A native of rural Lancaster, PA, stage and screen player Jonathan Groff cut against the grain of his sports-inclined family by gravitating to theatrical performance from an early age, with innumerable onstage appearances at the Fulton Opera House during his youth. As preparation for university applications, Groff impulsively caught a bus to New York City and began theatrical tryouts, where he promptly landed the role of Rolf in one of the revivals of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music; theatrical success soon took over and superseded Groff's collegiate plans. Subsequent stage projects included prominent roles in Fame at the Beverly, Massachusetts North Shore Music Theater, and a key role in the 2007 Broadway disaster In My Life, directed by Joe Brooks.
At about the same time, Groff moved into television work with a portrayal of Henry Mackler on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live.
