Life and Career
Wright began acting at the age of 14 at the Creative And Performing Arts magnet program (CAPA) located at Winston Churchill High School in Livonia, Michigan. Within CAPA, Wright was cast in several productions including:
- Brigadoon – New Yorker
- You Can't Take It with You – Ed Carmichael
- Stage Door – Adolph Gretzel
- A Midsummer Night's Dream – Snug
- Les Misérables – Bishop and Monparnasse
- Dancing at Lughnasa – Michael Evans
- Li'l Abner – Abner
- A Piece of My Heart – Ensemble
- Into the Woods – The Baker
- A Streetcar Named Desire – Stanley Kowalski
- The Crucible – Reverend John Hale
- Macbeth – Macduff
Wright won a prestigious scholarship to the Cranbrook Summer Theater in his junior year of high school, where he played Romeo in a production of Romeo and Juliet. In 2003, he was cast in Jake Heggie's opera Dead Man Walking at the Michigan Opera Theater. At the age of 16, Jonathan came to New York and attended the summer acting workshop at The Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. Upon graduation from high school in 2005, returned to New York to become the youngest member of The Actors Center's nine month conservatory program. Jonathan auditioned in 2005 for a role in the Off-Broadway musical production of Spring Awakening at the Atlantic Theater Company. Jonathan was cast in the role of Hanschen, the choir boy who seduces his fellow male classmate, for which he has received rave reviews, being cited by some as a scene-stealer. He continued with Spring Awakening as it moved to Broadway and went on to win 8 Tony awards. Wright's final performance was on April 20, 2008.
In October 2007, Wright was cast as Lethario in his first feature film, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, which was released on October 3, 2008. His character (also referred to as "Beefy Guy") is the boyfriend of Dev (Rafi Gavron), the lead singer for The Jerk Offs. In May 2008, Wright was cast as Trent Preston in Youth in Revolt alongside Michael Cera, his Infinite Playlist castmate. Youth in Revolt received wide theatrical release on January 8, 2010.
Wright is also known as Jonny Wright, Jonny B. Wright and Jonny B.
Read more about this topic: Jonathan B. Wright
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