Jefferson Mays is an American film, stage, and television actor. He has performed at La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Playwrights Horizon.

For his performance in Doug Wright’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play I Am My Own Wife, Mays won many awards, including the 2004 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.  In 2007, Mays gave two critically acclaimed performances on the Broadway stage, first as Henry Higgins in Pygmalion and then as Private Mason in Journey’s End. 

Notably, Mays starred in the 2013 Broadway musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, in which he played eight roles.  He wont the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, was tied for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical.  After this, he acted in The Front Page (with Nathan Lane, John Slattery, and John Goodman) and is currently starring in J.T. Roger’s new play Oslo on Broadway!

And when Davenport’s theater representative met him in the fall of 2014, he got really excited when she mentioned her residential college at Yale and asked if Davenport’s mascot is still the gnome.  Once a gnomie, always a gnomie!

Jefferson Mays with the cast of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (where three of the four leads were played by Yale alums!)