Trivia

Born Joseph Lane, he had to change his first name in order to join Actors Equity because there was already another actor named Joseph Lane. He chose the name Nathan after the character Nathan Detroit from the Broadway musical "Guys and Dolls". Coincidentally, he later played that role in the hugely successful 1992 revival of "Guys and Dolls" on Broadway.

His second Broadway show was "Merlin", one of the most notoriously expensive flops in Broadway history. The show was conceived as a vehicle for the magic of Doug Henning, with Henning in the title role; other stars of the production included Chita Rivera and a young Christian Slater.

Frequently works with Matthew Broderick. They appeared together in four films: El rey león (1994), El rey león 2: El reino de Simba (1998), El rey león 3: Hakuna Matata (2004) and Los productores (2005). They also appeared together in the original Broadway production of "The Producers", and in a revival of "The Odd Couple".

He was considered to play the role of George Costanza on Seinfeld (1989), which went to Jason Alexander.

Has starred on Broadway as Max Bialystock in "The Producers" and Pseudolus in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum". Zero Mostel played both characters in the earlier film versions. Lane won Tony Awards for both roles. When he accepted his second Tony Award, he said he shared the award with Zero Mostel who was an inspiration to all who saw him.

Has played Gomez Addams in a musical version of "The Addams Family" on Broadway.

Nathan Lane and Devlin Elliott had been romantic partners for 18 years before they got married on November 17, 2015.

Attended and graduated from St. Peter's Preparatory High School in Jersey City, New Jersey (1974), where he was voted Best Actor.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a double ceremony with Matthew Broderick at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on January 9, 2006.

On May 28, 1991, he starred in the first production of Terrence McNally's play "Lips Together, Teeth Apart" with Swoosie Kurtz, Christine Baranski and Anthony Heald.

His favorite animated movie is Buscando a Nemo (2003).

His Tony Award-winning performances in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "The Producers" were both roles originally created by Zero Mostel.

Has won two Tony Awards as Best Actor in a Musical: in 1996 for playing Pseudolus in the revival of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", and in 2001 for playing Max Bialystock in "The Producers". He was also nominated in the same category in 1992 for playing Nathan Detroit in the revival of "Guys and Dolls".

Has won the 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in Mel Brooks' "The Producers" at West End.

When Nathan Lane and Devlin Elliott got married on November 17, 2015 at New York's city hall, the witnesses were the comedian and writer Mike Birbiglia and Birbiglia's wife, Jen Stein.

Has won Broadway's 2018 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in "Angels in America" at the Neil Simon Theatre.

He was nominated for the 2013 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Arts and Entertainment category.

Has won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for playing Timon on Las aventuras de Timón y Pumba (1995) (1996).

He was nominated for the 2022 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Arts and Entertainment category.

He was nominated for the 2015 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Performance Arts category.

Hosted the 1996 Tony Awards telecast and co-hosted them in 1995 (with Glenn Close and Gregory Hines), 2000 (with Rosie O'Donnell), and 2001 (with Matthew Broderick).

He was nominated for the 2017 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Performing Arts category.

Has English and Irish ancestry.

He was awarded the 1990 Drama Logue Award for Outstanding Performance for "The Lisbon Traviata" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Has played a mouse chaser three times: Un ratoncito duro de cazar (1997), then he voiced a cat in Stuart Little, un ratón en la familia (1999) and Stuart Little 2 (2002).

He was awarded the 1990 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished Featured Performance for "The Lisbon Traviata" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Has won another Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for playing Spot/Scott on La mascota de la clase (2000) (2001).

He was nominated for Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for playing George on George y Martha (1999) (2000).

Was invited to join the actor's branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in 2021.

He was a guest at Sarah Jessica Parker's 40th birthday on March 25, 2005.

Was a close personal acquaintance of Robin Williams, who protected Nathan during an interview with Oprah Winfrey for The Birdcage (1996), who tried asking Nathan about his sexual orientation.

Robin purposely steered the conversion away from the topic as Nathan was not yet ready to come out publicly, which enable Nathan to form an answer appropriate for the circumstance.