William Youmans has been working in theater, films and television for many years.
He has played principal roles in eight major motion pictures, most recently, The Many Saints of Newark, Birdman, also: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, in a scene with Max Von Sydow. He has worked in films with Diane Keaton, Mel Gibson, Susan Sarandon, Stephen Daldry, Ben Stiller, Jeff Bridges, Peter Bogdanovitch, Penny Marshall, Robert Benton and many others.
He has done major parts on a large number of television shows, including a recurring part on 666 Park Avenue. Among others are Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, NYPD Blue, The Equalizer, H.E.L.P., and several made-for-television movies, such as Separate But Equal, The Little Match Girl (with Rue McLanahan and William Daniels), and the Peabody Award-winning Private History of a Campaign that Failed, directed by Peter Hunt.
Mr. Youmans has been in the original casts of many Broadway plays and musicals, including Wicked (in which he created the role of Dr. Dillamond), Farnsworth Invention (by Aaron Sorkin), Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's Bright Star, Carousel, Pirate Queen, Titanic, Big River, Baz Luhrmann’s La Boheme, The Little Foxes with Elizabeth Taylor, Finian’s Rainbow, as well as Billy Elliot.
He has worked with many of the best-known directors on Broadway, including Des Macanuff, Joe Mantello, Michael Greif, Bartlett Sher, Walter Bobbie, Jack O'Brien, Baz Luhrmann, Austin Pendleton, John Doyle, Neil Pepe, Christopher Ashley, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Warren Carlyle, Tom Moore, Tina Landau, Anne Bogart, Clifford Stevens, and Frank Galati.
In addition, Mr. Youmans has been in original Off-Broadway casts of plays by Tony Kushner, Horton Foote, David Greenspan, Kirsten Childs, among others. He has worked for most of the major Off-Broadway theaters, including Lincoln Center Theater, The Public Theater, Manhattan Theater Club, The Vineyard, MCC, CSC Repertory, and Playwright’s Horizons.
A lyric tenor, he has sung solos on original cast recordings, for such composers as Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Alan Menken, and Maury Yeston. (see Songs)
Besides singing, Mr. Youmans plays violin, viola, and piano.
Mr. Youmans received a BFA in Acting from SUNY Purchase, where he studied with Joan Potter, Edith Skinner and Timothy Monich. He has also studied in New York with Wynn Handman, Mira Rostova, and Austin Pendleton. Joe Papp gave him his first acting job in New York, in Henry the Fifth, with Meryl Streep.
William Youmans comes from a theater family. His great uncle was Tea For Two composer Vincent Youmans; his brother Jim Youmans is a scenic designer for Broadway and television. His father played Clarence in Life With Father in the original Broadway production.
Mr. Youmans lives in Manhattan with his wife, artist Susanna Starr.
He has played principal roles in eight major motion pictures, most recently, The Many Saints of Newark, Birdman, also: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, in a scene with Max Von Sydow. He has worked in films with Diane Keaton, Mel Gibson, Susan Sarandon, Stephen Daldry, Ben Stiller, Jeff Bridges, Peter Bogdanovitch, Penny Marshall, Robert Benton and many others.
He has done major parts on a large number of television shows, including a recurring part on 666 Park Avenue. Among others are Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, NYPD Blue, The Equalizer, H.E.L.P., and several made-for-television movies, such as Separate But Equal, The Little Match Girl (with Rue McLanahan and William Daniels), and the Peabody Award-winning Private History of a Campaign that Failed, directed by Peter Hunt.
Mr. Youmans has been in the original casts of many Broadway plays and musicals, including Wicked (in which he created the role of Dr. Dillamond), Farnsworth Invention (by Aaron Sorkin), Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's Bright Star, Carousel, Pirate Queen, Titanic, Big River, Baz Luhrmann’s La Boheme, The Little Foxes with Elizabeth Taylor, Finian’s Rainbow, as well as Billy Elliot.
He has worked with many of the best-known directors on Broadway, including Des Macanuff, Joe Mantello, Michael Greif, Bartlett Sher, Walter Bobbie, Jack O'Brien, Baz Luhrmann, Austin Pendleton, John Doyle, Neil Pepe, Christopher Ashley, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Warren Carlyle, Tom Moore, Tina Landau, Anne Bogart, Clifford Stevens, and Frank Galati.
In addition, Mr. Youmans has been in original Off-Broadway casts of plays by Tony Kushner, Horton Foote, David Greenspan, Kirsten Childs, among others. He has worked for most of the major Off-Broadway theaters, including Lincoln Center Theater, The Public Theater, Manhattan Theater Club, The Vineyard, MCC, CSC Repertory, and Playwright’s Horizons.
A lyric tenor, he has sung solos on original cast recordings, for such composers as Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, Alan Menken, and Maury Yeston. (see Songs)
Besides singing, Mr. Youmans plays violin, viola, and piano.
Mr. Youmans received a BFA in Acting from SUNY Purchase, where he studied with Joan Potter, Edith Skinner and Timothy Monich. He has also studied in New York with Wynn Handman, Mira Rostova, and Austin Pendleton. Joe Papp gave him his first acting job in New York, in Henry the Fifth, with Meryl Streep.
William Youmans comes from a theater family. His great uncle was Tea For Two composer Vincent Youmans; his brother Jim Youmans is a scenic designer for Broadway and television. His father played Clarence in Life With Father in the original Broadway production.
Mr. Youmans lives in Manhattan with his wife, artist Susanna Starr.