Daniel Breaker
Daniel Breaker is an American actor, voice actor and comedian, best known for playing Donkey in Shrek The Musical. He currently plays Aaron Burr in the Broadway production of Hamilton.
Early life
Breaker was born in Manhattan, Kansas on June 2, 1980, the son of a career military officer. He grew up partly in Germany and attended Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, a performing arts school in Florida. He then earned a BFA degree from the Juilliard School in 2002.Career
Beginning his career in 2002 immediately after graduating from Juilliard, Breaker has performed in Off-Broadway, London, and U.S. regional theatre productions. He performed in five plays at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington D.C. His first major role was the Youth, protagonist of the Off-Broadway premiere of Passing Strange, for which he won an Obie in 2008. He was then nominated for a Tony for the show's Broadway transfer, in which he again played the Youth; he also played this role in Spike Lee's filmed version of the musical.Breaker has also been a guest star on TV.
One of his most recognizable roles was Donkey in the original Broadway production of Shrek The Musical, which ran from November 2008 through January 2010. He starred alongside long-time Broadway stars Brian d'Arcy James, Sutton Foster, John Tartaglia and Christopher Sieber. For his portrayal, Breaker earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. His voice can be heard on the original cast recording of the show.
He has also appeared in the plays Well and Cymbeline.
In 2009, he co-hosted the Obie Awards.
Breaker previously played Mafala Hatimbi in The Book of Mormon on Broadway. He also appeared as the King of Navarre in the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park production of the Love's Labour's Lost musical. He played the role of Aaron Burr in Hamilton in Chicago, and has joined the musical's Broadway cast.
Personal life
Breaker married Kate Whoriskey in 2008, and they have two sons, Rory and August.Stage credits
| Year | Title | Role | Theater | Notes |
| 2006 | Well | Jim and others | Longacre Theatre | Performed Off-Broadway as well as Broadway |
| 2007 | Cymbeline | Gentleman | Lincoln Center Theatre | |
| 2008 | Passing Strange | Youth | Belasco Theatre | Passing Strange was filmed by Spike Lee and released in 2009. |
| 2008 | Shrek The Musical | Donkey | Broadway Theatre | A high-definition filming of the Broadway production was released on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download on October 15, 2013, in North America and December 2 in the UK. |
| 2012 | The Performers | Lee | Longacre Theatre | |
| 2014 | The Book of Mormon | Mafala Hatimbi | Eugene O'Neill Theatre | |
| 2017 | Hamilton | Aaron Burr | Richard Rodgers Theatre | Also performed the role in the Chicago production |