Okieriete Onaodowan

Okieriete "Oak" Onaodowan is an American actor and singer known for his work in musical theatre and television. On the stage, he's known for originating the dual roles of Hercules Mulligan and James Madison in the 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton. He starred in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 as Pierre Bezukhov on Broadway in 2017. On television, he's known for the role of Dean Miller in the ABC drama and Grey's Anatomy spin-off series, Station 19. He also appeared in the main role of Ade in the Amazon Prime Video series, Jack Ryan. He returned to Broadway in 2023 as Nills Krogstead in A Doll's House.

Early life
Onaodowan was born in Newark, New Jersey, to Nigerian parents. He and his five sisters were raised in West Orange, New Jersey, He attended Gregory Elementary School and Roosevelt Middle School and West Orange High School, graduating in 2005. Onaodowan briefly played football for his high school, but he stopped after an injury during practice. As a result of the injury, Onaodowan started to explore acting as an alternative extracurricular activity. While attending high school, he began performing with the New Jersey Youth Theatre. After high school, Onaodowan auditioned for and was accepted to the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He attended for one year.

Career
Onaodowan had roles in Rocky the Musical and Cyrano de Bergerac on Broadway and was in the ensemble of the first national tour of American Idiot. He had the leading role in Young Jean Lee's 2009 play, The Shipment, and played the title role in J.C. Lee's Luce.

By 2015, Onaodowan was an experienced stage actor. He also had several screen credits, including Lou in the feature film Thanks for Sharing and roles in the TV series Gravity and Blue Bloods. He originated the roles of James Madison and Hercules Mulligan in the musical Hamilton on Broadway. He won a Grammy Award as part of the cast album of Hamilton.

On July 11, 2017, he took on the role of Pierre in the musical Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, replacing the outgoing Josh Groban and Dave Malloy. He took his final bow in this musical on August 13, 2017.

In 2018, he began playing the role of firefighter Dean Miller in the Grey's Anatomy spin-off Station 19. On November 11, 2021, he exited the series, and his character was killed off onscreen. Deadline reported that Onaodowan had asked to leave in order to pursue other opportunities.

In 2023, he made his return to Broadway as Nills Krogstead in the revival of A Doll's House. In February 2024, he played Buddy Bolden in the Encores! production of Jelly's Last Jam.

Awards, nominations and recognition
Onaodowan was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list in 2016 for his acting in Hamilton.