After graduating college, Wilkof co-wrote and performed in a comedy revue,The Present Tense, in 1977 at the Park Royal Theatre in New York City.[4] Shortly after its closing, Wilkof moved toLos Angeles and landed small film and television roles. His big break came in 1982 with the leading role as Seymour in the originalOff-Broadway production ofLittle Shop of Horrors.[5]
Wilkof directed the filmNo Pay, Nudity with a cast that starsNathan Lane,Gabriel Byrne, andFrances Conroy.[6]In 2023 he made hisMetropolitan Opera debut inTerence Blanchard'sChampion, as The Announcer.He starred in the short film Dig Deeper alongsideVictor Williams written and directed by Girault Seger, which premiered at theNewport Beach Film Festival, followed by screenings at the Soho International Film Festival, Tennessee Indie Independent Film Festival, and the New York Indie Shorts Awards.He wrote, directed, and appears in the short film Teenage Waistband which was shot in October of 2024.Wilkof plays the banjo and sings in the musical quartet Twenty Mule Team Weiner Train. He is the winner of theNew Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest # 217.[citation needed]
^Rubin, Lance (2024-07-11)."Making Things is Hard #4: Lee Wilkof".Slow Dopamine with Lance Rubin.Archived from the original on 2025-01-04. Retrieved2025-01-04.I didn't go to grad school. I took acting class when I got to New York with Austin Pendleton, and I was probably not paying attention.
