Tituss Burgess

Tituss Burgess (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in several Broadway musicals. He is best known for starring as Titus Andromedon on the Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–2020), for which he received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He is featured in Schmigadoon!.

On the Broadway stage, Burgess originated the roles of Eddie in Good Vibrations, Hal Miller in Jersey Boys, Sebastian in The Little Mermaid and Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 2009 revival of Guys and Dolls. In 2023, he took over the role of Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge! and took over the title role in Oh, Mary! in March 2025.

Early and personal life Born and raised in Athens, Georgia, Burgess attended Cedar Shoals High School where he was active in the theatre program. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Art degree in music. Burgess is gay. After college, Burgess moved to Orlando, Florida to work at Walt Disney World, where he performed as a vocalist at the Festival of the Lion King at Disney's Animal Kingdom, earning his Actors Equity card.

Career 2005–2014: Broadway debut Burgess made his Broadway debut in the musical Good Vibrations as Eddie in 2005, and then appeared in Jersey Boys in 2005 as Hal Miller. He performed at the "Broadway After Dark" benefit concert on October 26, 2008, in New York City, and in a solo concert at Birdland in New York City on July 27, 2009.

In July 2009, he was a performer on the R Family Vacations Summer Cruise. Three months later, he was featured on an episode of the popular web show The Battery's Down. He appeared in Season 5 of 30 Rock as D'Fwan, a member of Tracy Jordan's wife's entourage. He reprised the role in Season 6. He was cast as The Caterpillar in the 2011 Broadway musical Wonderland in October 2010. A month later he dropped out of the project.

In March 2013, Burgess performed "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising concert Broadway Backwards. He was cast as The Witch, a role traditionally played by a female, in Into the Woods in a 2015 production by DreamCatcher Theatre, presented in Miami's Carnival Studio Theater at the Adrienne Arsht Center.

2015–2019: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt On March 6, 2015, Netflix released the first season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt which stars Burgess in a main role as Titus Andromedon, Kimmy's roommate. He received universal acclaim for his performance, with The New York Times saying the role was "tailor-made" for him. For his performance in the first season, he received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 2015 Critics' Choice Television Awards and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 2015 ceremony.

In June 2016, Burgess and Norm Lewis reprised their roles of Sebastian the Crab and King Triton in the Hollywood Bowl concert event of The Little Mermaid opposite Sara Bareilles, Rebel Wilson, and Darren Criss. He took a voice role in The Angry Birds Movie (2016). He was a guest star judge in the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2017). He took guest roles in Miracle Workers (2019) and The Good Fight (2019).

2020–present: Return to Broadway From 2020 to 2022, he starred in the musical cartoon series Central Park as Cole Tillerman, with Leslie Odom Jr., Kristen Bell, Daveed Diggs, Josh Gad, Kathryn Hahn and Stanley Tucci. Burgess starred as Remy in a benefit concert presentation of Ratatouille the Musical, an internet meme that originated on TikTok, inspired by the 2007 Disney/Pixar film. It streamed on TodayTix on January 1, 2021. On December 2, 2021, he played Rooster Hannigan in the NBC special Annie Live!.

In 2023, he played the Narrator in the second season of the Apple TV+ musical comedy series Schmigadoon!. From October 10 to December 17, 2023, he returned to Broadway in Moulin Rouge! as Harold Zidler. He starred as Mary Todd Lincoln in the Broadway production of Oh, Mary! for a temporary engagement from March to April 2025.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2014 Are You Joking? Hank Trenton 2016 The Angry Birds Movie Photog Voice Catfight John 2017 Smurfs: The Lost Village Vanity Smurf Voice 2018 Set It Up Creepy Tim Then Came You Julian 2019 I Hate Kids The Amazing Fabular Dolemite Is My Name Theodore Toney The Addams Family Glenn Voice 2021 Respect James Cleveland Hot Mess Holiday Himself 2023 The Slumber Party Mesmer 2024 Spellbound Sunny, the Oracle of the Sun Voice 2025 Snow White Bashful Voice and facial motion capture

Television Year Title Role Notes 2009 Schoolhouse Rock Narrator Episode: "The Rainforest" (Earth Rock series) The Battery's Down Mr. Z 2 episodes 2011 A Gifted Man Larry the Guard Episode: "In Case of Discomfort" 2011–2012 30 Rock D'Fwan 4 episodes 2012 Blue Bloods Priest Episode: "The Life We Chose" 2013 Royal Pains Kristoff Episode: "Bones to Pick" 2015–2019 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Titus Andromedon Series regular, 52 episodes (seasons 1-4) 2016 Match Game Himself Regular panelist 2016–2018 Elena of Avalor Charoca Voice, 2 episodes 2017 Julie's Greenroom Himself Episode: "Costumer Service" RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Himself (Guest Judge) Episode: "Pop Art Ball" 2019 Miracle Workers God's brother Episode: "1 Day" The Good Fight Wade V. Episode: "The One with the Celebrity Divorce" 2020 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs the Reverend Titus Andromedon Netflix television movie Dishmantled Himself (host) 10 episodes Sing On! Himself (host) Series regular 2020–2022 Central Park Cole Tillerman, Kelleth Vanbeaceler Voice, series regular 2021 Annie Live! Rooster Hannigan Television special Name That Tune Himself Guest 2022 Teletubbies Narrator Series regular (2022 Netflix reboot) Name That Tune Himself Guest 2023 Schmigadoon! Narrator Season Two Regular The Wonder Years Lonnie Episode: "One Small Step" 2024 Last Bite Hotel Himself Host2026The Elephant & Piggie Show!Elephant Gerald Voice

Video games Year Title Voice Role Notes 2013 Grand Theft Auto V Bob Mulét Credited under "The Local Population." Notable voice appearance in WCTR program, "Chakra Attack," as the "Potato Water Guy" in the coconut water discussion.

Theatre credits Date Title Role Venue/Location October 31, 2003 – February 8, 2004 La Cage aux Folles Jacob Downtown Cabaret Theatre, Bridgeport, Connecticut October 5, 2004 – January 16, 2005 Jersey Boys Barry Belson/Hal Miller/Ensemble La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego, California February 2 – April 24, 2005 Good Vibrations Eddie Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway November 6, 2005 – July 31, 2006 Jersey Boys Barry Belson/Hal Miller/Ensemble August Wilson Theatre, Broadway 2017 2018 2018 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series 2020Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend 2021 Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance Central Park: A Fish Called Snakehead 2024Broadway.com Audience AwardFavorite Replacement (Male) Moulin Rouge! The Musical 2025 Oh, Mary!