Sean Hayes

Sean Hayes is best known for his Emmy Award winning turn as Jack McFarland on Will & Grace, but it sounds like he’s adding another unique role to his resume: ordained minister!

A native Chicagoan and natural showman, Hayes studied piano at Illinois State University and originally pursued musical direction as a career. But after studying improv at Second City in Chicago, he felt he had no choice but to chase comedy in Los Angeles. It wasn’t long after his 1995 move to LA that Hayes found success as an actor in commercials, including one that aired during the Super Bowl in 1998.

His big breakthrough would come later that year when he was cast as Jack McFarland in Will & Grace. Will & Grace was a massive hit for NBC and after just a few seasons NBC placed it on their legendary Thursday night lineup of Must See TV alongside other television juggernauts like Friends and Just Shoot Me.

Hayes’ portrayal of Jack is widely celebrated. Will & Grace is often regarded as a truly groundbreaking show for the LGBTQ community, with many crediting it as one of the first television programs to showcase gay culture and familiarize mainstream America with gay characters, including Jack. Hayes’ portrayal of Jack earned him six Golden Globe nominations and seven consecutive Emmy Award nominations, the first of which he won.

In 2020, while guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live, Hayes got ordained as a Universal Life Church minister and remotely officiated the wedding of a nurse and his partner - and then one year later surprised them with first class tickets to anywhere in the world for their honeymoon! Visionary, hilarious, and giving, Sean Hayes is the perfect wedding officiant for comedy fans, and we hope we get to see him perform more weddings for fans in the near future!

Want to become ordained like Sean Hayes? Click here!