Frank William Chase (born September 12, 1970) is an American actor, director, and singer, best known for his work on Broadway and for his role as country superstar Luke Wheeler on ABC's Nashville.
Early life and education Chase was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, to Betty and Jerry Chase, and is the youngest of three sons. He graduated from Western Hills High School and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied conducting with Robert Spano and percussion with Michael Rosen.
Career Chase started his acting career in Chicago, performing in regional theater productions and received three Joseph Jefferson Award nominations. He then played Chris in the 2nd National Tour of Miss Saigon. He first performed on Broadway in 1998 as the Squeegee Man and Mark/Roger understudy in Rent, and went on to star as Roger in the final Broadway company of Rent, which was recorded for the theatrical release entitled Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway. His additional Broadway credits in the early 2000s include Miss Saigon (with the original star Lea Salonga playing Kim to close the Broadway production); The Full Monty (2001); Aida (Radames replacement, 2003–04); and Lennon (2005). Tony in Billy Elliot the Musical. He was also in A Little Princess the Musical as Captain Crewe. In 2005, he played Neville Craven in the 2005 World AIDS Day The Secret Garden concert.
In 2006, he starred in High Fidelity on Broadway, and played Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, for which he received a nomination for the 2009 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor.
He appeared in The Pajama Game opposite Kate Baldwin at The Muny (St. Louis) in July 2007. He starred in Oklahoma in 2007 at the Lyric Theatre opposite Kelli O'Hara, and on Broadway in the short-lived musical The Story of My Life in 2009. Starting in 2009, Chase played the role of Tony in Billy Elliot the Musical until 2011. In August 2012, he temporarily filled in for Matthew Broderick as Jimmy Winter in the Broadway musical, Nice Work If You Can Get It.
At the 2013 Tony Awards, he was nominated for Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as John Jasper/Mr. Clive Paget in the Broadway revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.Drood Playbill (vault). Retrieved July 24, 2019
Chase guest starred as Michael Swift in the NBC series Smash. He then went on to star for 3 seasons as country superstar Luke Wheeler on the television series Nashville. His other television appearances include Quantico, HBO's The Deuce, the recurring role of Pat Mahoney on Rescue Me, Cupid, Canterbury's Law, Law & Order, Third Watch, Conviction, and Queens Supreme, Hallmark's The Lost Valentine, alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt and Betty White; the 2011 season finale of Royal Pains (USA); Blue Bloods (CBS); and the ABC drama Pan Am. In 2012, he appeared on the series White Collar, in the episode "Neighborhood Watch", and appeared on the series Unforgettable, in the episode "The Comeback".
He played the title role in the 2013 film Butterflies of Bill Baker, winning Best Actor at the 2013 Chain Film Festival. Chase also voiced the wolf Angee in A Warrior's Tail (2016).
In 2016, Chase assumed the role of William Shakespeare from Christian Borle on Broadway in the musical Something Rotten!,Hetrick, Adam. "Christian Borle Sets 'Something Rotten!' Departure" Playbill, June 23, 2016 while simultaneously filming both HBO's The Deuce, and the ABC drama Time After Time, in the series regular role of Griffin Monroe.
He played abusive father Neil Hargrove in the second season of the American supernatural horror-science fiction television series, Stranger Things, which premiered in late 2017, and in 2018 appeared in HBO's drama Sharp Objects as Bob Nash." Sharp Objects Cast and Crew" hbo.com. Retrieved July 24, 2019
He starred as Fred Graham/Petruchio opposite Kelli O'Hara in the 2019 Broadway revival of Kiss Me, Kate.Clement, Olivia. "Kelli O'Hara to Return to Broadway in Kiss Me, Kate", Playbill, November 6, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2018
In 2020 and 2021, he wrote and directed the award- winning short film Dagger, co-starring Jack Davenport, and Trunk Show, which featured his children, actors Daisy and Gracie Chase, winning Best Short Film at the 2021 Ridgewood Guild International Film Festival. Also in 2021, he played Michael Friedman in Danny Strong’s Pulitzer Prize-winning series Dopesick.
In 2022, he played Kurt Dockweiler in the first season of Bosch: Legacy. That same year he finished production on Apple TV's The Crowded Room, starring alongside Tom Holland and Emmy Rossum which premiered in June of 2023.
In 2024 Chase directed Mick Lynch's one-man show An Irish Goodbye at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, and in 2025 directed the feature documentary Coming Home: The Guggenheim Grotto Back In Ireland, which won the Jury Award for Best Short Film at the LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival and Best Director of a Documentary at Chain Film Festival. In 2027 he will direct the musical short film Here, Bullet, which he co-wrote with composer Kurt Erickson, based on Erickson's prize-winning song cycle of the same name, which was adapted from the original anthology of 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award-winning poems, "Here, Bullet", by renowned American poet Brian Turner. Alongside Erickson and Turner, Chase co-created and is a teaching artist for Finding Voice & Vision, a creative arts therapy program for veterans, sponsored by the California Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2025, it was announced that Chase would be joining Jamie Foxx and Andrés Baiz in the Netflix feature film Fight for '84.
Personal life Chase has two children, actors Daisy and Gracie Chase, with the late Lori Davis, to whom he was married from 1996 to 2008. He was married to actress Stephanie Gibson from 2009"Weddings. Stephanie Gibson, Will Chase" The New York Times, November 14, 2009 until their divorce in 2012.
He and Debra Messing dated from 2011 to 2014.Lee, Esther; Brown, Brody. "Debra Messing and Will Chase Split After Nearly Two-and-a-Half Years of Dating" US Magazine, October 27, 2014Saad, Nadine. "Debra Messing and Will Chase split up after sparking during 'Smash'" Los Angeles Times, October 27, 2014
Chase has been in a relationship with musician Ingrid Michaelson since 2015.
Filmography +Key Denotes works that have not yet been released
Actor YearTitleRoleNotes 2000 Shaft Walter's Friend Film 2001 Fling (FOX network, created by Glenn Gordon Caron) Dan Fields Episode: #1.2 "In Genes We Trust" 2002 Guiding Light Store Manager Episode dated August 14, 2002 2002 Third Watch Reilly Episode: #4.8 "Ladies' Day" 2003 Queens Supreme ADA Pheiffer Episode: #1.1 "One Angry Man" 2003 Law & Order David Episode: #13.11 "Chosen" 2004 Everyday People Dad (uncredited) HBO Film 2004 Law & Order Mellors' Co-Owner Episode: #14.18 "Evil Breeds" 2006 Conviction Detective Dave Lamanski Episode: #1.4 "Indebted" 2006 As the World Turns Dr. Linn Episode dated May 1, 2006 Episode dated May 3, 2006 2006 All My Children A.D.A. Phillips Episode #1.9395 2008 Law & Order Derek Cahill Episode: #18.4 "Bottomless" 2008 Canterbury's Law Artie Flom Episode: #1.3 "What Goes Around" 2008 Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway Roger Davis Film 2009 Four Single Fathers Lance Film 2009 Cupid Peter Episode: #1.6 "Left of the Dial" 2009 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Jacob Garrety Episode: #8.15 "Passion"2009 One Life to Live Dr. Jason Nance Episode: #1.10564 "Sing Along with Mitch" Episode: #1.10565 "The Greenhouse Effect" Episode: #1.10566 "Angel of Death" Episode: #1.10567 "Dads Gone Wild" 2009–2010 Rescue Me Pat Mahoney Episode: #5.5 "Sheila" Episode: #6.4 "Breakout" Episode: #6.6 "Sanctuary" Episode: #6.8 "Cowboy" 2011 The Lost Valentine Andrew Hawthorne TV film2011 Royal Pains Benjamin Richards Episode: #2.18 "Listen to the Music"2011 Pan Am John Stanton Episode: #1.1 "Pilot"2011 Blue Bloods William Flood Episode: #2.3 "Critical Condition"2012 White Collar Connor Bailey Episode: #3.13 "Neighborhood Watch"2012 Unforgettable Reed Benedict Episode: #1.18 "The Comeback"2012–2013 Smash Michael Swift 10 episodes; Recurring role (season 1)2013 Necessary Roughness David Blaze Episode: #2.13 "Hits and Myths"2013 It Could Be Worse Pervy Episode: #1.6 "Him, I want Him"2013 Butterflies of Bill Baker Bill Baker (Best Actor-Chain Film Festival) Film2013 The Ordained Gavin TV film2013–2014 The Good Wife Detective Doug Young Episode: #4.18 "Death of a Client" Episode: #5.16 "The Last Call"2013–2017 Nashville Luke Wheeler/Himself 57 episodes; Recurring role (season 2) Main role (Seasons 3–4) Guest role (Seasons 5–6)2015 For Real Blaine Film2015 A Warrior's Tail Anga (English version, voice) Film 2017 Time After Time Griffin Monroe 12 episodes; Main role 2017 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Byron Marks Episode: #19.1 "Gone Fishin'" 2017 The Deuce Jack Episode: #1.4 "I See Money" Episode: #1.5 "What Kind of Bad?" 2017, 2019 Stranger Things Neil Hargrove Episode: #2.8 "Chapter Eight: The Mind Flayer" Episode: #3.6 "Chapter Six: E Pluribus Unum" 2018 American Crime Story Detective Paul Scrimshaw Episode: #2.1 "The Man Who Would Be Vogue" Episode: #2.2 "Manhunt" Episode: #2.9 "Alone" 2018 E-Bowla Big Thumper Short Film 2018 Quantico Frank Marlow Episode: #3.6 "Heaven's Fall" Episode: #3.9 "Fear Feargach"2018 Sharp Objects Bob Nash 5 episodes; Main role (Mini-Series)2018–2019 Madam Secretary Owen Callister Episode: #5.4 "Requiem" Episode: #5.18 "Ready" Episode: #5.19 "The Great Experience" Episode: #5.20 "Better Angels"2018–2019 Impulse Simon 6 episodes; Recurring Role 2019 The Village John Episode: #1.1 "Pilot" 2019 FBI (TV series) Det Harry Bloom Episode: #2.10 "Ties That Bind" 2019 After the Wedding Frank Film 2020 The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show Grizzled Music Man Episode: #1.1 2021 Dopesick Michael Friedman 8 episodes; Main role (Mini-series) 2021 Girls5eva Stet Episode: #1.8 "Separ8 Ways" 2021 Dagger Tom Short Film 2022 Bosch: Legacy Kurt Dockweiler Episode: #1.9 "Cat Got a Name?" Episode: #1.10 "Always/All Ways" 2023 The Crowded Room Marlin Reid 10 episodes; Main role (Mini-series) 2025 Mooch Larry Film 2025 A Break In The Rain Randy Film TBA Fight for '84 Film; Post-production
Director
Year Title Notes 2020 Tigers and Young men Music video 2021 Dagger Short film (Best Score-Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival) 2021 I'm Right Here Short film 2021 Trunk Show Short film (Best Short Film-Ridgewood International Film Festival) 2021 Today Segment Director 2022 Lawrence of Arabia Music Video 2025 Coming Home: The Guggenheim Grotto Back In Ireland Documentary (Best Short Film-LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival) (Best Director of a Documentary-Chain Film Festival) 2026 A Gift For Ethan Documentary (Best Documentary-Katra Film Series) 2026 An Afternoon Wake Short film2027 Here, Bullet Short film: Pre-production
Theatre credits