Sean Hayes
Sean Hayes
Will & Grace
Sean Hayes is widely known as the sarcastic and hilarious Jack McFarland on NBC's iconic sitcom WILL & GRACE, which ran for eight years (1998-2006) and won an Emmy Award for best comedy in 2000. He recently starred as Sean, a divorced dad struggling to juggle career and family, in NBC's comedy SEAN SAVES THE WORLD. In addition, he serves as executive producer on NBC's acclaimed drama series GRIMM.
Sean was raised in the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn, Illinois. A talented musician, he supported himself as a classical pianist and performed in a pop band while attending Illinois State University, where he majored in performance and conducting. After his college experience, Hayes began working in the Chicago stage community, serving as the music director at the Pheasant Run Theater for a few years, where he appeared in several of their productions.
After moving to Los Angeles, Hayes had gigs as a stand-up comic, performing at the Comedy Club, and starred in the television movie "A&P," based on the short story by John Updike. In 1998, he received his big break and landed the role of Jack on WILL & GRACE for which he won an Emmy Award (and was nominated six times), four Screen Actors Guild Awards, two TV Guide Awards, an American Comedy Award and seven Golden Globe nominations.
His other notable television projects include well-received guest roles on SCRUBS and "30 ROCK" as well as "MARTIN & LEWIS," a television film that earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his role as Jerry Lewis. He appeared in multiple episodes of the NBC sitcom UP ALL NIGHT in which he played a former colleague of Ava's (Maya Rudolph). He also made guest appearances in PARKS AND RECREATION, PORTLANDIA, and HOT IN CLEVELAND. In addition, he had an arc on SMASH as a TV and film star making his Broadway debut.
Hayes made his Broadway debut in 2010 in the wildly successful "Promises, Promises," alongside Kristin Chenoweth. Based on Billy Wilder's Academy Award-winning film "The Apartment," starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, the play starred Hayes as Chuck Baxter, a young insurance employee who lends his apartment to his executives for their illicit affairs as a means for advancement within the company.
Previously, he was seen on stage in the New York City Center production of "Damn Yankees" with Jane Krakowski and Cheyenne Jackson. In addition to receiving a Tony Award nomination for his role in "Promises, Promises," he also hosted the Tony Awards in 2011 to strong reviews.
Sean starred as Larry Fine in the movie THE THREE STOOGES directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly, and he was the voice of Terri in Pixar's MONSTERS UNIVERSITY. His additional film credits include THE BUCKET LIST opposite Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, BILLY'S HOLLYWOOD SCREEN KISS, PIECES OF APRIL, the voice of Mr. Fish in THE CAT IN THE HAT, WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON, IGOR, SOUL MEN, and the voice of Mr. Tinkles in the box-office hit CATS AND DOGS.
In 2003, Hayes and producing partner Todd Milliner formed Hazy Mills Productions. Their first project, SITUATION: COMEDY, a documentary television show in search of the next great sitcom, premiered on Bravo in the summer of 2005 and garnered wide critical praise. Hazy Mills is currently producing TV Land's hit comedy HOT IN CLEVELAND starring Betty White, Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves and Valerie Bertinelli, as well as NBC's GRIMM, a dark yet fantastical cop drama that takes place in a world where Grimm's fairy-tale-inspired characters exist.
Hazy Mills also produced the sitcom THE SOUL MAN starring Cedric the Entertainer that premiered on TV Land this past summer. Its most recent project is NBC's HOLLYWOOD GAME NIGHT, a game show that pits celebrities against each other in a makeshift game night.
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Sean Hayes at the Internet Movie Database