Sean Hayes

Hayes was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois, the youngest child of five of Mary Hayes (1939–2018), the director of a non-profit food bank called the Northern Illinois Food Bank, and Ronald Hayes, a lithographer.

He is of Irish descent and was raised as a Roman Catholic in the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

His father, an alcoholic, left the family when Hayes was five years old, leaving his mother to raise him and his siblings.

He has been estranged from his father for many years.

After graduating from Glenbard West High School, Hayes attended Illinois State University, where he studied piano performance.

He left "two or three classes short" of graduation when he became music director at the Pheasant Run Theater in St. Charles, Illinois.

Hayes worked as a classical pianist.

He practiced improv at The Second City in Chicago.

He also composed original music for a production of Antigone at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.

Sean Patrick Hayes (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, musician and producer.

Known for his performances on stage and screen, he gained acclaim for his role as Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.

He has also received nominations for six Golden Globe Awards and two Tony Awards, winning one of the latter.

He also runs a television production company called Hazy Mills Productions, which produces shows such as Grimm, Hot in Cleveland, The Soul Man, and Hollywood Game Night.

As a teenager, Hayes was an extra in the film Lucas (1986), which was filmed at his high school.

He moved to Los Angeles in 1995, where he found work as a stand-up comedian and an actor on stage and on television, including a commercial for Doritos which aired during Super Bowl XXXII in 1998.

He is known for his appearances in films such as Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998), Cats & Dogs (2001), Pieces of April (2003), The Cat in the Hat (2003), Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004), The Bucket List (2007), Igor (2008), The Three Stooges (2012), Monsters University (2013), and Am I OK? (2022).

He made his professional debut in the independent film Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998), which brought him wide attention.

The same year, he was cast as Jack McFarland, a flamboyantly gay and frequently unemployed actor, in the NBC comedy series Will & Grace.

The show became a long-running hit and Hayes' performance earned him seven consecutive Emmy Award nominations as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

He won the award for his first nomination.

He was also nominated for six Golden Globe Awards for his performances.

Hayes also made film appearances in Cats & Dogs (2001), as Jerry Lewis in Martin and Lewis (2002), Wayne in Pieces of April (2003), The Cat in the Hat (2003), and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004).

He portrayed Jerry Lewis in the CBS film Martin and Lewis (2002).

In 2005, he was executive producer for Bravo's Situation: Comedy, a reality television series about sitcoms.

He also executive produced The Sperm Donor and Stephen's Life, the two winning scripts that were chosen by NBC.

He guest-starred in 2006 in the Adult Swim cameo-filled show Tom Goes to the Mayor (S2E15, "Bass Fest").

Hayes appeared as Thomas in the film The Bucket List (2007).

He was also the voice of Brain in the 2008 film Igor, and has guest-starred in television shows such as Scrubs and 30 Rock.

On July 5, 2008, he made his New York stage debut as Mr. Applegate / Devil in New York City Center's Encores! production of Damn Yankees.

He also appeared as Mr. Hank Humberfloob and provided the voice of "The Fish" in The Cat in the Hat.

In a 2008 interview in The New York Times, Hayes talked about a television project, BiCoastal, about "a guy with a wife and kids in California and a boyfriend in New York" for Showtime.

Hayes made his Broadway debut playing Chuck Baxter in the musical Promises, Promises in 2010, for which he received a Tony nomination.

He hosted the 64th Tony Awards in 2010 for which he was awarded a Primetime Emmy Award.

He made his Broadway debut in the April 2010 Broadway revival of the musical Promises, Promises.

He received a nomination for the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance, and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

Hayes was host of the 64th Annual Tony Awards on June 13, 2010, on CBS.

In 2010, he reprised the role of Mr. Tinkles, the evil white Persian cat, in Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.

On November 15, 2010, he appeared in a satirical PSA for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

He portrayed God in the comedy An Act of God from 2015 to 2016 and Oscar Levant in the Doug Wright play Good Night, Oscar in 2022, the latter of which earned him the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Since July 2020, he has co-hosted the comedy podcast SmartLess alongside Jason Bateman and Will Arnett.