17 Celebs Who Took the Broadway Stage

Katie Holmes made her Broadway debut in 2008 in a revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons as Ann Deever. She got mixed reviews, alternately accused of italicizing every word (the New York Times) and praised for her glamour (the Daily News), so the jury's still out on this one.

Apparently celebs really dig Arthur Miller, because Scarlett Johansson chose to make her Broadway debut in one of his plays, too. She scored a Best Featured Actress Tony for her portrayal of Catherine Carbone.

In 2007, Jennifer Garner hit the stage with Kevin Kline as Roxanne in Cyrano de Bergerac. New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley described her as "captivating." High praise, indeed!

Firefly alum Alan Tudyk took over the role of Lancelot in Monty Python's Spamalot for several months in 2005 while Hank Azaria went off to shoot the second season of Huff. Alas, I was unable to find any images of him as Lancelot, so enjoy this shot of everyone's favorite dino-loving pilot instead.

In the enormously successful 2004 revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which starred Kathleen Turner as Martha, Mireille Enos made waves as the flighty and increasingly drunk Honey. Enos can currently be seen as a very different character on the AMC drama The Killing.

Brendan Fraser made his debut on the Great White Way as a man newly released from a psych ward who is trying to readjust to life on the outside in a stage adaptation of the Norwegian film Elling. Alas, the play was a flop-- it ran for a mere week before closing. Maybe he and Kathleen Turner can go commiserate together.

These days, Neil Patrick Harris is well known for his musical theatre abilities, but once upon a time, he was a complete surprise. Though he had appeared on Broadway before as the MC in Cabaret, it was his turn as the Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald in the 2004 production of the Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins that really put him on the song-and-dance map.

Hugh Jackman's Tony-winning performance as flamboyant singer-songwriter Peter Allen took Broadway on by storm in 2003.

Wolverine returned to Broadway in 2009, and this time, he brought James Bond with him. The two actors became infamous for the impressive way they handled cell phones that went off during performance.

The first time Harry Potter hit Broadway, he went naked in Equus; now, he's demonstrating his triple threat abilities in How To Succeed. I've got to hand it to him for making some challenging career choices!

Okay, not Broadway technically, but Shakespeare in the Park is still pretty high-profile. Anne Hathaway starred as Viola in Shakespeare's gender-bending comedy at the outdoor Delacorte Theatre in 2009. Fitting, given that Shakespeare was married to an Anne Hathaway.

The current revival of Chicago has been infamous for its revolving cast of celebrities. In 2003, Melanie Griffith took over the role of Roxie and surprised everyone with her spectacular performance.

While Griffith was playing in Chicago, her hubby, Antonio Banderas, was appearing across the street in a revival of the musical Nine. Banderas earned a Tony nomination for his efforts.

Though her performance at the Tony Awards in 2010 was a little lackluster, Zeta-Jones still won the award for Best Leading Actress for her work as Desiree. Audiences had previously seen her musical theatre chops as Velma Kelly in Rob Marshall's 2002 film of Chicago.

Long before her days as Rachel Berry on Glee, Lea Michele was a Broadway baby. She made her Broadway debut as Young Cosette in Les Miserables at the tender age of 9; she then went on perform in Ragtime, Fiddler on the Roof, and the hit rock musical Spring Awakening, all by the time she turned 20. Now THAT'S dedication.

While we're on the subject of Glee, Matthew Morrison also put in some impressive time on Broadway: In 2002, he originated the role of Link Larkin in Hairspray, and in 2005 he won a Tony nomination for his portrayal of Fabrizio Nacarelli in The Light in the Piazza.

Green Day's front man stepped into the role of St. Jimmy in the musical based off of the band's album. I'm not sure if this is really awesome or really arrogant.