Although a Broadway actor since the age of 19, Matthew Morrison made a bigger splash on TV, where he began playing the role of Mr. Shuester -- the well-meaning music teacher and adult star of Glee -- in 2009. The show required its cast to sing and dance, two skills Morrison had sharpened during his time as a stage actor. A California native, he began performing in school plays and theater camp productions before relocating to New York, where he enrolled at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. After a brief stint in the boy band LMNT, Morrison returned his focus to acting and landed a role in the Broadway adaptation of Footloose. More Broadway shows followed, including the first stage production of John Waters’ Hairspray. The musical won a Grammy Award in 2003 for its soundtrack; Morrison also received his own nomination from the Outer Critics Circle Awards, having attracted a good bit of attention by originating the role of Link Larkin. As his reputation grew, so did his résumé, and Morrison began branching out into film and TV.