Cole Escola

Stage

From 2008 to 2012, Escola was a regular guest performer in the Our Hit Parade cabaret series,^[9] and later began performing monthly solo shows at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre. They appeared in Scott Wittman's 2012 cabaret show Jukebox Jackie at La MaMa and played an unborn fetus in Bridget Everett's 2014 cabaret show Rock Bottom at Joe's Pub. In a sketch called Queers in History, Escola strutted "jauntily across the stage wearing a newsboy cap and underwear."^[5] On June 14, 2017, Escola's hour-long solo show Help! I'm Stuck premiered at Joe's Pub, where it has since played numerous sold-out engagements.

In 2013, Escola played Roland Maule in the Two River Theater revival of Noël Coward's Present Laughter.^[10]

In 2024, Escola wrote and starred in their play Oh, Mary! at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, in which they played First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. It was directed by Sam Pinkleton and also starred Conrad Ricamora and James Scully. The show transferred to Broadway in July 2024, marking Escola's Broadway debut as an actor and playwright.^[11][12] At the 2024 Outer Critics Circle Awards, Escola was awarded the John Gassner Award for Oh, Mary!.^[13] The piece was a 2025 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.^[14] Escola won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 2025, for their performance in Oh, Mary!, becoming the first openly non-binary performer to win a Tony in that category.^[15]

In October 2024, Escola was included in the TIME 100 Next list of the world's most influential rising leaders.^[16]

On May 26, 2026, it was announced that Escola would be succeeding Catherine Tate in the West-End production of Oh, Mary!.^[17]

Television

In 2008, Escola met fellow comedian Jeffery Self in New York; bonding over a shared love of theater and 1990s sitcoms, they began creating surreal, semi-scripted YouTube videos under the moniker "Very Good Looking (VGL) Gay Boys." The sketches, in which Escola often played the demented comic foil to Self's straight man,^[18] received over 100,000 views, prompting coverage in New York magazine and a development deal from Logo TV.^[7] Jeffery & Cole Casserole premiered on Logo on June 19, 2009; it ran for two seasons and has been deemed as a "cult classic" by Vice magazine.^[5] Escola and Self also wrote the screenplay for an as-yet-unproduced comedy in which two friends "have to go through a lot to redeem their free sandwich."^[19]

From 2015 to 2017, Escola played Matthew on the Hulu television series Difficult People, a role that series creator Julie Klausner wrote with them in mind.^[5] They have appeared in recurring roles on Mozart in the Jungle, Girlboss, and At Home with Amy Sedaris, in which they play Sedaris' neighbor, Chassie Tucker.^[6] In 2020, Escola appeared as Chip (The Twink) on the HBO Max original Search Party. Chip became a season regular in season 4. Escola voiced The Secret Keeper on the Cartoon Network animated series Craig of the Creek in the episode "Secret in a Bottle". In 2021, Escola voiced a gargoyle in an episode of What We Do in the Shadows.^[20]

In 2025, Escola was announced for the role of Bon Clay in the third season of the Netflix television series One Piece.^[21]

Film

Escola is currently writing a Miss Piggy film, in collaboration with producers Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence.^[22]

Film

Television

Theater