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Nathan Lane, originally named Joseph Lane was born February 3, 1956, in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
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Parents: Both of his parents were born from a Christian and an Irish descendant. His father Daniel Lane Sr. was a truck driver but died due to alcoholism when Nathan was only 11. His mother, Nora Lane, was a housewife who struggled with bipolar disorder and later passed away in 2000.
Siblings: Daniel Lane Jr., the eldest son, used to work as an English and humanities professor and a school principal. Robert Lane is the second eldest. -
Due to the early passing of his father and his mother's mental state, Nathan's brother, Daniel, took over as a father figure for him and his older brother. He would often take Nathan to go watch the theatre in New York to escape home life, which kickstarted his interest.
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Lane discovered his talent for musical comedy when he appeared in a high-school production of No, No, Nanette, and this inspired him to pursue a career in theatre.
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He was elected Best Actor at Jesuit-run St. Peter's Preparatory High School.
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Nathan had won a drama scholarship to St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia, and Daniel drove him all the way there only to find out the scholarship didn't cover everything. So he said, “College is for people who don’t know what they want to do" and left.
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When Lane was 21, he told his mother he was gay, and she said, "I'd rather you were dead," to which he replied, "I knew you'd understand." She wasn't accepting at first, but came around to it.
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When first joining Actors' Equity, Lane learned that there was already a Joseph Lane in the membership, so he decided to change his name to Nathan Lane, after Nathan Detroit, a character in "Guys and Dolls."
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Lane performed in a revival of Noel Coward's "Present Laughter" portraying Roland Maule.
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This was Lane's second Broadway appearance, starring in a musical based on a concept by Doug Henning and Barbara De Angelis, "Merlin."
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Lane made his motion picture debut in "Ironweed", a movie about an alcoholic drifter who spends Halloween in his hometown of Albany, New York after returning there after ages.
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He starred in the revival of Guys and Dolls, playing Nathan Detroit, the character he chose his name after. He received his first Tony nomination and Outer Critics Circle Awards from this performance. https://youtu.be/Z94bUB32Bv8?si=VX632ZTURvD6ulEt
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Lane voiced the meerkat, Timon in the animated film, "The Lion King."
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Performed in McNally's play, "Love! Valour! Compassion!"
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He played the lead character, Pseudolus, in a Broadway revival of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" which earned him his first Tony Award.
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Lane played the role of the drag queen Albert in the movie "The Birdcage," earning him a Golden Globe nomination.
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Nathan starred in the revival of Stephen Sondheim's "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." His performance not only earned him the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, but also the Drama Desk, and the Outer Critics Circle Awards.
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In, 2006, Nathan Lane received a star on the Hollywood walk of Fame in 2006 with his co-star Matthew Broderick.
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Lane starred in the musical version of
"The Addams Family" as Gomez in Chicago, receiving Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for his performance. -
Nathan Lane and Devlin Elliott got married at New York City's City Hall after 18 years together and are still together to this day.
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Committed to starring in a revival of the Eugene O'Neill play "The Iceman Cometh," Lane played the role of Hickey. This play won six Jeff Awards, which includes Best Ensemble, Director, and Production. It is also the most successful play to date in the theater's history.
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Lane has received three Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards, two Obies, the Lucille Lortel Award, six Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the Olivier Award. He also received two Golden Globe Award nominations, won a Screen Actors Guild Award, a National Board of Review Award a Primetime Emmy Award, two Daytime Emmy Awards, and the People's Choice Award.
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"I have to accept the fact that, no matter what I do, it's going to annoy someone."
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