Who Needs a Tony Nomination? These Snubbed Actors Went On to Stardom!

Theater fans are understandably obsessed with the 2011 Tony nominations, but it helps to remember that being snubbed for Broadway's biggest prize doesn't necessarily indicate future success! A number of Broadway vets who were passed over at Tony time in years past have gone on to very successful careers. Consider this starry quintet:

Lea Michele
Michele spent nearly six years creating the role of Wendla Bergman in 2007 Best Musical Spring Awakening, but when the Tony Award nominations were announced, her name was nowhere to be found. Since the snub, Michele landed the role of Rachel Berry on the hit show Glee—which, it’s safe to say, is going rather well for her!

Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Ferguson successfully channeled sweet, mismatched sixth grader Leaf Coneybear in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee but a strong category of featured actors resulted in his name being left off 2005’s Tony ballot. The redhead went on to sitcoms such as The Class before striking gold as gay dad Mitchell Pritchett on ABC’s hit Modern Family.

Cheyenne Jackson
You need three fingers to count the number of times Broadway regular Jackson has been snubbed at Tony time. (The hunky actor was passed over for his leading roles in All Shook Up, Xanadu and Finian’s Rainbow.) Since then, he's won fans on the small screen by showing off his comedic chops on hit shows 30 Rock and Glee.

Sarah Brightman
Brightman originated the role of Christine Daae in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary The Phantom of the Opera but the critics and Tony nominators gave all the love to title star Michael Crawford. The songstress got the last laugh, leaving the theater for a celebrated solo recording career and selling out concert venues all over the world.

Kristen Bell
The short-lived 2001 musical Tom Sawyer featured Bell as the title hero's sweetheart Becky Thatcher. None of the show's actors received Tony love, but Bell went on to star in TV's Veronica Mars and movies such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Scream 4 and Couples Retreat. Not too shabby!