William Gregory Magnussen (born April 20, 1985) is an American actor. He has appeared in many movies, including Into the Woods (2014), Bridge of Spies (2015), Birth of the Dragon (2016), Game Night (2018), and Aladdin (2019). On TV, he has had roles in Get Shorty (2017) and Maniac (2018). In 2021, he starred in the sci-fi series Made for Love on HBO Max and was in the movies The Many Saints of Newark and No Time to Die. In 2023, he played Rey “The King” Kingston in Spy Kids: Armageddon.
Magnussen has also performed in theater. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike in 2013.
Magnussen was born in Woodhaven, Queens, New York City. His mother, Daina, was an aerobics instructor, and his father, Greg, was a bodybuilder and kickboxer. He has two younger brothers. His maternal grandparents were Lithuanian immigrants, and he is of Norwegian and Lithuanian descent. He lived in Queens until he was 10, then moved to Cumming, Georgia. He graduated from South Forsyth High School in 2003 and later from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Magnussen made his Broadway debut in 2007 in The Ritz. In 2012, he starred with David Hyde Pierce and Sigourney Weaver in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. The play moved from the McCarter Theatre in New Jersey to Lincoln Center and then to the John Golden Theatre in New York City. It received six Tony Award nominations, including one for Magnussen. In 2014, he starred off-Broadway with Anna Gunn in Sex with Strangers.
Magnussen has been in movies like Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet, Happy Tears (with Demi Moore and Parker Posey), and Twelve (2010). He played a World War II hero in The Lost Valentine (2011) and appeared in Damsels in Distress (2011) and Surviving Family (2012). His breakout role was as Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Woods (2014). In 2016, he was in The Great Gilly Hopkins with Kathy Bates. In 2019, he played Prince Anders in Disney’s Aladdin. He also appeared as CIA officer Logan Ash in the James Bond movie No Time to Die. He will star in the upcoming movie Violent Ends.
Magnussen played Kato Kaelin in American Crime Story, which is about the O. J. Simpson case. He is also known for his role on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns as Casey Hughes. He guest-starred in series like The Beautiful Life: TBL, Boardwalk Empire, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order, The Divide, NCIS: Los Angeles, and The Leftovers. In 2017, he was on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. In 2018, he played a high school teacher who has a relationship with a student in Tell Me a Story.
Magnussen used to play bass and write songs for a New York City rock band called The Dash. He now plays guitar in another New York City band called Reserved for Rondee.