Grammer starred in the beloved role of Don Quixote. On stage, he was also recently seen at the Hollywood Bowl in “Beauty and the Beast” voicing Lumière alongside an all-star cast in a two night limited run of a live performance of Alan Menken’s music that accompanied a screening of the classic, animated Disney film. He also joined the 2018 season of the L.A. Opera in a limited run of Leonard Bernstein’s operetta “Candide,” which ran January–February 2018, playing the dual role of Pangloss and Voltaire. He made his London stage debut in a revised version of the Broadway musical “Big Fish” November—December 2017.In 2010 Grammer earned a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, for his starring role in “La Cage aux Folles” on Broadway. In 2015 Grammer returned to the Broadway stage to star in “Finding Neverland.” He reprised the role again in 2016. Recent films include the Netflix original film “Like Father,” Arclight Films’ live action “Guardians of the Tomb,” Universal Pictures’ “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising,” Sony Picture Entertainment’s “Baby, Baby, Baby” and made a cameo appearance in Warner Home Video’s “Entourage” movie. In 2014, Grammer appeared in five films: Paramount’s fourth installment of the “Transformers” film series, “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” Twentieth Century Fox’ “X-Men: Days of Future Past” Lionsgate’s “The Expendables 3,” Screen Gems’ “Think Like a Man Too” and Millennium Entertainment’s “Reach Me.” In spring 2014, he was also heard lending his voice to the iconic Tin Man in “Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return,” which was nominated for Best Feature at the 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, prior to its 2014 release.Recent television credits include the Amazon series “The Last Tycoon,” currently available for streaming, The National Geographic Channel’s historical drama miniseries “Killing Jesus,” FX Network’s comedic series “Partners” and Starz drama “Boss,” in which he starred and was executive producer, for which he was honored with a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Mayor Tom Kane.
Grammer created Grammnet NH Productions, a TV production company which has produced such hit television shows as the Emmy-winning “Medium,” for NBC, and “The Game” and “Girlfriends,” for CW. Other Grammnet producing credits include the NBC productions “The Innocent,” “Kelsey Grammer Salutes Jack Benny,” “Fired Up,” “In Laws” and “Gary the Rat.” For PAX, he produced “World Cup Comedy.” For FOX, he starred in and produced “Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show.”Grammer directed single episodes of “Everybody Hates Chris,” “My Ex Life” and “Out of Practice.” He has also directed several episodes of “Frasier”, one of which earned him a DGA nomination. Grammer also starred and served as executive producer of the ABC comedy “Hank.”Grammer’s other acting credits include “I Don’t Know How She Does It, “MGM’s remake of “Fame,” Paramount Pictures’ “Middle Men,” Vivendi Universal’s “An American Carol,” Disney’s “Swing Vote,” FOX’s blockbuster hit “X-Men: The Last Stand,” FOX’s “Back To You” in which he also served as executive producer, “A Christmas Carol” for NBC, “Benedict Arnold” for A&E, “Mr. St. Nick” for ABC’s Hallmark Hall of Fame, “Fifteen Minutes” for New Line Cinema, “Down Periscope” for 20th Century Fox and “Even Money” for Yari Film Group.
Grammer began acting in plays at Pine Crest Preparatory School in Fort Lauderdale, where his teenage stage success inspired him to apply to Juilliard. He developed an interest in Shakespeare and began his professional acting career at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. He continued in regional theatre, and finally made his way to New York with roles in the off-Broadway productions “Sunday in the Park with George,” “A Month in the Country” and the Obie Award-winning “Quartermaine's Terms.” He starred on Broadway in “Macbeth” and “ Visiet Now Othello.” After gaining television notoriety, he returned to the stage and received critical acclaim as Professor Higgins in “My Fair Lady.” He also performed the title role in “Richard II” and Lucio in “Measure for Measure” at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.Before long he appeared in two TV miniseries: first as Stephen Smith in “Kennedy” (NBC, 1983) and next as Lieutenant Stewart in “George Washington” (CBS, 1984.) Grammer then landed the role of Dr. Frasier Crane in “Cheers.” Originally, the show’s creators wanted John Lithgow for a brief recurring role, but the actor was unavailable. Grammer's former Juilliard classmate Mandy Patinkin suggested him to the New York casting director and he got the job, parlaying six episodes into a career that would span decades.Grammer was born in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and was raised in New Jersey and Florida. He lives in the Los Angeles area and New York.