Ethan Slater

Born on June 2, 1992, in Washington, D.C., Ethan Samuel Slater developed an early interest in drama. He attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School before his family moved to Silver Spring, Maryland. He later graduated from Georgetown Day School and pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama from Vassar College in 2014. During his college years, he gained audition experience through a Shakespeare workshop, which led to an audition with director Tina Landau, a significant early career step. His initial theatrical appearance was in July 2015 at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, starring as Luis in ‘Claudio Quest,’ which earned him a nomination for Best Individual Performance.

Slater’s career continued to gain momentum with diverse roles across theatre and television. In 2016, he secured the lead role of SpongeBob SquarePants in ‘The SpongeBob Musical,’ a production that garnered critical acclaim and moved to Broadway’s Palace Theatre from 2017 to 2018. His performance earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical, a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, and a Theatre World Award for Best Performance in a Broadway Debut, all in 2018. Following his Broadway success, he appeared in television series such as ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’ (2018), ‘Murphy Brown’ (2018), ‘Fosse/Verdon’ (2019), and ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ (2023).

More recently, Slater has expanded his work into film. He played Boq Woodsman in the 2024 film adaptation of ‘Wicked,’ a role he is set to reprise in the upcoming sequel ‘Wicked: For Good’ in 2025. His stage work continued with roles including Lee Harvey Oswald in ‘Assassins’ (2021–2022), Max Weinbaum in ‘Good Night, Oscar’ (2022), and various characters in the Broadway revival of ‘Spamalot’ (2023–2024). He also contributed as a writer and composer to projects like ‘Intervenors’ (2022) and ‘New Mayor of New York’ (2015), demonstrating his diverse talents within the entertainment industry.