Justin Cooley

Justin Cooley (born June 23, 2003) is an American actor. He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical and a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Seth in the off-Broadway and Broadway theatre productions of Kimberly Akimbo in 2022 and 2023.^[2]^[3]

Life and career

Cooley was born to Paul and Julie.^[1] He grew up in Overland Park, Kansas,^[4] where he attended Olathe East High School.^[3] He was named outstanding actor in a lead role for the Blue Star Awards, a regional theatre competition for high school students, and became a finalist for the Jimmy Awards.^[4] He enrolled at Texas Christian University, but received an offer to join the cast of Kimberly Akimbo and quickly deferred school for one semester to join the production off-Broadway as Seth.^[4] Cooley earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, a Lucille Lortel Awards nomination for Outstanding Leading Performer in a Musical, an Outer Critics Circle Awards nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, and a Theatre World Award for his performance in the off-Broadway production.^[2]^[5]

Cooley made his Broadway debut when Kimberly Akimbo moved to the Booth Theatre.^[4] He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance.^[3]

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Notes
2021	Kimberly Akimbo	Seth	Atlantic Theater Company	Off-Broadway premiere
2022–24	Kimberly Akimbo	Seth	Booth Theater	Broadway

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2022	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical	Kimberly Akimbo	Nominated	^[2]
	Lucille Lortel Awards	Outstanding Leading Performer in a Musical		Nominated	^[2]
	Outer Critics Circle Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Musical		Nominated	^[5]
	Theatre World Award			Honoree	^[2]
2023	Tony Awards	Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical		Nominated	^[3]

^ ^a ^b Adler, Eric (June 9, 2023). "'Trial by fire': How this 19-year-old went from Olathe East to Broadway to Tony Awards". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved June 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Tauer, Kristen (December 5, 2022). "Justin Cooley Makes His Broadway Debut in 'Kimberly Akimbo'". Yahoo.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gutierrez, Lisa (May 3, 2023). "Johnson County 19-year-old is up for a Tony Award for debut role in Broadway musical". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Paulson, Michael (April 26, 2023). "Meet the 19-Year-Old 'Kimberly Akimbo' Actor Who's Charming Broadway". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Gans, Andrew (April 26, 2022). "Nominees for 71st Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards Announced". Playbill.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.