While his character Titus Andromedon on The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt—a role creator Tina Fey wrote with him in mind—has dreams of being a Broadway star, the real man, Tituss Burgess already is one: He’s played Sebastian the Crab in The Little Mermaid and also appeared in Broadway productions of Guys and Dolls and Jersey Boys. In addition to his show-stealing comedic role on Kimmy Schmidt (for which he was ROBBED of four Emmy Awards), Burgess, who’s self-taught on piano since the age of 9, is also known for his powerhouse tenor vocals.
Contrary to Kimmy Schmidt fans’ wishful thinking, Burgess doesn’t have too much else in common with the personality of his Andromedon character—he’s just insanely good at his job of convincing us his character is 100 percent real. Burgess’ musicianship is often utilized—hilariously—in his acting roles, like in that viral spoof of Beyoncé’s Lemonade when him and onscreen beau Michael are going through it on Kimmy Schmidt, and his character’s perfect-yet-lazy on-the-fly rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner.” You may have also seen him acting alongside one of his heroes, Eddie Murphy, in the recent Netflix film Dolemite Is My Name.
In a recent phone interview with the Mercury, Burgess tells me from his home in New York that he just finished wrapping the Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect, in which he plays Dr. James Cleveland (who was known as the King of Gospel), alongside Jennifer Hudson, who’s playing Aretha.
