Jefferson Mays

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

41

Gender

Male

Birthday

1965-06-08 (60 years old)

Place of Birth

Connecticut, USA

Jefferson Mays

Biography

Jefferson Mays (born Lewis Jefferson Mays; June 8, 1965) is an American film, stage and television actor. Mays was raised in Clinton, Connecticut with his parents, a naval intelligence officer and a children's librarian, and his siblings. Mays graduated from Yale College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, and the University of California, San Diego, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts. Mays appeared on Broadway in I Am My Own Wife, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Doug Wright, from November 2003 (previews) to October 31, 2004. He had appeared in the play Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in May 2003, and at the La Jolla Playhouse in July 2001. Mays won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show, an Obie Award, and a 2004 Theatre World Award for his solo performance. He also won the 2007 Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Play for seasons of I Am My Own Wife in Australia in 2006. In 2007, he appeared as Henry Higgins in a revival of Pygmalion and starred as Private Mason in a revival of Journey's End. In August 2009, Mays appeared at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Quartermaine's Terms by Simon Grey. Mays starred in the 2013 Broadway musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, in which he played eight roles. He won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He also was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical and tied for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (with Neil Patrick Harris).

Known For

  • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

    Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

  • Law & Order

    Law & Order

  • The Blacklist

    The Blacklist

  • Law & Order: Criminal Intent

    Law & Order: Criminal Intent

  • The Good Wife

    The Good Wife

  • Fringe

    Fringe

  • The Closer

    The Closer

  • Westworld

    Westworld

  • Hacks

    Hacks

  • The Americans

    The Americans

  • Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

    Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

  • Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

    Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

  • Perry Mason

    Perry Mason

  • Inherent Vice

    Inherent Vice

  • The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

    The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

  • Julia

    Julia

  • Rebuilding

    Rebuilding

  • The Giver

    The Giver

  • Rebel in the Rye

    Rebel in the Rye

  • The Big Brass Ring

    The Big Brass Ring

  • Ned Rifle

    Ned Rifle

  • The Tragedy of Macbeth

    The Tragedy of Macbeth

  • Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol

    Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol

  • The Low Life

    The Low Life

  • I Am the Night

    I Am the Night

  • The Notorious Bettie Page

    The Notorious Bettie Page

  • Grey Knight

    Grey Knight

  • Liberty!

    Liberty!

  • My America

    My America

  • Hudson River Blues

    Hudson River Blues

  • How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

    How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

  • I Am Michael

    I Am Michael

  • Cousin Bette

    Cousin Bette

  • Benjamin Franklin

    Benjamin Franklin

  • Alfie

    Alfie

  • The Fight

    The Fight

  • Seneca

    Seneca

  • Curated

    Curated

  • Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade

    Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade

  • The Raven

    The Raven

  • The Cask of Amontillado

    The Cask of Amontillado