that was playing in Chicago. This led to work on Broadway in The Little Prince and the Aviator (which never made it past previews), and then a national touring production of The King & I, in which Rapp, at the tender age of 10, performed alongside none other than Yul Brynner. Rapp continued getting work here and there for the next few years until his next Broadway production, the musical Precious Sons, for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and won an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
The next few years brought a handful of film roles for Anthony Rapp, including parts in Dazed and Confused and Six Degrees of Separation. But Rapp’s biggest and most iconic role was given to him in 1994 when he auditioned for Jonathan Larson’s groundbreaking musical Rent. Rapp originated the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production, which he stayed with for years and later reprised, both in the 2005 film version and in the 2009 national tour.
Rapp has worked consistently since childhood in film and theater, as well as in notable television appearances. He currently plays Lt. Commander Paul Stamets on the newest incarnation of the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Discovery. Rapp’s character on the show is openly gay, a first for Star Trek. Rapp has said that the show creators were committed to casting an openly gay actor in the part, and that he was brought onto the series without needing to audition.
Anthony Rapp has been credited as one of the “first openly gay men on Broadway”, having come out prior to Rent, at a time when not many leading actors were out. He credits his commitment to living openly to working with Larry Kramer, author of The Normal Heart and a major activist in the fight against AIDS. Rapp has said that people like Kramer, Jonathan Larson, and Michael Stipe (of R.E.M.) have inspired him to use his platform to inspire positive change in the world.
In 2017, after seeing the effects of the #MeToo movement, particularly with regard to the women speaking out against Harvey Weinstein, Rapp made the decision to come forward with an accusation of sexual misconduct against actor Kevin Spacey. He alleged that Spacey had befriended him in 1986 when they were each working on shows on Broadway, and that Spacey invited Rapp to a party at his apartment. Rapp claimed that after the other party attendees had left, Spacey picked him up, placed him on his bed, and made a sexual advance. At the time of the incident, Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26. Rapp’s accusation has emboldened more than 30 others to come forward with claims of sexual misconduct from Spacey. Rapp said he was motivated to speak out in order “to try to shine another light on the decades of behavior that have been allowed to continue because of many people, including myself, being silent”.
Anthony Rapp is continuing to work and stay busy, continuing his role on Star Trek: Discovery, appearing in the HBO series Equal (a four-part docuseries about major events and leaders in the LGBTQ+ community in the 20th century), and even co-hosting a Chicago Cubs podcast (he’s a diehard fan). Given his passion for acting and activism, it seems likely that we’ll be hearing about his work, both on and off the stage, for years to come.
