Jonathan Freeman (born February 5, 1950) is an American actor and puppeteer. He is known for voicing Jafar in Disney's Aladdin franchise, as well as the Kingdom Hearts franchise and the 2011 Aladdin musical.
Early life Freeman was born in Bay Village, Ohio on February 5, 1950. He graduated from Ohio University.
Career As well as being the voice of sorcerer Jafar in Aladdin, a role he once said he is called in to reprise every 3 to 6 months, Freeman is also known for being the puppeteer for Tito Swing of the Jukebox Band (Flexitoon Puppets) on the PBS series Shining Time Station. Freeman reprised his role as Jafar in the Aladdin sequel The Return of Jafar and the Hercules crossover episode "Hercules and the Arabian Night".
In 1994, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role in She Loves Me. Additionally, he appeared in the Broadway revival productions of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Producers, On the Town, and 42nd Street, during which his caricature was drawn for Sardi's restaurant in 2002.
Freeman can be heard on the 1997 Varèse Sarabande studio recording of the flop 1965 musical Drat! The Cat!.
He was also seen on stage as Cogsworth in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and originated the role of Grimsby in Disney's Broadway production of The Little Mermaid.
Freeman began his run starring as Admiral Boom and the Bank Chairman in the Broadway production of Mary Poppins on December 12, 2009.
Freeman also reprised his role as Jafar in the musical adaptation of Aladdin, which played at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre from July 7–31, 2011. After nearly eight years with the show, Freeman played his final performance with the company on January 23, 2022.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1976Let My Puppets ComeMadame (Puppetry and Voice) and The ChauffeurSoftcore Pornographic film 1987 Forever, Lulu Don 1988 Homeboy Hotel Room Man 1990 A Shock To The System Decorator 1992 Aladdin Jafar (voice) A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. 1994 The Return of Jafar Direct-to-video 1995 Born to Be Wild Ed Price 1996 The Associate Hockey Game Executive 1997 The Ice Storm Ted Franklin 2001 Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse Jafar (voice) Direct-to-video 2002 Mickey's House of Villains 2007 The Hoax Thick Voice (voice) 2011Too Big to Fail Senator Richard Shelby Television film 2016 Life, Animated Himself 2020 The High Note Martin Aladdin: The Broadway Musical Jafar Filmed recording of 2019 West End musical
Television {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- | rowspan="2"| 1989 || K.I.D.S. TV News || D.J. McCaw || Unknown episodes |- | The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd || Waiter #2 || Episode: "Here's a Cute Way to Wrap up the Holiday Season" |- | 1989–1995 || Shining Time Station || Tito Swing || 58 episodes |- | rowspan="2"| 1990 || Mathnet || Joshua || Episode: "The Case of the Unkidnapping" |- | Shining Time Station: 'Tis a Gift || Tito Swing || Television special |- | 1995 || Aladdin on Ice || Jafar (voice) || Television special; uncredited |- | 1996–1998 || Remember WENN || Rollie Pruitt || 6 episodes |- | 1998 || Hercules || rowspan="2"| Jafar (voice) || Episode: "Hercules and the Arabian Night" |- | 2001–2003 || House of Mouse || 10 episodes |- | 2002 || Teamo Supremo|| Zomnambulist (voice) || Episode: "Things That Go Bump in the Night!" |- | 2005–2006 || American Dragon: Jake Long || Eli Excelsior Pandarus, Jack Frost (voice) || 3 episodes |- | 2008 || Gossip Girl || Butler || Episode: "The Ex-Files" |- | 2006–2009 || Law & Order: Criminal Intent || Mr. Marty Krebs Wallace Thayer || 2 episodes |- | 2010 || Law & Order: Special Victims Unit || Bobby || Episode: "Merchandise" |- | 2011 || Submissions Only || Greg Bonomelli || Episode: "The Miller/Hennigan Act" |- | 2016 || Elementary || Holder || Episode: "How the Sausage Is Made" |- | 2017 || Oh My Disney Show: "Watch a Disney Movie With ... Aladdin'''s Jonathan Freeman" || rowspan="2" | Himself || S2, EP 34 |- | 2019 || TODAY || Episode: "Jonathan Freeman, Voice of Jafar, Reveals A Secret To Playing Aladdin Villain" |- | 2022 || Helluva Boss || Paimon, Cash Buckzo (voice) || Episode: "The Circus"
Video games Year Title Role Notes 1994 Aladdin Activity Center Jafar 2001 Aladdin in Nasira's Revenge 2002 Kingdom Hearts 2005 Kingdom Hearts II 2007 Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ 2010 Kingdom Hearts Re:coded 2023 Disney Speedstorm Disney Dreamlight Valley
Web {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- | 2016 ||Broadway.com's Role Call: "Jonathan Freeman of Aladdin" || Himself ||
Theme parks + Year Title Role Notes 1998 Fantasmic! Jafar Voice
Theatre work
Broadway credits Aladdin as Jafar (Original Broadway Cast) Mary Poppins as Admiral Boom and the Bank Chairman (Replacement) The Little Mermaid as Grimsby (Original Broadway Cast) Beauty and the Beast as Cogsworth (Replacement) The Producers as Roger De Bris (Replacement) 42nd Street as Bert Barry On the Town as Pitkin W. Bridgework How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as Mr. Bratt She Loves Me as Headwaiter – Nominated – Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical Platinum as Minky Sherlock Holmes as Lightfoot McTague (Replacement – RSC Transfer)
Off Broadway credits His Off Broadwat credits include: Of Thee I Sing as Senator Lyons (City Center Encores) Finian's Rainbow as Finian (Irish Repertory) A Class Act as Lehman (Manhattan Theatre Club) An Empty Plate In The Cafe Du Grand Boeuf as Claude (Primary Stages) Sail Away as Joe (Carnegie Hall) Wall To Wall as Frank Loesser (Symphony Space) Li'l Abner as Dr. Rasmussen (City Center Encores) On The Town as Pitkin W. Bridgework (Public Theater/Delacourte) In A Pig's Valise as Zoot/Gut (Second Stage) Claptrap as Harvey (Manhattan Theater Club) Bertrano as Louie/Momo (Primary Stages) Confessions Of Billie as Conrad Gerhardt (Performing Garage) Thirteen Days To Broadway as Cy (890 Studios) Babes In Arms as Steve (Playwrights' Horizon) Pinocchio as Fire Eater (Marionette Theater) The Miser as Cleante (Greenwich Mews) Le Bourgeois gentilhomme as Dancing Master
Regional/Stock credits Restoration Comedy as Sir Novelty (Seattle Repertory Theater) A Christmas Carol as Ebenezer Scrooge (Bay Street Theater) You Can't Take It with You as Boris Kolenkov (Bay Street Theater) An Empty Plate In The Cafe Du Grand Boeuf as Claude (Berkshire Theater Festival) Peter Pan as Hook/Mr. Darling (Austin Musical Theater) How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as Bert Bratt (La Jolla Playhouse) Fortinbras as Claudius (La Jolla Playhouse) Babes In Toyland as Gonzorgo (Houston Grand Opera) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum as Marcus Lycus (La Jolla Playhouse/Orange County Performing Arts Center) The Flowering Peach as Shem (Coconut Grove Playhouse) Emigration Of Adam as Issac Kurtzik (Williamstown Theater Festival) Gay Divorce as Teddy (Goodspeed Opera House) The Student Prince as Hubert (Milwaukee Melody Top) Can-Can as Boris Arsenic and Old Lace as Jonathan (Meadowbrook Theater) The Desert Song as Benny (Coachlight Theater) George Washington Slept Here as Steve (Berkshire Theater Festival) How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' as Bud Frump (Coachlight Theater)
Soundtrack
Year Artist/Writer Song Film Role 1989 Kevin Roth "Cosher Bailey's Engine""Camptown Races""Jesse James""Celito Lindo""No Business like Show Business""Polly Wolly Doodle""The Desperado""Home on the Range""Jamaican Farewell""Born on the Fourth of July" Shining Time Station Tito Swing 1990 Lydia Maria Child "'Tis A Gift" Shining Time Station: 'Tis a Gift 1992 Alan Menken & Howard Ashman "Prince Ali Reprise""Humiliate the Boy""Why Me?" Aladdin Jafar 1994 "You're Only Second Rate" The Return of Jafar 2001 Randy Petersen & Kevin Quinn "It's Our House Now" Mickey's House of Villains
References
External links