Public Conversation: Norbert Leo Butz

HB Studio welcomes four-time Tony Award nominated (My Fair Lady, Thou Shalt Not) and two-time winning (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Catch Me If You Can) actor and former HB student Norbert Leo Butz for a conversation with HB Studio’s new Co-Executive Director of Programs Francesca Ferrara about the influence Uta Hagen had on his work, as well as Butz’s artistic journey.

Norbert Leo Butz is a two-time Tony Award winner for Best Actor in a Musical, and is one of only nine actors ever to have won the award twice as lead actor. He first won for his work in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and won again for his work in Catch Me If You Can. He was additionally nominated for the Tony for his work in Thou Shalt Not and My Fair Lady. The star of 11 Broadway shows, he is also a five-time Drama Desk nominee and two-time winner, amongst other stage accolades.

Other notable productions in New York include Rent, (Broadway debut), Wicked (original Fyiero), Speed the Plow, Is He Dead, Enron, Big Fish, The Last Five Years (Drama Desk nomination), Juno and the Paycock (Roundabout Theatre), 50 Words (MCC Theatre), How I Learned to Drive (Second Stage), Cornelia Street (The Atlantic Theatre), Vladimir (Manhattan Theatre Club).

In 2019 he released The Long Haul, his first solo record of original songs. In 2023 he released an EP of new music written in collaboration with his daughter, Clara Virginia, called King of Hearts. He has performed on concert and cabaret stages across the United States. His third album, American Spirits, will be released in early 2026.

Mr Butz has written and performed in 3 original cabaret shows, “Memory and Mayhem,” “Girls, Girls, Girls,” and “Torch Songs for a Pandemic,” all performed at 54 Below in New York City.

On television, Butz has starred on David Zabel and Ridley Scott's Mercy Street for PBS, played Kevin Rayburn on Bloodlines for Netflix, "Paddy Chayefsky" on Fosse/Verdon for F/X, and on Debris for NBC. Other

TV: Justified, City Primieval for FX, The Girl from Plainville for Hulu, Gladiator: American Sports Story for FX, Madame Secretary, CSI, Law and Order, Blue Bloods.

Films include Peter Hedges' Dan in Real Life, Sony's Higher Ground (opposite and directed by Vera Farmiga), Craig Zisk's The English Teacher, Better Living Through Chemistry (opposite Sam Rockwell), 2020 Sundance film Luce, directed by Julius Onah, Flag Day (opposite and directed by Sean Penn), the animated film Wonderpark, The Exorcist with director David Gordon Green, Better Nate Than Ever, Fair Game, Give or Take (Best Supporting Actor award from FilmOut San Diego), A Complete Unknown, directed by James Mangold. Coyote, directed by Colin Minihan.

Mr. Butz has lent his voice to several award-winning audio books, including Phil Knight’s Shoedog, Jennifer Egan’s Manhattan Beach, A Curious Mind by Brian Grazer, Skeleton Key, by Stephen King, and Pedro Almodovar’s The Last Dream.

Mr Butz has taught acting at Auburn University, Drew University, Farleigh Dickenson University, NYU, Florida State University, and his Alma Mater, Webster University.

He holds a BFA from Webster University Conservatory of Theatre Arts, an MFA from the Actor Training program at University of Alabama, and an Honorary Doctorate from his Alma Mater, Webster University. He serves on the board of The Angelband Project, a NFP that provides music therapy for survivors of sexual violence. He and his wife Michelle have three daughters and reside in New Jersey.