Phillip Boykin (sometimes credited as Phillip Lamar Boykin) (born November 2, 1968) is an American actor and bass-baritone singer. He currently portrays Hades in the Broadway production of Hadestown.
One of ten children, Boykin grew up in Greenville, South Carolina.[1] He started studies in Opera Performance at South Carolina State College before transferring to the North Carolina School of the Arts. He left NCSA in 1990[2] and moved to the Hartt School of the University of Hartford where he received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance in 1995.[3] He later studied toward a Master's degree in Opera and Jazz Vocals from Howard University.[4]
He received the 2015 Hartt Alumni Award from The Hartt School.[5]
Boykin was nominated for the Tony Award, as well as the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Crown in the Broadway revival of Porgy and Bess (2012). He was awarded the Theater World Award for his Outstanding Broadway debut. He reprised the role in 2014 at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.[6]
Boykin was also featured in On the Town which ran on Broadway at the Lyric Theatre in 2014-2015.[7] In 2015, he starred as the Pirate King in New York City Center’s The Pirates of Penzance. In 2017 he was featured in the Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George. He made Broadway history as the first African-American Boatman/Lee Randolph in the production, which reopened Broadway's newest and oldest theater at the time, the Hudson Theatre, which played its last Broadway show in 1968.[8] Boykin played the role of Tonton Julian in the Revival of Once on This Island, which opened on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre on December 3, 2017 and closed on January 6, 2019.[9] In 2022, he was featured in the Hugh Jackman led Broadway revival of The Music Man as Olin Britt and a Traveling Salesman.
He is the founder and director of "The NYGospel Brothers", a gospel quartet that travels around the world spreading the good news.
He was seen in the films Freedom (2014) starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Top Five (2014) starring Chris Rock, and Easter Mysteries an oratorio-musical written by John O’Boyle.[10]
In 2019, he was inducted into the South Carolina Theatre Association Hall of Fame following a performance of the Once on this Island tour in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina.[11]
In September 2023, he started starring in the Broadway production of Hadestown as Hades.[12] He's set to have his final performance on January 12, 2025 opposite Jordan Fisher as Orpheus.[13]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actor in a Musical | Porgy and Bess | |||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | |||||
| Theatre World Award | ||||||
| 2019 | Grammy Award | Best Musical Theater Album | Once on This Island | |||