Brian d'Arcy James (born June 29, 1968) is an American actor and musician. He is known primarily for his Broadway roles, including Shrek in Shrek The Musical, Nick Bottom in Something Rotten!, King George III in Hamilton, and the Baker in Into the Woods, and has received three Tony Award nominations for his work. On-screen, he is known for his recurring role as Andy Baker on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, Officer Krupke in West Side Story, and reporter Matt Carroll in Spotlight. Early life and education James was born in Saginaw, Michigan to a wealthy family, the son of Mary (née Kelly), a seller of children's books, and Thomas F. James (deceased), a lawyer. His maternal grandfather was Harry Kelly, a former Governor of Michigan. His uncle, Brian Kelly, was an actor featured in the series Flipper and a producer of the movie Blade Runner. He has three siblings: brother Andrew, a portfolio manager; sister Kate, an actress and writer; and sister Anne (Noonan), an actress and teacher. James is of seventh eighths Irish and one eighth Welsh descent. James graduated from Northwestern University's School of Communication. Career He received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 2002 for his portrayal of Sidney Falco in Sweet Smell of Success, co-starring John Lithgow. He received an Obie Award for his performance in Conor McPherson's one-man play The Good Thief. James's additional Broadway credits include Titanic (Frederick Barrett), Lincoln Center's Carousel, and Blood Brothers. His Off-Broadway credits include Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party in 2000 opposite Julia Murney and Idina Menzel, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination, as well as Adam Guettel's Floyd Collins and the Gershwins' Pardon My English. He appeared in Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore on Broadway, replaced Norbert Leo Butz in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and starred in The Apple Tree opposite Kristin Chenoweth. In 2004, James released a Christmas album titled From Christmas Eve to Christmas Morn. On Broadway he played Bob Wallace, a character originated by Bing Crosby, in White Christmas in 2004. He played Dan Goodman in the new musical Next to Normal Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theater in 2008. He then starred opposite Daniel Breaker, Sutton Foster, and Christopher Sieber as the titular character in Shrek The Musical. The show began previews on Broadway November 8, 2008, and opened on December 14