James Carpinello Biography

Fast Facts

• Won a fifth-grade talent show by lip-synching to Bon Jovi
• Debuted on Broadway at age 24 (in 1999) when he played Tony Manero in the Saturday Night Fever musical
• Was originally slated to star in the Broadway version of Hairspray, but the run conflicted with filming a movie
• He bowed out, making way for understudy Matthew Morrison (Glee) to take over the role
• Proposed to wife Amy Acker when she visited him in Australia, where he was filming a movie
• The engagement ring, which was made by a friend's father, was held up in customs; he didn't receive it until the night prior to the proposal
• Almost made magic in the Broadway musical version of Xanadu, but a freak roller-skating mishap during rehearsal left him with a broken leg
• Cheyenne Jackson took over the role