Film and television O'Malley had a small
cameo appearance in
On the Run in 2004. His best-known screen appearance was in the 2006 film adaptation of
Dreamgirls. He also performed the song "Cadillac Car" on the soundtrack,
Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture. In 2018, he became a series regular on
Lifetime's
American Princess.
Theatre O'Malley starred as
Charlie Brown in the 2004 Falcon Theatre production of
Snoopy! The Musical, which ran from June 24 to July 18, 2004, in Los Angeles. He starred as
Richie Cunningham in the 2006 Los Angeles premiere of
Happy Days, as well as the 2007
Goodspeed Opera House production. In October 2008, he appeared alongside Colin Donnell and
Laura Osnes in the then
Broadway-bound musical
Pride and Prejudice as Charles Bingley, at the
Eastman Theatre in
Rochester, New York. O'Malley's first appearance on Broadway was in the musical
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, replacing actors in the roles of Leaf Coneybear, William Barfee, and Douglas Panch. Regionally, he has appeared in
Kiss of the Spider Woman as Valentín Arregui, a
Marxist revolutionary; in ''
Charley's Aunt as Charley Wykeham, and Santa Claus Is Coming to Motown'' as
Kris Kringle. He originated the role of Elder McKinley in the musical
The Book of Mormon, which opened on Broadway on March 24, 2011.
The New York Times reviewer wrote, "But allow me to single out my personal favorites. 'Turn It Off' is a hilarious chorus-line piece about repression, performed by the (all-male
Mormon) missionaries and destined to make a star of its lead singer and dancer, Rory O'Malley (whose character is repressed in his own special way)." For this role, O'Malley was nominated for the 2011
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, and was also nominated for the
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical at the
65th Tony Awards. On July 18, 2011, O'Malley participated in a reading of
George Bernard Shaw's play, ''
Fanny's First Play, a satire of theater critics, at the Players Club in Manhattan, New York City. He appeared as Frank Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine'' at the Off-Broadway
Second Stage Theatre from October 2013 to December 2013. O'Malley also participated in the
Dustin Lance Black play
8, a chronicle reenactment of the federal
case that overturned California's
Proposition 8. He replaced
Jonathan Groff in the role of
King George III in the original Broadway production of
Hamilton from April 11, 2016, through January 16, 2017, performing the role on the national tour following his nine-month stint on Broadway.
Podcasts O'Malley is the creator and host of the podcast ''Living the Dream with Rory O'Malley
, where he talks to fellow industry people about the reality of being an actor. He created it after joining the Hamilton'' cast; he realized that young fans of the show were seeing an unrealistic and cultivated depiction of the life of a Broadway actor. The podcast is currently on an indefinite hold, but O'Malley has expressed plans to resume making it. O'Malley is the host of the
Geffen Playhouse's
Unscripted.
Charity work O'Malley is an active supporter of gay rights, establishing the activism group
Broadway Impact in 2009 with
Gavin Creel and Jenny Kanelos. O'Malley said in late 2010: "Since its first year, Broadway Impact has held massive rallies for equality in New York City, made thousands of calls through phone banks and even organized 25 buses to Washington, D.C. so that 1,400 people could attend the
National Equality March for free. This year we were honored to receive the 2010
Human Rights Campaign Community Award and even participated in the
ING New York City Marathon as a charity team. Our team of 12 runners, including myself, raised $38,440 for Broadway Impact!" On August 15, 2010, O'Malley performed in the benefit concert Sing for the Cure, at Don't Tell Mama in New York City. He was also featured in a Broadway Impact fundraiser on November 2, 2010, hosted by Gavin Creel. Another concert, also benefiting Broadway Impact was held on July 25, 2010. O'Malley participated in the Broadway Sings for Pride concert in June 2011. On July 9, 2011, he joined
Mary Tyler Moore,
Bernadette Peters and others in the 2011
Broadway Barks adopt-a-thon. In the same year, he was named a Givenik Ambassador. In 2012, he and his spouse Gerold Schroeder were featured in a
GAP ad, cheek to cheek, with the caption "BE ONE." In October 2020, O'Malley joined many other Broadway stars in a virtual voter education and letter-writing party sponsored by
VoteRiders to raise awareness about voter ID requirements. ==Personal life==