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).
2023
as Narrator (voice)
2022
as Albert Duhamel
2021
as Doctor
2021
as T.L. Gurley
2020
as Narrator
2020
as Virgil Sheets
2019
as George Hodel
2018
as Gilbert Longabaugh (segment "The Gal Who Got Rattled")
2018
as The Curator
2017
as William Maxwell
2016
as Liam Dempsey, Sr.
2015
as Dr. Ford
2015
as Daddy (voice)
2015
as Daddy
2015
as Preacher Teacher
2014
as Dr. Threeply
2014
as Voice over (voice)
2014
as Fortunato
2014
as Community (voice)
2014
2013
as Norman Devane
2013
as Walter Taffet
2009
as Diplomat Van Buskirk
2008
as Bill Nathanson
2008
as Nicholas Boone
2005
as Little John
2005
as Dr. Easton
2005
2004
as Dr. Miranda Kulp
2002
as Elkanah Watson
2001
as Keifer Gates
1999
as Carl Rudnick
1999
as Garne Strickland
1998
as Stidmann
1997
1997
as James Madison
1995
as Hollywood Mogul
1994
as Gerry Woolridge
1990
as Mr. Olson