Joshua Henry

Joshua Henry (born Joshua Anthony Charlton Henry on September 2, 1984 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) is a Canadian‑American actor, singer, and songwriter whose career has spanned over a decade and a half on stage and screen. He grew up in Miami after his family moved from Canada, the son of teacher Zadoc Henry and a mother who worked as an accountant, and he first fell in love with performance when he played Harold Hill in his high‑school production of The Music Man. Henry refined his craft at the University of Miami, graduating in 2006 with a theatre degree, and immediately began professional work with a dual role as Judas/John the Baptist in the Paper Mill Playhouse’s Godspell. Early Broadway forays included ensemble work in In the Heights and a brief stint as “Favorite Son” in the original cast of American Idiot, experiences that earned him his first Drama Desk and ACCA awards for ensemble excellence. His breakthrough came with the critically acclaimed role of Haywood Patterson in The Scottsboro Boys (2011), which garnered his first Tony nomination and positioned him as a leading voice in contemporary musical theatre. In the following years he originated the role of Flick in Violet (2014), played Jake in Porgy and Bess (2011‑2012), and portrayed Noble Sissle in the revival of Shuffle Along (2016), each performance consolidating his reputation for powerful vocal delivery and emotional depth.

Since 2018 Henry has become a household name through marquee roles such as Billy Bigelow in the 2018 Broadway revival of Carousel, Aaron Burr in the Chicago production and national tour of Hamilton, and Dr. Jim Pomatter in Waitress—the first African‑American actor to assume that part. He further expanded his reach with TV appearances in Sex and the City (2008) and the musical film tick, tick… BOOM! (2021), earning a Black Reel Award nomination for the latter. Recent highlights include starring as Rapunzel’s Prince in the 2022 revival of Into the Woods, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration (2022), and his upcoming return to the role of Coalhouse Walker Jr. in a Broadway revival of Ragtime slated for 2025. Offstage, Henry released the EP Guarantee (2021) and the album Grow (2021), while maintaining a family life with his wife Cathryn Stringer—married in 2012—and their three children in Harlem, New York City.