Thomas Kail
b. 1978 · American theatre and television director and producer
Biography
Thomas Kail is an American theatre and television director and producer, born in January 1977 according to some sources and in 1978 according to others. He is best known for staging the musicals of Lin-Manuel Miranda, and in 2016 he won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Hamilton. His screen work is more recent and centres on television and narrative film.
Raised in Alexandria, Virginia, he studied at Wesleyan University and began his career as an assistant stage manager in New Jersey. He directed productions Off-Broadway and on Broadway, including In the Heights and Lombardi, and reunited with Miranda on Hamilton. For television he directed the limited series Fosse/Verdon (2019), earning two Primetime Emmy nominations. In 2023 it was announced that he would direct a live-action version of Moana, his narrative feature debut. Kail received the Kennedy Center Honor in 2018 and remains active in theatre, with projects such as a remake of Fiddler on the Roof for Amazon MGM Studios.
Key films
- Hamilton (2020), the screen version of the stage musical he directed.
- Fosse/Verdon (2019), the FX limited series of which he directed at least four of the eight episodes.
- Moana (slated for 2026), a live-action version of the Disney animated classic and his first narrative feature.
Trivia
A group born among friends
Kail has been close friends with Lin-Manuel Miranda for years, and together with Anthony Veneziale he co-created the freestyle hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme.
From stage to television
His series Fosse/Verdon starred Sam Rockwell as Bob Fosse and Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon, and earned him two Primetime Emmy nominations.
On Cinematopedia
Moana
HamiltonOriginal Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.