Anthony Deane Rapp is an American stage and film actor and singer best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of Rent in 1996 and later for reprising the role in the film version and the Broadway Tour of Rent in 2009. He also performed the role of Charlie Brown in the 1999 Broadway revival of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. Rapp was born in Joliet, Illinois, the son of Mary Lee and Douglas Rapp. After his parents' divorce, he was raised by his mother, a trained nurse. Rapp attended high school at Joliet West High School in Joliet, Illinois and theatre camp... at Interlochen Arts Camp. In junior high school, Rapp won numerous awards for his singing. His brother is playwright, novelist and filmmaker Adam Rapp. Rapp first performed on Broadway in 1981 in the flop The Little Prince and the Aviator, a musical based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novel The Little Prince. The show closed during previews. He also appeared in the 1987 movie Adventures in Babysitting, which was directed by Chris Columbus. Columbus would later direct Rapp in the film version of Rent.
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