Grant Gustin
Gustin in 2023
Born
Thomas Grant Gustin

(1990-01-14) January 14, 1990 (age 34)
Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active2003–present
Spouse
Andrea "LA" Thoma
​
(m. 2018)​
Children1

Thomas Grant Gustin (born January 14, 1990) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Barry Allen / The Flash on The CW series The Flash (2014–2023) as part of the Arrowverse, and as Sebastian Smythe on the Fox series Glee. Trained in musical theater, his first major credit was as part of the 2010 national tour of West Side Story; he will return to theater in the original Broadway production of Water for Elephants, originating the starring role of Jacob Jankowski.

Early life

Thomas Grant Gustin was born on January 14, 1990,[1] in Norfolk, Virginia. He is the son of Tina Haney, a pediatric nurse, and Thomas Gustin, a college professor.[2][3][4] During his high school years, he attended the Governor's School for the Arts program in Norfolk for musical theater. He also went to Hurrah Players Incorporated which is a theater organization in Virginia. In 2008, he graduated from Granby High School and went on to attend the BFA Music Theater Program at Elon University in North Carolina for two years.[5] He has been a friend of actor Chris Wood since college.[6]

Career

Gustin's first known screen role came while he was still in high school in the film Rain (2004). In this student film, by director/producer Neil Grochmal, during his studies at Regent University. Gustin plays a young mute who dreams of a man's tragic loss of his wife in a robbery, then later crosses paths with the man, stirring visions that help the man solve the mystery of who murdered his wife. Grochmal said Gustin showed raw talent and figured the youngster would be a future achiever in acting.[7]

In 2010, Gustin left school to take the role of Baby John in the Broadway Revival Tour of West Side Story, and performed with the tour from its opening on September 30, 2010, through September 23, 2011.[5][8][9]

Gustin in 2014

Joining the cast of Glee

On November 8, 2011, he debuted on the television series Glee as Sebastian Smythe, an openly gay member of the Dalton Academy Warblers.[5] Gustin won the recurring role of Sebastian, a promiscuous and scheming character, after "an exhaustive, weeks-long casting search". He originally auditioned for a background role as a tap dancer, but did not get the part. However, Ryan Murphy kept him in mind.[10] He began filming the role early on Monday, September 26, 2011, after having finished his final West Side Story performance the previous Friday night.[11] In January 2012, Naya Rivera (as her character Santana Lopez) and Gustin (as Smythe) performed "Smooth Criminal" as a duet in the season three episode "Michael", backed by musical duo 2Cellos. The song was filmed in a similar environment as the 2Cellos music video, in a room surrounded by empty chairs as the two musicians play. This cover debuted and peaked at number 26 at Billboard Hot 100, number 10 at Billboard Digital Songs, and number 28 at Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart at the week of February 18, 2012.[12]

In 2012, Gustin began filming A Mother's Nightmare, an original film for the Lifetime network, in late May. The project also stars actresses Annabeth Gish and Jessica Lowndes, and was shot in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.[13] On July 11, 2012, it was announced that Gustin had landed a major role in the independent film Affluenza.[14]

Becoming The Flash

On September 13, 2013, it was announced that Gustin would play Barry Allen in the second season of Arrow. He was initially supposed to appear in three episodes, the last one serving as the backdoor pilot for a potential spin-off Flash series.[15] However, the backdoor pilot plan was dropped in favor of a standalone pilot, titled The Flash.[16] The pilot was picked up with an initial order of thirteen episodes, and the series premiered on October 7, 2014, with 4.8 million viewers, the most for a premiere on The CW in five years.[17][18] With 184 episodes aired across nine seasons in total, The Flash concluded on May 24, 2023.[19] As part of the greater Arrowverse, Gustin reprised his role as Allen on Arrow, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow, as well as the web series Vixen.

Additional roles

On March 30, 2016, it was announced that Gustin would star in William H. Macy's film Krystal.[20] The film premiered in 2017 at the Virginia Film Festival, and was released on April 13, 2018, by Great Point Media and Paladin[21] In March 2020, Gustin was cast in Operation Blue Eyes as Barry Keenan.[22]

Personal life

In January 2016, Gustin began dating Andrea "LA" Thoma after they met at a dinner party.[23] They announced their engagement on April 29, 2017,[24] and they married on December 15, 2018.[25] Their first child, a daughter, was born in 2021.[26]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2003 Kid Fitness Jungle Adventure Exercise Video Club Fit Kid Direct-to-video
2004 Rain Logan Regent University Student Film
2014 Affluenza Todd Goodman
2017 Krystal Campbell Ogburn
2018 Tom and Grant Grant Short film
2022 Rescued by Ruby Dan Netflix film
2023 Puppy Love Max [27]
TBD Operation Blue Eyes Barry Keenan Upcoming project[22]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006 A Haunting Thomas (Stacy's boyfriend) Episode: "Hungry Ghosts"
2011–2013 Glee Sebastian Smythe Recurring role; 7 episodes
2012 CSI: Miami Scott Ferris / Trent Burton Episode: "Terminal Velocity"
A Mother's Nightmare Chris Stewart Television film
2013 90210 Campbell Price Recurring role; 8 episodes
2013–2020 Arrow Barry Allen / The Flash [a] Recurring role; 14 episodes
2014–2023 The Flash Lead role; 184 episodes
2016–2019 Supergirl 5 episodes
2016–2020 Legends of Tomorrow 4 episodes (2 voice, 2 live)
2019 Batwoman Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two"
2023 Titans Episode: "Dude, Where's My Gar?"
  1. ^ Also makes appearances as Hannibal Bates / Everyman in the episode "Who Is Harrison Wells?", Barry Allen (Earth-2) in the episodes "Welcome to Earth-2" and "Escape from Earth-2", and Harrison Wells in the episodes "Gone Rogue" and "All's Wells That Ends Wells".

Web

Year Title Role Notes
2015–2016 Vixen Barry Allen / Flash Voice; 8 episodes

Theater

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2010 All Shook Up Dean Hyde Regional [28]
2010–2011 West Side Story Baby John Broadway revival tour [29]
2024 Gutenberg! The Musical! The Producer Broadway one night cameo [30]
Water for Elephants Jacob Jankowski Original Broadway production [31]

Discography

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
AUS
 CAN
[32] 		IRL
[33] 		UK
[34] 		US
[35]
"Uptown Girl" 2011 — 93 — 140 68 Glee: The Music, Volume 7
"Bad" 2012 — 90 — 193 80 Glee: The Music, The Complete Season Three
"Smooth Criminal" with Naya Rivera (featuring 2Cellos) 59 28 46 86 26
"I Want You Back" — — — — —
"Stand" — — — — —
"Glad You Came" — 74 — — 90
"Live While We're Young" — — — — — Glee: The Music, Season 4, Volume 1
"Super Friend" with Melissa Benoist 2017 — — — — — The Flash – Music from the Special Episode: Duet
"Runnin’ Home to You" — — — — —
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations received by Grant Gustin
Award Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
Critics' Choice Super Awards 2021 Best Actor in a Superhero Series The Flash Nominated [36]
2023 Best Actor in a Superhero Series The Flash Nominated [37]
IGN Awards 2014 Best TV Hero The Flash Won [38]
2015 Best TV Hero The Flash Nominated [39]
IGN People's Choice Awards 2014 Best TV Hero The Flash Nominated [38]
2015 Best TV Hero The Flash Won [39]
Kids' Choice Awards 2015 Favorite TV Actor The Flash Nominated [40]
2016 Favorite Male TV Star — Family Show The Flash Nominated [41]
2018 Favorite TV Actor The Flash Nominated [42]
2019 Favorite Male TV Star The Flash Nominated [43]
MTV Movie & TV Awards 2017 Best Hero The Flash Nominated [44]
2018 Best Hero The Flash Nominated [45]
Poppy Awards 2015 Best Actor, Drama The Flash Nominated [46]
Saturn Awards 2015 Breakthrough Performance The Flash Won [47]
Best Actor on Television The Flash Nominated [48]
2016 Best Actor on Television The Flash Nominated [49]
2017 Best Actor on Television The Flash Nominated [50]
2019 Best Actor on a Television Series The Flash Nominated [51]
2021 Best Actor on a Television Series The Flash Nominated [52]
SFX Awards 2015 Best Actor The Flash Nominated [53]
Teen Choice Awards 2015 Choice TV – Breakout Star The Flash Won [54]
Choice TV – Chemistry (shared with Candice Patton) The Flash Nominated
Choice TV – Liplock (shared with Candice Patton) The Flash Nominated
2016 Choice TV Actor: Fantasy/Sci-Fi The Flash Won [55]
Choice TV: Chemistry (shared with Candice Patton) The Flash Nominated
Choice TV: Liplock (shared with Candice Patton) The Flash Nominated
2017 Choice Action TV Actor The Flash Won [56]
Choice TV Villain The Flash Nominated
2018 Choice Action TV Actor The Flash Won [57]
Choice TV Ship (shared with Candice Patton) The Flash Nominated
2019 Choice Action TV Actor The Flash Nominated [58]

References

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  7. ^ Ward, Steven. "Neil Grochmal, Virginia Beach, Virginia, October 11, 2020" (Interview).
  8. ^ "West Side Story Tour Announces Cast". BroadwayWorld.com. August 23, 2010. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
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  32. ^ Peak chart positions for singles in Canada:
  33. ^ "Smooth Criminal": "Irish Music Charts Archive: Top 50 Singles, Week Ending 15 March 2012". Chart-Track. GfK. March 15, 2012. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  34. ^ Peak positions for singles in the United Kingdom:
  35. ^ Peak chart positions for singles in the United States:
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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grant Gustin.
Teen Choice Award for Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor
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