Douglas Howard Sills (born July 5, 1960) is an American actor and singer.^[1]

He made his professional stage acting debut with principal roles in the national tours ofInto the Woods andThe Secret Garden. He is most well-known for his leading roles in the Broadway production and national tour ofThe Scarlet Pimpernel, the Broadway production ofLittle Shop of Horrors, and the national tour ofThe Addams Family.^[2]

Sills was born inDetroit, Michigan, the son of Rhoda (Nemeth) and Archie Sills,^[3][4] and grew up in the suburb ofFranklin, in a Jewish household.^[5] He was friends (and did amateur theatrics and films) with bothSam Raimi andBruce Campbell.^[1] Sills attendedCranbrook School, from which he graduated in 1978, and theUniversity of Michigan where he majored in music. He then continued his education at theAmerican Conservatory Theater inCalifornia.

During the 1990s, Sills built a reputation as a stage character actor, especially in the professional theaters of southern California. He also performed in several national tours, includingInto the Woods andThe Secret Garden, which would also feature future Broadway stars asJames Stacy Barbour andAudra McDonald. His firstBroadway role, however, came when composerFrank Wildhorn and lyricistNan Knighton approached him in hopes of finding a male lead for their new musical,The Scarlet Pimpernel. Before this audition, Sills told his agent not to send him to any more auditions because he planned to attendlaw school. With a score in the 99th percentile on theLaw School Admission Test (LSAT), Sills hoped to attendStanford Law School. However, being a fan of the movie as a child, Sills decided to give acting one more chance and was offered the lead as Sir Percy Blakeney.^[6]

Douglas Sills opened in his first Broadway show on November 9, 1997. Continuing the role in three other versions of the show, Sills received aTony Award nomination. He portrayed the foppish hero in SP 1.0 (The Original Broadway Production, starringTerrence Mann,Christine Andreas and Gilles Chiason), SP 2.0 (the revised Broadway production, starringRachel York andRex Smith), and for several months in the national tour.^[7][8] Although rumored as playing the title role in Wildhorn'sDracula, the Musical, Sills opted out (despite doing a recording demo), andTom Hewitt portrayed the gothic character at the premiere at theLa Jolla Playhouse in 2001.^{[citation needed]} He played Orin Scrivello and several other roles in the 2003 Broadway revival cast ofLittle Shop of Horrors.^[9]

In 2004, Sills joined the Broadway-bound Chicago production of Monty Python'sSpamalot.^[10] However, before the production began, Sills left due to reported "major script changes."^[11] In early 2005, production plans were announced for Wildhorn's new musicalCyrano de Bergerac, from the same team that helped launch his career withThe Scarlet Pimpernel.^[12] The title role was written specifically for Sills,^[13] however, producers dropped plans for the show in spring 2006 without explanation. A studio-concept recording was planned, starring Sills,Linda Eder andRob Evan, but plans for it also quickly fell through.

In 2009, Sills starred oppositeKristin Chenoweth at theEncores!New York City Center production ofMusic in the Air, a long-forgotten Kern-Hamerstein musical from the 1930s. The concert-style version ran February 5 through February 8.^[14] Sills assumed the role ofGomez Addams in the national tour ofThe Addams Family in September 2011 until the company's closing on December 30, 2012.^[15]

From March 27 to April 12, 2013, Sills took on the role of Jack inLong Wharf Theatre's production ofWilliam Mastrosimone'sRide the Tiger.^[16]

Sills played Walter Burns inLa Jolla Playhouse's production ofHis Girl Friday from May 28 to June 30, 2013.^[17]

Sills appeared on Broadway beginning in April 2015, playing an aging orchestra conductor in the comedyLiving on Love, written by Joe DiPietro, starringRenee Fleming,Jerry O'Connell andAnna Chlumsky.^[18]

He appeared in the new musicalDave at theArena Stage in Washington, D.C., in 2018, in the role of Chief of Staff Bob Alexander. The musical has music byTom Kitt, lyrics by Nell Benjamin, and the book by Benjamin andThomas Meehan and is based on the 1993 filmDave.^[19]

As of 2022, Sills plays Monsieur Baudin in HBO'sThe Gilded Age.^[20]

Sills is gay. He said in 2015, "I’ve been out since the beginning of my career—I was never in."^[21] Sills met then-partner Todd Murray in 1994 while touring withThe Secret Garden,^[22][23] and the relationship ended in 2013.^[21]

• Douglas Sills at theInternet Broadway Database
• Douglas Sills atIMDb

• 1960 births
• 20th-century American LGBTQ people
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American LGBTQ people
• 21st-century American male actors
• American Conservatory Theater alumni
• American gay actors
• American male musical theatre actors
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• Cranbrook Educational Community alumni
• LGBTQ people from Michigan
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• Male actors from Detroit
• People from Franklin, Michigan
• Theatre World Award winners
• University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni

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