Ethan Slater

Ethan Samuel Slater (born June 2, 1992) is an American actor and singer. He played the character of SpongeBob SquarePants in the 2016 musical of the same name, for which he won a Drama Desk Award and received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He played Boq Woodsman / The Tin Man in the musical films Wicked and Wicked: For Good (2025). He also portrayed Thomas Godolkin in the superhero series Gen V (2025), a role he will reprise in its prequel Vought Rising (2027). As a singer, he has released the extended plays Wanderer (2019) and Life Is Weird (2020).

Early life and education Ethan Samuel Slater was born on June 2, 1992, in Washington, D.C. He is the third child of Jay Slater, an employee at the Food and Drug Administration. He is Jewish and was raised Conservative, attending Ohr Kodesh in Silver Spring. After attending Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, his family moved to Silver Spring, Maryland. Slater's mother died when he was 7, which he describes as a "really big, formative thing in my life. She had left this huge imprint on me, even though I had so few memories."

Slater graduated from Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C., and studied drama at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. During his time in college, he auditioned to apprentice at a Shakespeare workshop, which then got him an audition in front of director Tina Landau. Slater graduated from Vassar with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama in 2014.

Career Slater's first theater appearance was at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in July 2015, in which he starred as Luis in the musical Claudio Quest, directed by John Tartaglia, earning a nomination for the festival's award in the category for Best Individual Performance. In December 2015, he joined the Delaware Theatre Company in Wilmington, acting in Barry Levinson's play Diner, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall. For his performance, Slater earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical at the 72nd Tony Awards in 2018, winning Outstanding Actor in a Musical at the Drama Desk Awards and Outstanding Actor in a Musical at the Outer Critics Circle Awards. He was also awarded the Theatre World Award for Best Performance in a Broadway Debut in 2018.

Between 2018 and 2019, he appeared in several television series, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Murphy Brown, Instinct, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. On March 4, 2019, Slater was cast by director Bartlett Sher in the theatrical special of Camelot at Lincoln Center Theater in New York.

Between 2021 and 2022, he starred in the Classic Stage Company production of the musical Assassins, directed by John Doyle, at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater in New York, playing Lee Harvey Oswald. His performance earned him a Lucille Lortel Awards nomination for Best Performance. From March to April 2022, Slater originated the role of Max Weinbaum in the play Good Night, Oscar at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. From 2023 to 2024, he played the Historian, Prince Herbert, and other roles in the Broadway revival of Spamalot at the St. James Theatre. He played Boq Woodsman in the two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu. In July 2026, he is set to join the Off-Broadway revival cast of Little Shop of Horrors replacing Jordan Fisher as Seymour opposite Betsy Wolfe as Audrey.

Personal life In 2012, Slater began dating his former high school classmate, clinical psychologist Lilly Jay. They married in 2018 and their son was born in August 2022. They separated shortly before Slater filed for divorce in July 2023. Their divorce was finalized in September 2024.

In July 2023, Slater was confirmed to be in a relationship with singer Ariana Grande, whom he met on the set of Wicked. In June 2026, it was reported that Grande ended the relationship quietly some months prior.

Works Film Year Title Role NotesRef. 2012 A Guy Walks Into a Bar Young Man Short film 2015 Lightning Bugs in a Jar Ben Short film 2016 Evol: The Theory of Love Ronny 2017 FunEmployment Issac's Roommate Short film 2022 Intervenors Miles Short film and writer 2024 Lost on a Mountain In Maine Henry Wicked Boq Woodsman / The Tin Man Also contributed to "Dancing Through Life" on the film's soundtrack 2025 Wicked: For Good TBA The Man Behind the Camera Gerald Completed

Television Year Title Role NotesRef. 2018 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Riley Porter Episode: "Revenge" Murphy Brown Officer Reynolds Episode: "Thanksgiving and Taking" 2019 Fosse/Verdon Joel Grey Episode: "Me and My Baby" Instinct Noah Episode: "After Hours" 2023 The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Steven Episode: "Susan" 2025 Elsbeth Officer Reese Chandler 3 episodes 2025 Gen V Thomas Godolkin 3 episodes 2026 Sofia the First: Royal Magic Nutmeg (voice) Guest role Vought Rising Thomas Godolkin

Web

Discography

Cast recordings Release date Title Type LabelRef. September 22, 2017 SpongeBob SquarePants, The New MusicalOriginal Cast Recording Masterworks Broadway September 28, 2018 Who's Your Baghdaddy, or How I started the Iraq WarBroadway Records August 6, 2021 Edge of the World Concept Album March 18, 2022 Assassins 2022 Cast Recording

Solo recordings Release date Title NotesRef. February 5, 2019 Richmond Rewrites Single July 11, 2019 Wanderer EP July 21, 2020 Life Is Weird EP

Awards and nominations