20 Broadway actors who appeared in their production’s screen adaptation

Everyone knows Kristin Chenoweth as the original Glinda the Good Witch from Broadway’s production of Wicked. She made the role what it is, and she was honored with the chance to appear as another character in the 2024 screen adaptation of the show’s first act. 

Standing next to Kristin Chenoweth on stage in Wicked was Idina Menzel, the original Elphaba. And Menzel was right next to Chenoweth for the screen adaptation, too. 

Idina Menzel is plenty familiar with taking her work from stage to screen. The actress was also in the original Broadway production of Rent, and she reprised her role as Maureen in the screen adaptation.  

Jesse L. Martin took his talents from Broadway to the big screen for Rent, too. He was one of Idina Menzel’s co-stars in both the original production and the screen adaptation.

Lin-Manuel Miranda played the male lead in his first Tony-winning musical, In the Heights. He was involved in the screen adaptation, but he played a supporting role in the film instead. 

Next to Lin-Manuel Miranda on stage and on set was Olga Merediz. But unlike Miranda, Merediz played the same role in both productions. She originated the role of Abuela Claudia and played her on screen. 

Ben Platt was praised for his work as the lead role in the groundbreaking Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen. Platt reprised his role for the screen adaptation, but the choice was met with criticism as he was much older than his character by the time the musical was taken to film. 

When August Wilson’s masterpiece Fences was revived on Broadway, Denzel Washington took on the male lead role that was originated by James Earl Jones. Washington played the role again for the 2016 screen adaptation. 

Viola Davis played the female lead in the Broadway revival of Fences, and she played the same role in the screen adaptation. Davis won a Tony and an Oscar for her work on the projects, helping her eventually achieve EGOT status. 

Other actors have won both a Tony and an Oscar for the same role, too. Shirley Booth took home both awards after playing Marie in Come Back, Little Sheba on Broadway and the film. 

When The Producers premiered on Broadway, Nathan Lane was on stage. His work was so revered that he won a Tony. A few years later, he reprised his role for the screen adaptation of the film, though it wasn’t nearly as well-received as the stage production. 

Alongside Nathan Lane was his co-star Matthew Broderick. Though best known for his film work, Broderick is a celebrated Broadway star, and he was nominated for a Tony for his role in The Producers. He reprised his role in the film, too. 

Dıck Van Dyke rose to fame on Broadway. He was in the cast of Bye Bye Birdie on the famed New York street, and he took his talents to Hollywood for the screen adaptation. Van Dyke went on to star in films like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins afterward. 

While James Earl Jones never got to make a screen adaptation of Fences, he did make one of The Great White Hope. The beloved actor starred in the original stage production of the script, and he got to appear in the movie version, too. 

Anne Bancroft is another actor who took her outstanding work on stage to screen. Bancroft played Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker on Broadway and in Hollywood, and she won a Tony and an Oscar for the role. 

Actors have been winning Tonys and Oscars for the same role for decades. Rex Harrison acted alongside Julie Andrews in the Broadway production of My Fair Lady and then alongside Audrey Hepburn in the screen adaptation. 

Tim Curry played Dr. Frank-N-Furter in both the stage and screen versions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the role took up a lot of his time in 1975. The stage show opened in March of that year, and the film premiered in September. 

Joel Grey is another actor to have won both a Tony and an Oscar for the same role. For Grey, it was Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret . For the film, Grey starred alongside Liza Minnelli, who also won an Oscar for her work. 

Barbra Streisand is the original Funny Girl. The EGOT winner rose to fame thanks to her work in the stage production of the musical and the screen adaptation. Unfortunately for Babs, she didn’t win a Tony for Funny Girl, but she got her redemption when she won an Oscar. 

Winning a Tony for your work in a Broadway production is a good start to getting cast in the screen adaptation. Paul Scofield won the award for his work in A Man for All Seasons, and then he went on to win an Oscar for his work in the film.