Christopher Neal Jackson (born September 30, 1975) is an American actor and singer. He began his career in 1995 starring in the Off-Broadway musical Time and the Wind by composer Galt MacDermot at the age of 20. He made his Broadway debut in 1997 as an ensemble member in the original Broadway cast of Disney's The Lion King. He remained with the show for several years, ultimately taking over the role of Simba. He went on to perform leading roles in several more Broadway musicals and plays, including After Midnight, Bronx Bombers, Holler If Ya Hear Me, and Memphis. He drew critical acclaim in several projects with Lin-Manuel Miranda: originating the roles of Benny in In the Heights and George Washington in the smash hit Hamilton. For the latter role he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He also collaborated with Miranda on the Disney film Moana in which he provides the singing voice of Chief Tui. His other film work includes secondary roles in After.Life and Tracers.
Jackson starred as Chunk Palmer in the main cast of the CBS television drama Bull between 2016–2022. His other television work includes the recurring role of Perry Loftus in the HBO prison drama Oz and guest appearances on Fringe, Gossip Girl, Nurse Jackie, The Good Wife and White Collar. Also active as a film and television composer, he won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song for "What I Am" for the children's television program Sesame Street. He has also written music for LL Cool J, Sean Kingston, and will.i.am. In 2018, Jackson received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Early life and education Jackson was born in Metropolis, Illinois, and raised in Cairo, Illinois, by his mother, Jane Adams, a vocal music teacher, and stepfather Herbert Michael Hodges. In 1993 he graduated from Cairo High School. While a student there, he performed in plays and was encouraged to pursue a career as an actor by one of his high school teachers, Lynn Steveson, who also led the school's debate team of which Jackson was a part. She also cast him in a production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. He credits Pilots basketball coach Larry Baldwin and Pastor Larry Potts of Mighty Rivers Regional Worship Center and would often run away to his best friends John Lairds house and found comfort in the home of Esther Laird, as other important mentors during his formative years in Cairo.
After graduating from high school, Jackson attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City.
Career Jackson began his career in 1995 starring in the Off-Broadway musical Time and the Wind by composer Galt MacDermot of Hair fame. He made his Broadway debut in 1997 as an ensemble member and the understudy for Simba in the Original Broadway Cast of The Lion King. He later took over the role of Simba in 2000. He then did work in the theater scenes in Chicago and Minneapolis–Saint Paul, notably earning a BATC Award nomination for Best Actor for Beggar's Holiday in 2004 for and winning a Joseph Jefferson Award (Chicago's equivalent to the Tony Awards) in 2006 for Comfortable Shoes. In 2007 he returned to New York to join the cast of the Off-Broadway musical In the Heights as Benny. The cast won the 2007 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance. He continued with the show when it moved to Broadway in 2008.
In 2009 Jackson was tapped to write music for the revived children's television program The Electric Company. In 2012 he returned to Broadway as Delray in Memphis, and in 2013 he replaced Everett Bradley as "Diga Diga Doo" in the Broadway musical After Midnight. In 2013 he appeared as Derek Jeter and Bobby Sturges in the Eric Simonson's Off-Broadway play Bronx Bombers at Primary Stages. He remained with the production when it moved to Broadway in 2014. That same year he portrayed Vertus in the short lived Broadway musical Holler If Ya Hear Me which was based on the life of Tupac.
In 2015, Jackson originated the role of President George Washington in the musical Hamilton on Broadway. He was nominated for a Tony Award and concluded his run on November 13, 2016 being replaced by Nicholas Christopher. Beginning with the 2016–2017 season, he played Chunk Palmer in the CBS courtroom drama Bull until the series' conclusion.6 Jackson's film and TV work includes Moana, Tracers, The Good Wife, Person of Interest, A Gifted Man, and Nurse Jackie. He is also a member of hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme. He has been nominated for three Emmy Awards for composing music and lyrics for television; he won the “Outstanding Original Song” Emmy Award in 2011 for his lyrics to "What I Am," which he co-wrote for Sesame Street with Bill Sherman. The success led to a first look deal at CBS Studios.
In February 2021, Jackson signed with Nickelodeon to compose the NOGGIN SVOD original series Rhymes Through Times, which features Nick's preschool characters in a Broadway extravaganza recreating the stories of the greatest heroes of America, specifically focusing on Black history. The animation for the show was done by LionForge Animation LLC. who have previously worked on the Oscar-winning Netflix movie Hair Love. The second season dropped on March 7, 2022. From June to November 2025, he made his Broadway return as Davis in Hell's Kitchen.Culwell-Block, Logan Christopher Jackson Sets Broadway Return in Hell's Kitchen Playbill, May 28, 2025 He’s set to rejoin the cast of Hamilton from September 8, 2026 to January 3, 2027.Gans, Andrew Christopher Jackson Sets Return to Broadway's Hamilton Playbill, June 16, 2026
Personal life In 2004, after meeting through a production of In the Heights, Jackson married actress and singer Veronica. Before the first run-through of the Off-Broadway production of In the Heights, Jackson learned that his son had been diagnosed with autism. Jackson and his wife are advocates for KultureCity: a nonprofit promoting acceptance and inclusion of all individuals regardless of their abilities. They have one son, C. J., and one daughter, Jadelyn. They live in Scarsdale, New York.
Acting credits Theatre +YearProductionRoleCategoryNotes1997–2000The Lion KingFeatured soloistBroadwayUnderstudy Simba 2000–02Simba2003–04EnsembleNational tour2004Beggar's HolidayHappy MacCaliforniaComfortable ShoesClay HarrisChicago2005CandideEnsembleOff-BroadwayPatienceDuke of DunstableIn the HeightsBenny Workshop Regional2007Off-Broadway2008–09Broadway2010–112012MemphisDelrayDreamgirlsCurtis Taylor Jr.The MunyLonely, I'm NotPerformerOff-Broadway2013The JammerCharlie Heartbreak In the Heights Benny United PalaceConcert HamiltonGeorge WashingtonWorkshopAfter MidnightSpecial Guest StarBroadwayBronx BombersBobby Sturges/Derek JeterOff-Broadway2014BroadwayHoller if Ya Hear MeVertus2015HamiltonGeorge WashingtonOff-Broadway2015–16Broadway2019Freestyle Love SupremeC-JackCameo at certain performances20212025Hell’s KitchenDavis2026 Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own WordsPerformer
Film +YearTitleRoleNotes2009After.LifeNeal2012You'll Be a Man...Composer, documentary2013Broken AsterComposer, short film2015TracersLonnie2016MoanaChief Tui (singing voice)2020HamiltonGeorge WashingtonFilmed recording of the 2016 Broadway musical2021In the HeightsMister SofteeCameoTick, Tick... Boom!TTB Concert Attendee2023World's BestCorey2024Boundary WatersSam
Television +YearTitleRoleNotes2003OzPerry Loftus5 episodes2009The Electric CompanyMusic directorFringeEMT #1Episode: "Unleashed"2010Nurse JackieTreyEpisode: "Bleeding"White CollarNicoEpisode: "Unfinished Business"2010–2014Sesame StreetJustin Bieber Muppet (2011)Composer2011A Gifted ManRafael DouglasEpisode: "In Case of Discomfort"2014Person of InterestFarrowEpisode: "Provenance"The Good WifeMichael WoodEpisode: "The Trial"2016–2022BullChester "Chunk" PalmerMain Cast2018–2019The Lion GuardShujaa & Kitendo (voice)3 episodes2019When They See UsPeter RiveraEpisode: "Part Two"2020VampirinaHeadless Horseman (voice)Episode: "A Tale of Two Hallows"2020, 2022Central ParkGlorious Gary2 episodes2021–2025And Just Like That...Herbert Wexley25 episodes2026GhostsAnthony ValerieEpisode: "Michael Jackson Goes to HR"The Late Show with Stephen ColbertHimselfEpisode: "May 13, 2026"
Discography
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryWorkResult2004BATC AwardBest ActorBeggar's Holiday2006Joseph Jefferson AwardBest ActorComfortable ShoesBlack Theater Alliance AwardBest Actor2007Drama Desk AwardOutstanding Ensemble PerformanceIn the Heights2011Daytime Emmy AwardOutstanding Original Song for A Children's SeriesSesame Street20142016 Tony Award Best Featured Actor in a MusicalHamilton Grammy AwardBest Musical Theater Album Broadway.com Audience Award Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical
See also African-American Tony nominees and winners References
External links