# Joel Perez
**Joel Perez** is an American actor, writer, and playwright based in New York City, known for originating roles in the Broadway musical *Fun Home*, winning a Lucille Lortel Award for the [Off-Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/off-broadway) revival of *Sweet Charity*, and voicing Valentino in the animated series *Hazbin Hotel*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3095128/) • [2](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Joel-Perez/) His work spans musical theater, television, film, voice acting, and playwriting, much of it drawing on his Puerto Rican heritage.[3](https://now.tufts.edu/2021/09/17/broadway-performer-celebrates-his-puerto-rican-heritage)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Broadway debut | *Fun Home* (2015), playing four roles including Bobby Jeremy, Pete, and Roy; he was an original cast member from the Public Theater premiere[3](https://now.tufts.edu/2021/09/17/broadway-performer-celebrates-his-puerto-rican-heritage) • [2](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Joel-Perez/) |
| Lortel Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, 2017, for *Sweet Charity* at The New Group[2](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Joel-Perez/) |
| Voice work | Valentino in *Hazbin Hotel* (2024–2025, 10 episodes); additional voices in *Fire Island*; performer credits on *Helluva Boss*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3095128/) • [4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/joel-perez/credits/3030118277/) |
| Screen writing | *Beautiful, FL*, which he wrote and starred in, premiered on Disney+ in 2023; *Villa Encanto* premiered at the Tribeca Festival in 2025, executive produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3095128/) |
| Playwriting honors | *Stir* (Old Globe commission) won an Elliot Norton Award for Best New Script; 2021 Voces Latinx National Playwriting Competition winner for *From the Fountain*; 2019 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Playwriting[2](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Joel-Perez/) |
| Education | Tufts University (A08), the British American Drama Academy, and Upright Citizens Brigade[3](https://now.tufts.edu/2021/09/17/broadway-performer-celebrates-his-puerto-rican-heritage) • [5](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/551193cee4b052872303d321/t/5cad751e53450aea9f37b336/1554871584225/Berkeley%2BRep%2BAnnounces%2BFull%2BCast%2Bfor%2BKiss%2BMy%2BAztec.pdf) |
## Early life and education
Perez grew up in [Lawrence, Massachusetts](https://www.edgepedia.org/lawrence-massachusetts), a predominantly Puerto Rican and Dominican community about 40 miles north of Boston. His father, a Pentecostal minister, left Puerto Rico at age 12, and his mother, a retired teacher, left in her 20s. He sang in his father's choir and performed in high school musicals, but entered [Tufts University](https://www.edgepedia.org/tufts-university) with medical school in mind, reflecting his parents' ambitions. A fellow member of the Tufts Chamber Singers encouraged him to audition for a Torn Ticket production of *Children of Eden*, after which he switched his major to theater. His role as The Player in *Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead* at the Balch Arena Theatre was, by his account, seminal to his career.[3](https://now.tufts.edu/2021/09/17/broadway-performer-celebrates-his-puerto-rican-heritage)
After graduating in 2008 he attended SpringboardNYC, the American Theatre Wing's intensive program for acting students, and saw *In the Heights* at the [Richard Rodgers Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-rodgers-theatre) that summer. He has said it was the first time he realized musicals could star Latinx people, and that it showed the kind of work he wanted to do.[3](https://now.tufts.edu/2021/09/17/broadway-performer-celebrates-his-puerto-rican-heritage) • [6](https://americantheatrewing.org/working-in-the-theatre/joel-perez/)
## Theater career
Two years and six auditions after seeing *In the Heights*, Perez landed an ensemble role (understudying Sonny, Usnavi, and the Piragua Guy) in the show's first national tour; when the tour played a week in Puerto Rico, his parents flew down to see him perform.[3](https://now.tufts.edu/2021/09/17/broadway-performer-celebrates-his-puerto-rican-heritage) • [7](https://s3.amazonaws.com/tpacimages/Playbills/ITH-WEB.pdf)
**Fun Home.** Perez made his Broadway debut in the 2015 original Broadway production of *Fun Home*, the musical adaptation of [Alison Bechdel](https://www.edgepedia.org/alison-bechdel)'s graphic memoir, after originating roles in its 2013 Public Theater premiere. He played four roles on Broadway, ranging from a teenage student to a 1970s rock star, in a show that won multiple [Tony Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-awards) and was the first Broadway musical whose lead characters are gay.[3](https://now.tufts.edu/2021/09/17/broadway-performer-celebrates-his-puerto-rican-heritage) • [2](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Joel-Perez/)
**Off-Broadway and regional work.** His stage credits include Daddy Brubeck, Vittorio, and Herman in The New Group's 2016 revival of *Sweet Charity*, for which he won the 2017 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical; Touchstone in the Public Theater's Public Works *As You Like It* (2017 and 2020); Creon in *Oedipus El Rey* at the Public; roles in *Wild Goose Dreams* at the Public; Bob in the 2020 world premiere musical *Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice*; Rodriguez in the 2022 Second Stage Broadway revival of *Take Me Out*; Stephano in *The Tempest* at Shakespeare in the Park (2023); and the title role of Pepe in *Kiss My Aztec!* at Hartford Stage and Berkeley Rep in 2019. He also performed the role of Marco in the musical *Stuck Elevator* at [American Conservatory Theater](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-conservatory-theater) in San Francisco.[2](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Joel-Perez/) • [5](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/551193cee4b052872303d321/t/5cad751e53450aea9f37b336/1554871584225/Berkeley%2BRep%2BAnnounces%2BFull%2BCast%2Bfor%2BKiss%2BMy%2BAztec.pdf) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3095128/)
## Screen and voice work
Perez's television credits include the ensemble of *Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert* (NBC, 2018), Carlos in *Odd Mom Out* (Bravo, 2017), and a role in *Person of Interest* (CBS, 2014). His film work includes *tick, tick... Boom!* (Netflix, 2021), [Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://www.edgepedia.org/lin-manuel-miranda)'s directorial debut.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3095128/) • [3](https://now.tufts.edu/2021/09/17/broadway-performer-celebrates-his-puerto-rican-heritage)
As a voice actor he is known for voicing Valentino in *Hazbin Hotel*, appearing in ten episodes between 2024 and 2025, with performer credits on the related series *Helluva Boss* and additional voices in *Fire Island*. His official site directs fan conventions and appearances related to Valentino and *Hazbin Hotel* to a dedicated appearances contact.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3095128/) • [4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/joel-perez/credits/3030118277/) • [8](https://www.misterjoelperez.com/contact)
## Writing and directing
When the pandemic closed New York theaters in 2020, Perez turned to writing. He co-wrote with Melinda Lopez the one-act play *Black Beans Project*, produced by Boston's Huntington Theater in May 2020, in which the two playwrights portrayed half-siblings recreating their mother's black beans recipe over Zoom. He also wrote and performed *Playing with Myself*, an autobiographical one-man musical comedy about growing up queer, Puerto Rican, and ex-Pentecostal, premiered online in June 2020 through Ars Nova's new works residency and later performed at Joe's Pub and Ars Nova.[3](https://now.tufts.edu/2021/09/17/broadway-performer-celebrates-his-puerto-rican-heritage) • [2](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Joel-Perez/)
His playwriting honors center on stories of migration and identity. *Stir*, commissioned and world-premiered at the Old Globe Theater and developed at the Huntington Theatre, received an Elliot Norton Award for Best New Script. *Lost City Radio*, a musical, was developed at NYSAF, Berkeley Rep Ground Floor, and the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. He won the 2021 Voces Latinx National Playwriting Competition for *From the Fountain* and was a 2019 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Playwriting.[2](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Joel-Perez/) • [9](https://www.theoldglobe.org/globalassets/pdfs/programs/2024/stir-2024-web.pdf)
In television, he is a 2021 [Warner Bros. Discovery](https://www.edgepedia.org/warner-bros-discovery) 150 Artist Grant recipient for his original comedy pilot *You're Tired, You're Poor*, a workplace comedy set in an immigration law firm, which 20th [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television) optioned for development.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3095128/) • [3](https://now.tufts.edu/2021/09/17/broadway-performer-celebrates-his-puerto-rican-heritage)
His recent film work moves behind the camera as well. He wrote and starred in *Beautiful, FL*, which premiered on Disney+ in 2023. In 2025 he wrote and directed the short *The Upper Room*, which premiered at NewFest, and directed and co-wrote *Villa Encanto*, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival and was executive produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3095128/)
## Mime and other work
Perez co-founded Broken Box Mime Theatre in New York with several Tufts alumni, including Rebecca Baumwoll, who had performed with him in the student mime ensemble Hype!. He wrote *Besos*, a telenovela sendup, for one of the company's early shows. He has described mime as a grounding discipline for his screen and stage acting, and he performed with the UCB Maude sketch team Peach.[3](https://now.tufts.edu/2021/09/17/broadway-performer-celebrates-his-puerto-rican-heritage) • [2](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Joel-Perez/)
## Personal life
Perez married Adrian Ferbeyre on April 13, 2019. He is 6 feet (1.83 m) tall and is a [SAG-AFTRA](https://www.edgepedia.org/sag-aftra) member.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3095128/)
## References
1. [Joel Perez, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3095128/)
2. [Joel Perez bio and credits, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Joel-Perez/)
3. [A Broadway Performer Celebrates His Puerto Rican Heritage, Tufts Now (September 17, 2021)](https://now.tufts.edu/2021/09/17/broadway-performer-celebrates-his-puerto-rican-heritage)
4. [Joel Perez credits, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/joel-perez/credits/3030118277/)
5. [Berkeley Rep Announces Full Cast for Kiss My Aztec! (cast biography)](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/551193cee4b052872303d321/t/5cad751e53450aea9f37b336/1554871584225/Berkeley%2BRep%2BAnnounces%2BFull%2BCast%2Bfor%2BKiss%2BMy%2BAztec.pdf)
6. [Working in the Theatre: Before the Show – Joel Perez, American Theatre Wing (February 24, 2016)](https://americantheatrewing.org/working-in-the-theatre/joel-perez/)
7. [Who's Who in the Cast, In the Heights national tour playbill](https://s3.amazonaws.com/tpacimages/Playbills/ITH-WEB.pdf)
8. [Contact, misterjoelperez.com](https://www.misterjoelperez.com/contact)
9. [Stir program, The Old Globe (2024)](https://www.theoldglobe.org/globalassets/pdfs/programs/2024/stir-2024-web.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames P to Ph*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license