Nathan Lane, born Joseph Lane on February 3, 1956, in Jersey City, New Jersey, is a distinguished American actor renowned for his work in theater, film, and television. Over a career spanning several decades, Lane has garnered numerous accolades, including three Tony Awards, seven Drama Desk Awards, three Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Early Life and Career: Lane began his professional theater career in 1978 with an off-Broadway production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” He gained prominence with roles in Broadway productions such as “Guys and Dolls” (1992), “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (1996), and “The Producers” (2001), for which he won Tony Awards.
Film and Television Roles: In cinema, Lane is perhaps best known for voicing Timon in Disney’s “The Lion King” (1994) and its sequels. He also starred alongside Robin Williams in “The Birdcage” (1996) and appeared in films like “Mouse Hunt” (1997) and “Nicholas Nickleby” (2002). On television, Lane’s notable roles include appearances in “Frasier,” “Modern Family,” and a portrayal of F. Lee Bailey in “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” (2016).
Recent Work: Lane continues to be active in the industry. In 2024, he portrayed journalist Dominick Dunne in Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” which dramatizes the infamous case of the Menendez brothers.
He also stars as Oliver Putnam in Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” a role that earned him an Emmy Award in 2022.
Personal Life: Lane publicly came out as gay to his mother at the age of 21. Since 2015, he has been married to theater producer Devlin Elliott.