Film and TV aren’t always the ultimate goal for actors. Some prefer the stage and spend their entire careers working in Broadway productions while barely pursuing opportunities on the screen, while others dabble in both. Below is a look at six accomplished film and TV actors who you might be surprised to know have appeared in Broadway plays and/or musicals.
Christina Applegate
A veteran film and TV actress with more than 75 credits, Christina Applegate rose to fame as Kelly Bundy in the 1980s and early 1990s sitcom Married with Children. She has since appeared in notable film and TV projects such as Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead (1991), Bad Moms (2016), Dead to Me (2019-22), and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004).
Applegate made her Broadway debut in the 2004 Broadway revival of Sweet Charity. She earned a Tony Award and Drama Desk nomination for her portrayal of Charity Hope Valentine, a dancer-for-hire at a dance hall in Times Square. Sweet Charity debuted on Broadway in 1966 and starred Gwen Verdon in the lead role. The play was also revived in 1986 and 2016 as an off-Broadway production.
Morgan Freeman
One of the most celebrated and respected film actors of his generation, Morgan Freeman has played Nelson Mandela in Invictus (2009) and appeared in popular films like Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Seven (1995), Million Dollar Baby (2004), and The Shawshank Redemption (1994). He’s a five-time Oscar nominee and won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for The Shawshank Redemption.
Although he now has more than 140 film and TV acting credits to his name, Freeman started his acting career on the stage. Serving as a replacement actor, Freeman made his Broadway debut in a 1968 production of Hello, Dolly! He later performed in The Dozens (1969), Purlie (1970), The Mighty Gents (1978), and The Gospel at Colonus (1988). His last and most recent Broadway credit was for The Country Girl (2008).
Bryan Cranston
Unlike many actors who begin their career on the stage, Bryan Cranston parlayed his breakthrough performances in film and TV to a distinguished Broadway career. After recurring roles in sitcoms like Seinfeld and The King of Queens, Cranston landed a co-starring role in Malcolm in the Middle, a family sitcom that ran for 151 episodes on FOX. He made a dramatic turn as Walter White in Breaking Bad, for which he won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
In 2014, after the conclusion of Breaking Bad, Cranston starred as President Lyndon B. Johnson in the Broadway production All the Way and won his first of two Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play. He received his second for Network, which debuted at the National Theatre in London’s West End in 2017 and came to Broadway the following year. Cranston also produced Finding Neverland (2015) on Broadway.
Adam Driver
A two-time Oscar nominated actor from San Diego, California, Adam Driver rose to prominence in Hollywood with his performance in HBO’s Girls, which ran from 2012 to 2017. During that time, he was also cast as Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and has since become an important part of the Star Wars universe. He’s also known for BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Marriage Story (2019) and is slated to portray Enzo Ferrari in Ferrari.
Driver debuted on Broadway in Mrs. Warren’s Profession as Frank Gardner in 2010. He also appeared in two Off-Broadway productions, Angels in America: Perestroika and Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, that year. Driver has since starred in Broadway productions Man and Boy (2011) and Burn This (2019), the latter of which was shown at Hudson Theatre and co-starred Keri Russell.
Andrew Garfield
A multi-talented actor best known for portraying the Marvel superhero Spider-Man in multiple films, including The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Andrew Garfield garnered his first film credit in 2005 and, five years later, earned international attention from his performances in The Social Network and Never Let Me Go. He has since starred in Hacksaw Ridge (2016), for which he earned his first of two Oscar nominations, as well as Under the Silver Lake (2018), The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021), and Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021).
On the stage, Garfield made his debut in the 2012 Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman. He played Prior Walter in Angels in America at the National Theatre in London’s West End in 2017 before reprising the role on Broadway in 2018.
Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe, best known for playing the young wizard Harry Potter in the eight-film franchise, is an award-winning actor who has also starred in films such as Beast of Burden (2018) and The Woman in Black (2012). However, he has been just as active on Broadway and at London’s West End since wrapping up Harry Potter.
After making his Broadway debut in the 2008 revival of Equus, Radcliffe starred in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Cripple of Inishmaan, and Privacy. He most recently appeared in the 2020 West End production Endgame.