Cole Escola
Escola in 2014
Born	(1986-11-25)November 25, 1986 (age 39) Clatskanie, Oregon, U.S.
Education	Marymount Manhattan College
Comedy career
Years active	2009–present
Medium	Television theatre

Cole Escola (born November 25, 1986)^[1] is an American comedian, actor, singer, and playwright. They are best known for their cabaret work and appearances on the television seriesDifficult People (2015–2017),At Home with Amy Sedaris (2017–2020),Search Party (2020–2021), andBig Mouth (2022), as well as for writing and starring in the playOh, Mary! which opened on Broadway in 2024. Escola received two nominations for twoTony Awards for their work onOh, Mary!, winning theTony Award for Best Actor in a Play. They were also named a finalist for thePulitzer Prize for Drama.

Escola was born and raised inClatskanie, Oregon. They are of Finnish and Norwegian descent.^[2] When they were six, their father chased the entire family out of theirmobile home with a gun,^[3][4][5] after which Escola, their mother, and their brother subsequently lived in government housing. Their sister was not living with them at this time. Escola participated in community theater and starred in high school productions ofFiddler on the Roof,Les Misérables, andLittle Shop of Horrors.^[6] After graduating fromR. A. Long High School in 2005, Escola moved to New York City to study humanities atMarymount Manhattan College, dropping out after one year.^[7] They subsequently performed at children's birthday parties and worked at theScholastic bookstore.^[5] They also supported themself during this period working at a vegan bakery and as a sex worker.^[8]

From 2008 to 2012, Escola was a regular guest performer in theOur Hit Parade cabaret series,^[9] and later began performing monthly solo shows at theDuplex Cabaret Theatre. They appeared inScott Wittman's 2012 cabaret showJukebox Jackie atLa MaMa and played an unborn fetus inBridget Everett's 2014 cabaret showRock Bottom atJoe's Pub. In a sketch calledQueers in History, Escola strutted "jauntily across the stage wearing a newsboy cap and underwear."^[5] On June 14, 2017, Escola's hour-long solo showHelp! I'm Stuck premiered at Joe's Pub, where it has since played numerous sold-out engagements.

In 2013, Escola played Roland Maule in theTwo River Theater revival ofNoël Coward'sPresent Laughter.^[10]

In 2024, Escola wrote and starred in their playOh, Mary! at theLucille Lortel Theatre, in which they playedFirst LadyMary Todd Lincoln. It was directed bySam Pinkleton and also starredConrad Ricamora andJames Scully. The show transferred to Broadway in July 2024, marking Escola's Broadway debut as an actor and playwright.^[11][12] At the 2024Outer Critics Circle Awards, Escola was awarded the John Gassner Award forOh, Mary!.^[13] The piece was a 2025 finalist for thePulitzer Prize for Drama.^[14] Escola won theTony Award forBest Actor in a Play in2025, for their performance inOh, Mary!, becoming the first non-binary performer to do so.

In October 2024, Escola was included in theTIME 100 Next list of the world's most influential rising leaders.^[15]

In 2008, Escola met fellow comedianJeffery Self in New York; bonding over a shared love of theater and 1990s sitcoms, they began creating surreal, semi-scripted YouTube videos under the moniker "Very Good Looking (VGL) Gay Boys." The sketches, in which Escola often played the demented comicfoil to Self'sstraight man,^[16] received over 100,000 views, prompting coverage inNew York magazine and a development deal fromLogo TV.^[7]Jeffery & Cole Casserole premiered on Logo on June 19, 2009; it ran for two seasons and has been deemed as a "cult classic" byVice magazine.^[5] Escola and Self also wrote the screenplay for an as-yet-unproduced comedy in which two friends "have to go through a lot to redeem their free sandwich."^[17]

From 2015 to 2017, Escola played Matthew on theHulu television seriesDifficult People, a role that series creatorJulie Klausner wrote with them in mind.^[5] They have appeared in recurring roles onMozart in the Jungle,Girlboss, andAt Home with Amy Sedaris, in which they play Sedaris' neighbor, Chassie Tucker.^[6] In 2020, Escola appeared as Chip (The Twink) on theHBO Max originalSearch Party. Chip became a season regular in season 4. Escola voiced The Secret Keeper on theCartoon Network animated seriesCraig of the Creek in the episode "Secret in a Bottle". In 2021, Escola voiced a gargoyle in an episode ofWhat We Do in the Shadows.^[18]

In 2025, Escola was announced for the role of Bon Clay in the third season of theNetflix television seriesOne Piece.^[19]

Escola is currently writing aMiss Piggy film, in collaboration with producersEmma Stone andJennifer Lawrence.^[20]

In 2021, Escola came out asnon-binary.^[21]

• Official website
• Cole Escola atIMDb 

• 1986 births
• 21st-century American comedians
• 21st-century American LGBTQ people
• American LGBTQ actors
• 21st-century American actors
• American LGBTQ musicians
• American LGBTQ comedians
• American LGBTQ singers
• American non-binary actors
• American people of Finnish descent
• American people of Norwegian descent
• American voice actors
• Comedians from Oregon
• LGBTQ people from Oregon
• Living people
• GLAAD Media Awards winners
• Non-binary comedians
• Non-binary gay people
• People from Clatskanie, Oregon
• Theatre World Award winners
• Tony Award winners
• Writers Guild of America Award winners

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