SEAN HAYES, American Actor, born; An Emmy award-winning actor and comedian. He is perhaps best known for his role as Jack McFarland in the sitcom Will & Grace. Hayes has played both Gay and straight characters during his time as an actor but, until recently, like most closet cases, refused to discuss his sexual orientation in public. He has stated, “When you see me play Jack, I want you to believe that that’s a gay character. After Will & Grace is over, when I play a straight character, I want you to believe that, too.”

Oh. Ok. I sympathize, Sean…we both went to the same high school in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. More recently, however, he came out as Gay in an interview for The Advocate magazine in March 2010. Answering the charge he had skirted the issue of his sexuality for too long, Hayes was reported as saying “I feel like I’ve contributed monumentally to the success of the Gay movement in America, and if anyone wants to argue that, I’m open to it. You’re welcome, Advocate.”

Hayes made his Broadway debut alongside Kristin Chenoweth in the April 2010 Broadway revival of the musical Promises, Promises. He has received a nomination for the Drama League Award for Distinguished Performance.  

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

In July 2020, Hayes, along with Will Arnett and Jason Bateman, created a comedy and talk podcast called SmartLess. He also hosts another podcast with Dr. Priyanka Wali called HypochondriActor. Hayes starred in and was one of the executive producers for the Netflix Series Q-Force, released September 2021.

In 2022 Hayes portrayed pianist Oscar Levant in the play by Doug Wright entitled Good Night, Oscar which premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. He reprised the role on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre, beginning in April 2023. He received rave reviews for his performance earning a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He also received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play.

In November 2014 Hayes announced that he had married his partner of eight years, Scott Icenogle.