Oct 26, 1971

Joliet, Illinois, USA

Anthony Dean Rapp is an American stage and film actor best known for originating the role as Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of Rent in 1996 and later for reprising the same role in the film version. He also originated the role of Charlie Brown in the 1999 revival of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown.
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He first performed on Broadway in 1981, at the age of ten, in The Little Prince and the Aviator, a short-lived musical based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novel The Little Prince.... ... (read more...) He also appeared as a teenager in the 1987 movie Adventures in Babysitting, which was directed by Chris Columbus. Columbus would later direct Rapp in the film version of RENT.

Rapp has gone on to appear in several movies and Broadway shows. His notable work includes films Dazed and Confused, A Beautiful Mind, Road Trip, the stage and film versions of Six Degrees of Separation, and "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" as Charlie Brown.
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Rapp is probably best known for playing Mark Cohen in the Off-Broadway and original Broadway and London casts of Jonathan Larson's musical RENT. He reprises that role in the film version of RENT, which was released on November 23, 2005. Fans of RENT closely associate Rapp with that show, in part because his character is semi-autobiographical of the deceased composer and playwright Jonathan Larson. Rapp has embraced his role as an unofficial spokesperson for the musical and has given numerous television and print interviews regarding the show and its development. Some of Rapp's photographs from rehearsals of RENT have been published.

In 2000, Rapp released a solo CD, entitled Look Around on Sh-K-Boom Records, the same label as fellow Rent star Adam Pascal. He is represented as a keynote speaker by Greater Talent Network speakers bureau.